In Italy, the great painter Bryullov painted a grandiose canvas - “The Last Day of Pompeii”. A description of the painting will be presented in our article. Contemporaries gave the work the most enthusiastic reviews, and the artist himself began to be called the Great Charles.
A little about K. I. Bryullov
The painter was born in 1799 into a family that, starting with his great-grandfather, was associated with art. Having graduated from the Academy of Arts with a gold medal, he and his brother Alexander, a gifted architect, went to Rome. He works fruitfully in the Eternal City, painting portraits and paintings that delight the public, critics and royalty. Karl Bryullov worked on the monumental dense structure for six years. “The Last Day of Pompeii” (the description of the picture and its perception by Italians can be expressed in one word - triumph) became a masterpiece for the inhabitants of the country. They believed that the artist’s canvas evoked thoughts about the heroic past of their homeland at a time when the entire country was engulfed in the struggle for freedom.
Historical facts
The description of Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” must begin with interesting fact: the master visited excavations near Vesuvius in 1827. This sight simply stunned him. It was clear that life in the city had suddenly ended.
The ruts on the pavement were fresh, the colors of the inscriptions were bright, announcing the rental of premises and upcoming entertainment. In taverns, where only sellers were missing, traces of cups and bowls remained on the tables.
Getting started
We begin the description of Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” with a story about the artist’s many years of preparatory work, which lasted three years. First, a compositional sketch was made based on fresh impressions.
After this, the artist began to study historical documents. The artist found the information he needed in letters from a witness to this natural disaster and the famous Roman historian Tacitus. They describe a day covered in darkness, crowds of people rushing about, not knowing where to run, screams, moans... Some mourned their inevitable death, others mourned the death of loved ones. Above the rushing figures is a dark sky with zigzags of lightning. In addition, the artist created more and more new sketches, painted different groups of people, and changed the composition. This constitutes a preliminary description of Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii.” The place where the action takes place was immediately clear to him - the intersection of the Street of Tombs. As soon as Bryullov imagined a rolling, heartbreaking thunderclap, he vividly imagined how all the people froze... A new feeling was added to their fear - the inevitability of tragedy. This was reflected in last composition artist and composes a description of Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”. Materials archaeological excavations gave the artist household items for his canvas. The voids that formed in the lava preserved the contours of some bodies: a woman fell from a chariot, here are daughters and a mother, here are young spouses. The artist borrowed the image of a mother and a young man from Pliny.
Selfless work
Work on the huge canvas took three years. Raphael had a huge influence on the compositional and plastic design, on the characteristics and description of Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”. The artist previously studied with him, copying the frescoes “Fire in Borgo” and “The School of Athens”, where there are about forty characters. How many heroes are depicted on Bryullov’s multi-figure canvas? It was very important when working on the painting to introduce his contemporaries into it, bringing distant eras closer together. This is how the portrait of the track and field athlete Marini appeared on the canvas - the father figure in the family group.
Under the artist’s brush, the image of his favorite model appears, either in the form of a girl or in the form of a mother. Y. Samoilova was the embodiment of his ideal, which glowed with the power and passion of beauty. Her image filled the artist’s imagination, and all the women on his canvas acquired the features the master loved.
Composition of the painting: a combination of romanticism and classicism
Bryullov boldly combines romanticism and classics in his canvas (“The Last Day of Pompeii”). The description of the painting can be briefly described in such a way that in the composition the master did not try to enclose everything in classical triangles. In addition, listening to the voice of romanticism, he depicted a mass folk scene, violating the classical principle of bas-relief. The action develops, going deeper into the canvas: a man has fallen from his chariot and is carried away by frightened horses. The viewer's gaze involuntarily follows him into the abyss, into the cycle of events.
But the painter did not abandon all the dispassionate ideas of classicism. His characters are beautiful externally and internally. The horror of their situation is drowned out by the ideal beauty of the characters. This softens the tragedy of their condition for the viewer. In addition, the composition uses the technique of contrast between panic and calm.
Action composition
In a canvas filled with movement, the rhythm of hand gestures and body movements is very important. Hands protect, protect, hug, extend to the sky with anger and fall powerlessly. Like sculptures, their forms are three-dimensional. I want to walk around them to take a closer look. The outline clearly envelops each figure. This classic technique was not rejected by the romantics.
Color of the canvas
The day of the disaster is tragically gloomy. Darkness, completely impenetrable, hung over the people in distress. These black clouds of smoke and ash are torn apart by sharp, bright lightning. The horizon is flooded with the blood-red light of a fire. Its reflections fall on falling buildings and columns, on people - men, women, children - adding even more tragedy to the situation and showing the inevitable threat of death. Bryullov strives for natural lighting, violating the requirements of classicism. He subtly captures the reflexes of light and combines them with distinct chiaroscuro.
Canvas characters characters
The description and analysis of Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” will be incomplete without considering all the people acting in the picture. The day has come for them Last Judgment: monumental stone buildings collapse like paper from earthquakes. There is roar all around, cries for help, prayers to the gods who abandoned the unfortunate ones. Essence human soul completely naked in the face of death. All groups, which are essentially portraits, face the viewer.
Right side
Among the nobility there are base characters: a selfish thief who carries jewelry in the hope that he will survive. A pagan priest who runs away and tries to save himself, forgetting that he must pray to the gods for mercy. Fear and confusion in the composition of a family covered with a blanket... This is the description of Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii.” The photo of the masterpiece in the article shows in detail how the young father raises his hand to the sky in prayer.
The children, hugging their mother, knelt. They are motionless and simply await a terrible inevitable fate. There is no one to help them. A Christian with a bare chest and a cross on it believes in a future resurrection.
Only one figure is calm - the artist.
His task is to rise above the fear of death and forever capture the tragedy. Bryullov, introducing his portrait into the picture, shows the master as a witness to the unfolding drama.
Center and left side of the canvas
In the center is a young mother who has fallen to her death and is hugged by an uncomprehending baby. This is a very tragic episode. The deceased symbolizes the death of the ancient world.
Selfless sons carry a powerless old father. They are filled with love for him and do not think at all about their own salvation.
The young man persuades his mother, who is sitting exhausted, to get up and go to save herself. It’s difficult for two people, but nobility does not allow the young man young man leave the old lady.
The young guy peers into the face of the tender bride, who has completely lost her fortitude from the roar all around, the sight of death, the fiery glow that promise them death.
He does not leave his beloved, although death can overtake them at any moment.
The masterpiece “The Last Day of Pompeii” by K. Bryullov was destined to become a key painting in the history of art. He caught the spirit of the times and created a canvas about those who know how to sacrifice everything for the sake of their loved ones. About ordinary people, whose moral concepts stand immeasurably high during severe trials. The spectacle of how courageously they bear the heavy burden that has befallen them should serve as an example of how to act in any era and in any place. true love to a person.
Man always strives for beauty, this is his essence. He also eagerly studies the past, learns from it, works on mistakes, because without this the future is impossible. An example of this combination of art and history is the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”, painted by a brilliant artist in 1830-1833. What is depicted on it, how the painter worked and what he wanted to convey, we will consider in our article.
A few words about the author
The painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” was painted in the first half of the nineteenth century by Karl Bryullov. Born in St. Petersburg into the family of an academician sculptor, he was imbued with a passion for art from childhood. Studied with the best masters of that time, he traveled a lot, often visited Italy, where he lived and worked.
Most of his paintings are written in the historical and portrait genres. The work to which our article is devoted was awarded the Grand Prix in Paris. It should be noted that the painter’s contemporaries appreciated his work. Even during Bryullov’s lifetime, his paintings received the most enthusiastic reviews. The most famous works- “Horsewoman”, “Siege of Pskov”, “Portrait of the archaeologist Michelangelo Lanci” and others. And in 1862, a sculpture dedicated to the millennium of Russia was erected in Novgorod to the best cultural figures. Among the sixteen figures in the composition, there was also a place for Karl Bryullov.
The story of a masterpiece
The history of the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” is known to us, so we are happy to share it with the reader.
As we mentioned earlier, Bryullov often visited Italy, where he worked a lot. By the way, he died on this earth, and his body found its final resting place there. In 1827, the painter visited the excavations of an ancient Roman city located near Naples. The settlement was buried by the lava of Vesuvius, which suddenly woke up. This moment was precisely captured in the picture.
Pompey greeted the last day with a bustling life. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of a small but very wealthy town were unable to escape. Most of them died from the hot volcanic mass, others suffocated from toxic fumes and ash. And only a few managed to escape. But the volcano rendered an invaluable service to humanity - it seemed to preserve the life of that time, preserving the homes of the nobility, wall paintings, mosaic floors, paintings, and flowers in their original form. While clearing the area of dust, ash, dirt and earth, archaeologists find large number objects, and the city itself today is an open-air museum.
Preparing for work
The painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” was painted by Bryullov after careful study of that era. The artist visited the excavations several times, trying to remember the location of the buildings, every pebble. He read the works of ancient historians, in particular the works of Pliny the Younger, an eyewitness to the tragedy, and studied costumes in museums and household items. This allowed him to realistically depict the life of Italian society at the time of the volcanic eruption, as well as convey the feelings of people who were about to die from the elements.
Rejected Labor
Finally, Bryullov decided that he was ready for the titanic work and began painting the canvas. It took him three years to create a masterpiece measuring 4.5 x 6.5 meters. He was enthusiastically greeted in Italy, France, and Russia. At his native Academy of Arts, Karl was carried in his arms into the hall where his painting was already hanging. The last day (Pompey could not even imagine then that it was her last) of the famous city will now forever remain in the memory of mankind, and it itself has risen from oblivion. Let's look at the canvas, conditionally dividing it into two parts.
Right side of the picture
Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” captivates with its perfection, storm of emotions, drama and harmony of colors. On the right side, the artist depicted a group of people united by common grief. This is a young guy and a boy who are carrying their sick father in their arms, a young man who is trying to save his mother, but she orders him to leave her and run away himself. Presumably, that same young man is Pliny the Younger, who brought to us sad story Pompeii.
The painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” also depicts a couple: the young man carries the bride in his arms and peers into her face - is she alive? Behind them one can see a rearing horse with a rider on its back, falling houses decorated with statues. And above the unfortunate people lies a sky dark with smoke and ash, clouds cut by lightning, and a stream of fiery lava.
Left side of the masterpiece
We continue our description of the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”. On the left, Bryullov depicted the steps leading to the tomb of Scaurus. Another group of people gathered at them: a woman looking directly at the viewer, an artist with paints in a box on his head, a mother with two girls, a calm Christian priest, a pagan priest with jewelry under his arm, a man covering his wife and small children with a cloak.
Another “hero” of the canvas is light, or more precisely, its effects. Cool shade lightning contrasts with the glow of the volcano. Against its background, the panorama of the dying city looks very tragic and realistic.
Analysis of the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”
Bryullov skillfully selected colors that helped him depict the picture very realistically. The canvas is dominated by shades of red - people’s clothes, the glow, flowers on the bride’s head. In the center of the canvas, the artist used greenish, bluish and yellowish tones.
Finishing the description of the painting “The Last Day of Pompey” (as some mistakenly call the painting), let’s try to analyze it, find hidden meaning. The viewer should pay attention to the fact that people seem to freeze, as if they are posing for a painter. Their faces are not disfigured by pain; even the girl lying on the ground is beautiful. People's clothes are clean, there is no blood visible on them. This is the principle of convention, with the help of which the painter shows that man is the most beautiful creature on Earth. It is striking that many of the characters in the picture, in moments of danger, think not only about themselves, but also about others.
Bryullov moved away from the rules of realism, following the foundations of classicism. He paints not the usual crowd that is trying to leave the city in panic, but orderly groups of people with similar faces, but different poses. Thus, the master conveyed feelings through movement and plasticity. But the master brings a lot of new things into art, violates accepted rules, which is why the canvas only benefits. The artist uses restless light, which gives sharp shadows, a plot full of tragedy. The film intertwines two themes - the height of the human spirit, love, self-sacrifice, heroism and disaster, which led to the death of not only the city, but also the entire culture.
Instead of a conclusion
The picture created by the genius of art is both beautiful and terrible. Yes, man is powerless before the elements, which know no barriers in their power. However, he can and should remain a Man with a capital M. Not everyone is capable of this, but it is something we should strive for. Such conflicting feelings cover everyone who looks at the canvas depicting the last days ancient city. And see famous painting today everyone can by visiting the State Russian Museum.
Russian artist Karl Bryullov was undoubtedly quite respected for his skill long before the creation of this masterpiece. Nevertheless, it was “The Last Day of Pompeii” that brought Bryullov, without exaggeration, worldwide fame. Why did the disaster picture have such an impact on the public, and what secrets does it hide from viewers to this day?
Why Pompeii?
At the end of August 79 AD, as a result of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and many small villages became the graves of several thousand local residents. Real archaeological excavations of areas that had sunk into oblivion began only in 1748, that is, 51 years before the birth of Karl Bryullov himself. It is clear that archaeologists worked not just for one day, but for several decades. Thanks to this circumstance, the artist was able to personally visit the excavations and wander through the ancient Roman streets already freed from solidified lava. Moreover, at that moment Pompeii turned out to be the most cleared.
Countess Yulia Samoilova, for whom Karl Pavlovich had warm feelings, also walked there with Bryullov. Later she will play a huge role in the creation of her lover’s masterpiece, and more than one. Bryullov and Samoilova had the opportunity to see the buildings of the ancient city, restored household items, and the remains of dead people. All this left a deep and vivid imprint on the artist’s delicate nature. This was in 1827.
Disappearance of characters
Impressed, Bryullov almost immediately set to work, and very seriously and thoroughly. He visited the vicinity of Vesuvius more than once, making sketches for the future canvas. In addition, the artist familiarized himself with manuscripts that have survived to this day, including letters from an eyewitness to the disaster, the ancient Roman politician and writer Pliny the Younger, whose uncle Pliny the Elder died in the eruption. Of course, such work required a lot of time. Therefore, preparation for writing the masterpiece took Bryullov more than 5 years. He created the canvas itself, with an area of more than 30 square meters, in less than a year. The artist was sometimes unable to walk from exhaustion; he was literally carried out of the studio. But even with such careful preparation and hard work on the masterpiece, Bryullov kept changing the original plan to one degree or another. For example, he did not use a sketch of a thief taking jewelry from a fallen woman.
Same faces
One of the main mysteries that can be found on the canvas is the presence in the picture of several identical female faces. This is a girl with a jug on her head, a woman lying on the ground with a child, as well as a mother hugging her daughters, and a person with her husband and children. Why did Bryullov draw them so similar? The fact is that the same lady served as the model for all these characters - the same Countess Samoilova. Despite the fact that the artist drew other people in the picture from ordinary residents of Italy, apparently Samoilov Bryullov, overcome by certain feelings, simply liked to paint.
In addition, in the crowd depicted on the canvas, you can find the painter himself. He portrayed himself as what he was, an artist with a box filled with drawing supplies on his head. This method, as a kind of autograph, was used by many Italian masters. And Bryullov spent many years in Italy and it was there that he studied the art of painting.
Christian and pagan
Among the characters in the masterpiece there is also an adherent of the Christian faith, who is easily recognized by the cross on his chest. A mother and two daughters are huddling close to him, as if seeking protection from the old man. However, Bryullov also painted a pagan priest who quickly runs away, not paying any attention to the frightened townspeople. Undoubtedly, Christianity was persecuted at that time and it is not known for certain whether any of the adherents of this faith could have been in Pompeii at that time. But Bryullov, trying to adhere to the documentary accuracy of events, also introduced hidden meaning into his work. Through the above-mentioned clergy, he showed not only the cataclysm itself, but the disappearance of the old and the birth of the new.
Oil on canvas.
Size: 465.5 × 651 cm
"The Last Day of Pompeii"
The Last Day of Pompeii is scary and beautiful. It shows how powerless man is before the furious nature. The talent of the artist is amazing, he managed to convey all the fragility human life. The picture silently screams that there is nothing more important in the world human tragedy. The thirty-meter monumental canvas reveals to everyone those pages of history that no one wants to repeat.
... Of the 20 thousand inhabitants of Pompeii that day, 2,000 people died on the streets of the city. How many of them remained buried under the rubble of houses is unknown to this day.
Description of the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” by K. Bryullov
Artist: Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (Bryullov)
Title of the painting: “The Last Day of Pompeii”
The picture was painted: 1830-1833.
Oil on canvas.
Size: 465.5 × 651 cm
Russian artist Pushkin era known as a portraitist and the last romantic of painting, and not in love with life and beauty, but rather as an experiencer tragic conflict. It is noteworthy that K. Bryullov’s small watercolors during his life in Naples were brought by aristocrats from trips as decorative and entertaining souvenirs.
The master’s work was strongly influenced by his life in Italy, his travels through the cities of Greece, as well as his friendship with A.S. Pushkin. The latter radically affected the Academy of Arts graduate’s vision of the world – the fate of all humanity comes first in his works.
This picture reflects this idea as clearly as possible. "The Last Day of Pompeii" based on real historical facts.
A city near modern Naples was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Manuscripts of ancient historians, in particular Pliny the Younger, also speak about this. He says that Pompeii was famous throughout Italy for its mild climate, healing air and divine nature. Patricians had villas here, emperors and generals came to rest, turning the city into an ancient version of Rublyovka. It is reliably known that there was a theater, water supply and Roman baths here.
August 24, 79 AD e. people heard a deafening roar and saw pillars of fire, ash and stones begin to burst out of the bowels of Vesuvius. The disaster was preceded by an earthquake the day before, so most of the people managed to leave the city. Those who remained were not saved from the ash that reached Egypt and volcanic lava. A terrible tragedy occurred in a matter of seconds - houses collapsed on the heads of the residents, and meter-high layers of volcanic sediment covered everyone without exception. Panic began in Pompeii, but there was nowhere to run.
This is exactly the moment that is depicted on the canvas of K. Bryullov, who saw in person the streets of the ancient city, even under a layer of petrified ash, remaining the same as they were before the eruption. The artist collected materials for a long time, visited Pompeii several times, examined houses, walked the streets, made sketches of imprints of the bodies of people who died under a layer of hot ash. Many figures are depicted in the painting in the same poses - a mother with children, a woman who fell from a chariot and a young couple.
The work took 3 years to write - from 1830 to 1833. The master was so imbued with the tragedy human civilization that he was carried out of the workshop several times in a semi-fainting state.
Interestingly, the film contains themes of destruction and human sacrifice. The first moment you will see is the fire engulfing the city, falling statues, a maddened horse and a murdered woman who fell from her chariot. The contrast is achieved by the fleeing townspeople who don't care about her.
It is noteworthy that the master depicted not a crowd in the usual sense of the word, but people, each of whom tells his own story.
Mothers holding their children, who do not quite understand what is happening, want to shelter them from this catastrophe. The sons, carrying their father in their arms, looking madly into the sky and covering his eyes from the ashes with his hand, try to save him at the cost of their lives. The young man, holding his dead bride in his arms, seems to not believe that she is no longer alive. A maddened horse, which is trying to throw off its rider, seems to convey that nature has not spared anyone. A Christian shepherd in red robes, not letting go of the censer, fearlessly and terribly calmly looks at the falling statues of pagan gods, as if he sees God’s punishment in this. The image of a priest who, having taken a golden cup and artifacts from the temple, leaves the city, cowardly looking around, is striking. Most people's faces are beautiful and reflect not horror, but calm.
One of them in the background is a self-portrait of Bryullov himself. He clutches the most valuable thing to himself - a box of paints. Pay attention to his gaze, there is no fear of death in him, there is only admiration for the spectacle that has opened up. It’s as if the master stopped and remembers the deadly beautiful moment.
What is noteworthy is that there is no main character on the canvas, there is only a world divided by the elements into two parts. Characters disperse on the proscenium, opening the doors to a volcanic hell, and a young woman in a golden dress lying on the ground is a symbol of the death of the refined culture of Pompeii.
Bryullov knew how to work with chiaroscuro, modeling three-dimensional and lively images. Clothes and draperies play an important role here. The robes are depicted in rich colors - red, orange, green, ocher, blue and indigo. Contrasting with them is deathly pale skin, which is illuminated by the glow of lightning.
Light continues the idea of dividing the picture. He is no longer a way to convey what is happening, but becomes a living hero in “The Last Day of Pompeii.” Lightning flashes in a yellow, even lemon, cold color, turning the townspeople into living marble statues, and blood-red lava flows over the peaceful paradise. The glow of the volcano sets off the panorama of the dying city in the background of the picture. Black clouds of dust, from which pours not saving rain, but destructive ash, as if they say that no one can be saved. The dominant color in the painting is red. Moreover, this is not the cheerful color that is designed to give life. Bryullov red is bloody, as if reflecting the biblical Armageddon. The clothes of the characters and the background of the picture seem to merge with the glow of the volcano. Flashes of lightning illuminate only the foreground.
Medieval Christians considered Vesuvius the shortest road to hell. And not without reason: people and cities have died more than once from its eruptions. But the most famous eruption of Vesuvius occurred on August 24, 79 AD, destroying the flourishing city of Pompeii, located at the foot of the volcano. For more than one and a half thousand years, Pompeii remained buried under a layer of volcanic lava and ash. The city was first discovered completely by accident in late XVI centuries in the production of earthworks.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii
oil on canvas 456 x 651 cm
Archaeological excavations began here in the middle of the 18th century. They aroused special interest not only in Italy, but throughout the world. Many travelers sought to visit Pompeii, where literally at every step there was evidence of the suddenly ended life of the ancient city.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
In 1827, the young Russian artist Karl Bryullov came to Pompeii. Going to Pompeii, Bryullov did not know that this trip would lead him to the pinnacle of creativity. The sight of Pompeii stunned him. He walked through all the nooks and crannies of the city, touched the walls, rough from boiling lava, and, perhaps, the idea arose of painting a picture about the last day of Pompeii.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Ludwig van Beethoven *Symphony No. 5 - B minor*
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
It will take six long years from the conception of the painting to its completion. Bryullov begins by studying historical sources. He reads letters from Pliny the Younger, a witness to the events, to the Roman historian Tacitus. In search of authenticity, the artist also turns to materials from archaeological excavations; he will depict some figures in the poses in which the skeletons of the victims of Vesuvius were found in hardened lava.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Almost all the items were painted by Bryullov from original items stored in the Neapolitan museum. The surviving drawings, studies and sketches show how persistently the artist searched for the most expressive composition. And even when the sketch of the future canvas was ready, Bryullov rearranged the scene about a dozen times, changing gestures, movements, and poses.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
In 1830, the artist began working on a large canvas. He painted at such a limit of spiritual tension that it happened that he was literally carried out of the workshop in their arms. Finally, by mid-1833 the painting was ready. The canvas was exhibited in Rome, where it received rave reviews from critics, and was sent to the Louvre in Paris. This work became the first painting by the artist to arouse such interest abroad. Walter Scott called the painting “unusual, epic.”
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
...Black darkness hung over the earth. A blood-red glow colors the sky at the horizon, and a blinding flash of lightning momentarily breaks the darkness.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
In the face of death, the essence of the human soul is revealed. Here young Pliny persuades his mother, who has fallen to the ground, to gather what remains of her strength and try to escape.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Here the sons are carrying their old father on their shoulders, trying to quickly deliver the precious burden to a safe place. Raising his hand towards the collapsing skies, the man is ready to protect his loved ones with his chest.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Nearby is a kneeling mother with her children. With what inexpressible tenderness they cling to each other! Above them is a Christian shepherd with a cross around his neck, with a torch and censer in his hands. With calm fearlessness he looks at the flaming skies and the crumbling statues of former gods.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
The canvas also depicts Countess Yulia Pavlovna Samoilova three times - a woman with a jug on her head, standing on a raised platform on the left side of the canvas; a woman who fell to her death, stretched out on the pavement, and next to her a living child (both were presumably thrown out of a broken chariot) - in the center of the canvas; and a mother attracting her daughters to her in the left corner of the picture.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
And in the depths of the canvas he is contrasted with a pagan priest, running in fear with an altar under his arm. This somewhat naive allegory proclaims the advantages Christian religion over the departing pagan.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
On the left in the background is a crowd of fugitives on the steps of the tomb of Scaurus. In it we notice an artist saving the most precious thing - a box of brushes and paints. This is a self-portrait of Karl Bryullov.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
The most central figure canvas - a noble woman falling from a chariot, symbolizes a beautiful, but already leaving ancient world. The baby mourning her is an allegory of the new world, a symbol of the inexhaustible power of life. "The Last Day of Pompeii" convinces us that main value in the world - this is a person. Bryullov contrasts the spiritual greatness and beauty of man with the destructive forces of nature. Brought up on the aesthetics of classicism, the artist strives to give his characters ideal features and plastic perfection, although it is known that residents of Rome posed for many of them.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
In the autumn of 1833, the painting appeared at an exhibition in Milan and caused an explosion of delight and admiration. An even greater triumph awaited Bryullov at home. Exhibited in the Hermitage and then at the Academy of Arts, the painting became a source of patriotic pride. She was enthusiastically greeted by A.S. Pushkin:
Vesuvius opened its mouth - smoke poured out in a cloud - flames
Widely developed as a battle flag.
The earth is agitated - from the shaky columns
Idols fall! A people driven by fear
In crowds, old and young, under the inflamed ashes,
Runs out of the city under the rain of stones.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Indeed, the world fame of Bryullov’s painting forever destroyed the disdainful attitude towards Russian artists that existed even in Russia itself.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
In the eyes of his contemporaries, the work of Karl Bryullov was proof of the originality of the national artistic genius. Bryullov was compared to the greats Italian masters. Poets dedicated poems to him. He was greeted with applause on the street and in the theater. A year later, the French Academy of Arts awarded the artist for the painting gold medal after her participation in the Paris Salon.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
The breakdown of destinies reveals characters. Caring sons carry a weak father out of hell. The mother covers her children. The desperate young man, having gathered his last strength, does not let go of the precious cargo - the bride. And the handsome man on a white horse hurries away alone: quickly, quickly, save himself, his beloved. Vesuvius mercilessly shows people not only his insides, but also theirs. Thirty-year-old Karl Bryullov understood this perfectly. And he showed it to us.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
“And it was the “Last Day of Pompeii” for the Russian brush,” rejoiced the poet Evgeny Baratynsky. Truly so: the painting was greeted triumphantly in Rome, where he painted it, and then in Russia, and Sir Walter Scott somewhat pompously called the painting “unusual, epic.”
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
And it was a success. Both paintings and masters. And in the fall of 1833, the painting appeared at an exhibition in Milan and Karl Bryullov’s triumph reached its highest point. The name of the Russian master immediately became known throughout the Italian peninsula - from one end to the other.
Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)
Last day of Pompeii (detail)
1830-1833, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Italian newspapers and magazines published rave reviews about " Last day Pompeii" and its author. Bryullov was greeted with applause on the street, there was a standing ovation in the theater. Poets dedicated poems to him. When moving on the borders of the Italian principalities, he was not required to present a passport - it was believed that every Italian was obliged to know him by sight.
