Several years ago, a group of Sinologists and the staff of the country’s leading museums implemented a project involving the study of the creative legacy of artists who in the 18th and 19th centuries were members of the Russian Spiritual Mission and Russian embassies and expeditions to China. The author of this article, Nikolai Samoilov, Ph.D. (History) and head of the project, acquaints the reader with the results of this research effort: paintings by A.M. Legashov, K.I. Korsalin and I.I. Chmutov were found in museums and little-known drawings from library manuscript departments and stocks were documented. No matter in what genres or techniques the Russian artists worked, they always pictured the architecture, nature and inhabitants of China being inspired by real life. Following are some other names: A.E. Martynov, I.P. Alexandrov, E.M. Korneyev and K.P. Mazer, whose activities also played an important role in introducing Russians to Chinese culture.
Key words: the Russian Spiritual Mission to China, A.M. Legashov, K.I. Korsalin, I.I. Chmutov, A.E. Martynov, I.P. Alexandrov, E.M. Korneyev, K.P. Mazer, 18th-19th century painting, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum.