Michail Spiridanovic Erassi was born the child of Greek parents in the Ukraine in 1823. Initially he as a student of his uncle, the painter Aleksej Gavrilovic Venecianov, as of 1846 he studied at the art academy in St. Petersburg. The young artist received numerous honors while he was still a student, in 1853 he visited Switzerland on a scholarship. He took lessons with Alexandre Calame in Geneva and was strongly influenced by his teacher. Erassi stayed in Switzerland until 1864, then lived in Nice for two years and eventually settled in Berlin in 1867. Erassi was appointed professor by the academy in St. Petersburg in 1862, between 1871 and 1895 he was a member of the 'Vereinigung Berliner Künstler' (Berlin Artist Association). In 1882 he showed works at the 'All Russian Exhibition' in Moscow. His oeuvre predominantly comprises landscapes, but also portraits. Erassi's paintings are in possession of, among others, the Tretjakow Gallery in Moscow and the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.