(1653-1696), painter, Moscow nobleman. Son of Artemy Bezmin, the armorer who moved to Moscow from Ustyuzhny-Zheleznopolsky. In 1661 he was admitted to the Armory as an apprentice of the painter Stanislav Loputsky. From 1668 he decorated the royal mansions with religious scenes. His first original works include the paintings of Prince Alexei Alexeevich’s dining chamber (1668). Among his last artworks are the paintings of mansions for the princes and princesses (1684-1685). Ivan Bezmin also decorated the royal mansions in the villages of Novoe Voskresenskoe and Alexeevskoye near Moscow. For the tsar’s family, mostly for Feodor Alexeevich, he painted icons on canvas (Life-giving spring and Joy of all who Sorrow) – this technique was first applied in the Russian iconographic practice - both on metallic and traditionally wooden boards. Ivan Bezmin is the author of a portrait of Tsar Feodor Alexeevich (Moscow’s State Historical Museum).
Ivan Bezmin created frescoes for the Church of the Holy Mandylion and its side-chapel dedicated to the Conception of John the Baptist (formerly John of Belgrade) in the Moscow Kremlin (1679). In 1685 he painted frescoes in the western entrance into a cathedral of the Kremlin’s Monastery of the Ascension. He also decorated church interiors, painted and gilded wooden iconostases and kliroses (Church of the Holy Mandylion and the Venerated Martyr Eudokia in the Moscow Kremlin). In 1679 Bezmin created the canvas-painted icon of The Crucifixion of Our Lord for the Church of the Intercession in the tsar’s country residence in Izmailovo. Ivan Bezmin also created a series of canvas-painted icons depicting the New Testament parables for the court church of the Holy Mandylion and other icons - The Final Judgment, The Deposition from the Cross, The Resurrection of Christ, The Ascension and Mary Magdalene for a court chapel in which the Golgotha was installed.
Some researchers attribute to Ivan Bezmin the creation of icons in the technique combining silk appliqués and oil painting for a court chapel of the Crucifixion (the Raising of the Holy Cross) in the Moscow Kremlin. It is also likely that he was the author of some surviving regimental banners.
Together with Nikifor Bovykin Ivan Bezmin made toys for tsarevich Peter. In 1673 he made for him two golden strings and vorvotkas – moveable balls on a pearl-ornamented string.