Alexander Ivanovich Kaznacheev, actual secret adviser, senator and honorary guardian of the Moscow Treasury Council, said:

When I was the governor of Odessa, I had the habit of walking around the city in the morning, and sometimes I went to the closest, most remote areas. One day, walking through one of the countless streets, I noticed on the long fence painted figures, sharply thrown into the eyes and thus violating the general prudence required by the charter of the city's charity. I called the police officer and ordered that the inappropriate painting of the unknown man be washed. But the stubborn marshal of the fence did not shrink. A few days later, walking through the same sidewalk, I saw again on the same fence a new work, and as to laugh, in wider and wider dimensions. This time I looked closer into the painting and, to my surprise, I noticed that in the contours of some figures was seen the perfect correctness and hardness of the artist’s usual hand, though far from strong. The embarrassing shalun aroused my curiosity, and I was interested in seeing him personally. After instructing the police officer to be careful about the offender, I ordered him to find his address and let me know. The next day, the address was delivered, with which I went in search of the mysterious artist. It was a 12-year-old boy. When my boy appeared, he was confused and bitter, and in order to encourage and place him near me, I praised his abilities and ordered to bring me all his drawings. The boy was pleased, took advantage of the invitation and a few days later came to me with his notebooks. When I looked at the drawings, they were so impeccable that I finally established myself in the assumption of the discovery of a remarkable artistic talent. Without wasting time, I took the boy with me, sent the drawings to St. Petersburg, and a month or two later sent him there, where he was accepted to the Academy of Arts as a student.

This was the future professor of painting, the best Russian mariner Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky.