Arkadiy Alexandrovich Rylov was an outstanding Russian and Soviet artist, specializing in landscapes, as well as a graphic artist and educator. He was a member of such associations as "Mir Iskusstva," "Soyuz Russkikh Khudozhnikov," and AKHRR, and was one of the founders of the Leningrad Union of Artists. Rylov taught at the Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture of the All-Russian Academy of Arts and received the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR in 1935.

Arkadiy Rylov was born in 1870 in the village of Istobenka in the Kirov region. He was raised in a stepfather's family, as his biological father suffered from a mental illness. His brother, German Alexandrovich Rylov, became a pianist and educator, founding the First Proletarian Music School in Vyatka, now known as the First Children's Music School of Kirov.

Rylov received his education in St. Petersburg, initially studying at the Central School of Technical Drawing of Baron A. L. Stieglitz and with Konstantin Kryzhitsky. After serving in the army, he continued his studies at the Higher Art School of the Imperial Academy of Arts under A. I. Kuindzhi. In 1915, he was awarded the title of academician of painting. In the vicinity of St. Petersburg and Finland, he created numerous paintings and sketches characterized by a distinctive color palette. Rylov also worked as an illustrator, wrote essays on nature, and headed the Society of Artists named after A. I. Kuindzhi. Since 1902, he taught a "class of animal drawing" at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, and from 1917, at the Academy of Arts, becoming a professor in 1918.

After the revolution, Rylov continued to engage actively in creativity and teaching. A. A. Fyodorov-Davydov called him an "outstanding Soviet landscape painter," and considered his painting "In the Blue Expanse" (1918) as the beginning of the history of Soviet painting. Since 1932, after the establishment of LOSSH (Leningrad Union of Artists), Rylov participated in all major exhibitions, starting with the First Exhibition of Leningrad Artists in 1935. His works significantly influenced the development of Leningrad landscape painting in the 1920s and 1930s.

As a professor at LIJSA, Rylov made a significant contribution to the training of new generations of artists, influencing the development of Soviet landscape painting. Among his students were masters such as A. M. Gritsai, B. V. Shcherbakov, and N. E. Timkov. The well-known Leningrad artist N. N. Galakhov considered Rylov his "teacher" and "favorite artist," although his studies and creativity occurred in the post-war years.

Arkadiy Alexandrovich Rylov passed away on June 22, 1939, in Leningrad.