Biography

Born in a poor family of Baltic Germans. Не did not receive systematic artistic education, was carried away by drawing since childhood. In his youth moved to St. Petersburg, where in a small workshop began the restoration of porcelain, figurines and bronze sculptures for antiquaries and collectors. Later he created on order the limited copies of the famous works by Russian sculptors.

At the early stage of his work E. Naps repeatedly used the plots of E. A. Lanceray, and generally was under his strong influence, that was reflected in his sculptural compositions, such as "General M.D. Skobelev on Horseback" (bronze), the "Troika in Winter" (bronze), "Cossack on Horseback" (bronze). Famous Naps’ works - the sculptural group "A Cart with Three Horses and Five Passengers Crossing the Bridge" (bronze), the statue of "Unmounted Cossack (Plastun) Saikin on Patrol" (bronze), two paired candlesticks "Lamplighters" (bronze) and inkpot "Woodcutter Having Lunch" (bronze) were widely replicated on Kasli and Kusa plants in the beginning of the twentieth century. All famous works of Naps were evidencing of his professional possession of bronze art.

The data about his family and late years is very scanty. According to historians Eugene Naps died in 1886

Interesting facts:

• There is a version that Eugene Lanceray worked under the pseudonym "Naps". Almost all Naps's works were casted in bronze factory Werfel that was the main competitor of F. Chopin workshop. This workshop signed a long-term shackling agreement with Lanceray (as it later turned out - almost for the entire life of the sculptor). Under the terms of this agreement, Lanceray could not cooperate with other bronze casting workshops under his own name. Therefore, some experts suppose that under Naps’ name the works of Lanceray were manufectured. The basis for this assumption – The similiarity and recognizability of style, methods of modeling, the scarcity of data about the restorer Eugene (Johann) Naps, the constant lack of money, large family of Lanceray and his well-known tendency to mystification of his artistic environment turned out to be the basis of this assumption.