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Ancient Roman tragedy that became the triumph of Karl Bryullov

Karl Bryullov was born on December 23, 1799. The sculptor's son French descent Paul Brullo, Karl was one of seven children in the family. His brothers Pavel, Ivan and Fedor also became painters, and his brother Alexander became an architect. However, the most famous was Karl, who painted in 1833 the canvas "The Last Day of Pompeii" - the main work of his life. Kultura.RF remembered how this canvas was created.

Karl Bryullov. Self-portrait. 1836

History of creation

The painting was painted in Italy, where in 1822 the artist went on a retirement trip from Imperial Academy art for four years. But he lived there for 13 years.

The plot tells about the ancient Roman tragedy - the death of the ancient city of Pompeii, located at the foot of Vesuvius: August 24, 79 AD. e. The volcanic eruption claimed the lives of 2,000 people.

In 1748, the military engineer Roque de Alcubierre began archaeological excavations at the site of the tragedy. The discovery of Pompeii became a sensation and was reflected in the work different people. So, in 1825, the opera by Giovanni Pacini appeared, and in 1834 - historical novel Englishman Edward Bulwer-Lytton, dedicated to the death of Pompeii.

Bryullov first visited the excavation site in 1827. Going to the ruins, the 28-year-old artist had no idea that this trip would be fateful for him: “You can’t go through these ruins without feeling in yourself some completely new feeling that makes you forget everything, except for the terrible incident with this city”- wrote the artist.

The feelings that Karl Bryullov experienced during the excavations did not leave him. Thus, the idea of ​​a canvas on a historical theme was born. While working on the plot, the painter studied archaeological and literary sources. “I took this scenery from nature, without retreating at all and without adding, standing with my back to the city gates in order to see part of Vesuvius as main reason» . The models for the characters were the Italians - the descendants of the ancient inhabitants of Pompeii.

At the intersection of classicism and romanticism

In this work, Bryullov shows himself not as a traditional classicist, but as an artist of a romantic direction. Yes, his historical plot dedicated not to one hero, but to the tragedy of an entire nation. And as a plot, he chose not an idealized image or idea, but a real historical fact.

True, Bryullov builds the composition of the picture in the traditions of classicism - as a cycle of individual episodes enclosed in a triangle.

On the left side of the picture in the background are several people on the steps. big building tombs of Skaurus. A woman looks directly at the viewer, in whose eyes horror is read. And behind it is an artist with a box of paints on his head: this is Bryullov's self-portrait, experiencing a tragedy along with his characters.

Closer to the viewer married couple with children, who is trying to escape from the lava, and in the foreground a woman hugs her daughters to her ... Next to her is a Christian priest who has already entrusted his fate to God and is therefore calm. In the depths of the picture, we see a pagan Roman priest who is trying to escape by carrying away ritual values. Here Bryullov alludes to the fall of the ancient pagan world of the Romans and the onset of the Christian era.

On the right side of the picture in the background is a horse rider who reared up. And closer to the viewer - the groom, seized with horror, who is trying to hold his bride in his arms (she is wearing a wreath of roses), who has lost consciousness. In the foreground, two sons carry their old father in their arms. And next to them is a young man, begging his mother to get up and run further from this all-consuming element. By the way, this young man is none other than Pliny the Younger, who really escaped and left his memories of the tragedy. Here is an excerpt from his letter to Tacitus: “I look back. A thick black fog, spreading like a stream over the ground, overtook us. All around the night fell, unlike moonless or cloudy: it is so dark only in a locked room with extinguished fires. Women's screams, children's squeaks and the cry of men were heard, some called out to their parents, others to children or wives and tried to recognize them by their voices. Some mourned their death, others the death of loved ones, some, in fear of death, prayed for death; many raised their hands to the gods; the majority explained that there were no gods anywhere, and for the world this was the last eternal night..

There is no main character in the picture, but there are central ones: a golden-haired child near the prostrate body of his deceased mother in a yellow tunic is a symbol of the fall of the old world and the birth of a new one, this is the opposition of life and death - in the best traditions of romanticism.

In this picture, Bryullov also showed himself as an innovator, using two light sources - a hot red light in the background, conveying the feeling of impending lava, and a cold greenish-blue in the foreground, adding additional dramaturgy to the plot.

The bright and rich coloring of this painting also violates classical traditions and allows us to speak of the artist as a romantic.

The triumphal procession of the picture

Karl Bryullov worked on the canvas for six years - from 1827 to 1833.

For the first time the picture was presented to the public in 1833 at an exhibition in Milan - and immediately made a splash. The artist was honored as a Roman triumphant, laudatory reviews were written about the painting in the press. Bryullov was greeted on the street with applause, and during his travels on the borders of the Italian principalities they did not require a passport: it was believed that every Italian already knew him by sight.

In 1834 "The Last Day of Pompeii" was presented on Paris Salon. French criticism was, unlike the Italian, more restrained. But professionals appreciated the work at its true worth, handing Bryullov gold medal French Academy of Arts.

The canvas made a sensation in Europe, and was eagerly awaited in Russia. In the same year it was sent to St. Petersburg. Seeing the picture, Nicholas I expressed a desire to personally meet the author, but the artist went on a trip to Greece with Count Vladimir Davydov, and returned to his homeland only in December 1835.

June 11, 1836 in the Round Hall Russian Academy Arts, where the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" was exhibited, guests of honor, members of the Academy, artists and just art lovers gathered. The author of the canvas, “the great Karl”, was carried into the hall in his arms to the enthusiastic cries of the guests. “Crowds of visitors, one might say, burst into the halls of the Academy to look at Pompeii”, - writes a contemporary and a witness of that success, which no Russian artist knew equal.

The customer and owner of the painting, Anatoly Demidov, presented it to the emperor, and Nicholas I placed it in the Hermitage, where it remained for 60 years. And in 1897 it was transferred to the Russian Museum.

The picture literally excited everyone Russian society and the best minds that time.

Arts peace trophies
You brought into the paternal canopy.
And there was "The Last Day of Pompeii"
For the Russian brush the first day! -

poet Yevgeny Boratynsky wrote about the painting.

Alexander Pushkin also dedicated poems to her:

Vesuvius zev opened - smoke gushed in a club, flames
Widely developed like a battle banner.
The earth worries - from staggering columns
Idols are falling! A people driven by fear
Under the stone rain, under the inflamed ashes,
Crowds, old and young, run out of the city.

Mentions "The Last Day of Pompeii" and Mikhail Lermontov in the novel "Princess Ligovskaya": “If you love art, then I can say very good news: Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” is going to St. Petersburg. All of Italy knew about her, the French dismantled her.- Lermontov clearly knew about the reviews of the Parisian press.

Russian historian and traveler Alexander Turgenev said that this picture was the glory of Russia and Italy.

And Nikolai Gogol dedicated the painting great article, writing: “His brush contains that poetry that you only feel and can always recognize: our feelings always know and even see features but their words will never tell. Its coloring is so bright, which it has almost never been before, its colors burn and rush into the eyes. They would be unbearable if they appeared to the artist a degree lower than Bryullov, but in him they are clothed in that harmony and breathe that inner music that living objects of nature are filled with”.

"The Death of Pompeii" can be called one of the little-known masterpieces of Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky. Historical event, the tragedy of the ancient city, inspired the painter to approach the plot with new thoughts.

Painter

Ivan Aivazovsky, or Hovhannes Ayvazyan, was and remains one of the most famous marine painters Russia. His seascapes loved and appreciated all over the world. The works are exhibited at the popular Sotheby's and Christie's auctions for millions of sterling.

Born in 1817, Ivan Konstantinovich lived for eighty-three years and died peaceful death in a dream.

Hovhannes was born into a merchant family of Armenians from Galicia. later he recalled that his father was the first to move away from his roots and even tried to pronounce his last name in the Polish manner. Ivan was proud of his educated parent, who knew several languages.

From his birth, Aivazovsky lived in Feodosia. His talents for art were early noticed by the architect Yakov Koch. It was he who began to teach Ivan painting.

The mayor of Sevastopol, seeing the gift of the future master, also took part in his formation as an artist. The young talent, thanks to the efforts, was sent to study for free in St. Petersburg. Like many other famous Russian artists, Aivazovsky was a native of the Art Academy. It largely influenced the preferences of the classic marine painter.

Style

The Art Academy in St. Petersburg helped shape Aivazovsky's style, thanks to his studies with Johann Gross, Philip Tanner, Alexander Sauerweid.

Having drawn "Calm", Ivan Konstantinovich in 1837 receives a gold medal and the right to travel to Europe.

After that, Aivazovsky returns to the Crimea, to his homeland. There he painted seascapes for two years, and also helped the army in battles against the enemy. One of his paintings of that period was bought by Emperor Nicholas I.

Upon his return to Petersburg, he was honored title of nobility. In addition, he acquires such eminent friends as Karl Bryullov and composer Mikhail Glinka.

wandering

Since 1840, Aivazovsky's pilgrimage to Italy began. On the way to the capital, Ivan and his friend Vasily Sternberg stop by Venice. There they meet another representative of the Russian elite, Gogol. which have already become famous in Russian Empire, visited many Italian cities, visited Florence, Rome. I stayed in Sorrento for a long time.

For many months, Aivazovsky stayed with his brother, who became a monk, on the island of St. Lazarus. There he also spoke with the English poet George Byron.

The work "Chaos" was bought from him by Pope Gregory the Sixteenth. Critics favored Aivazovsky, and the Parisian art academy even gave him a medal of merit.

In 1842, the marine painter leaves Italy. After crossing Switzerland and the Rhine, he travels to Holland, later to Great Britain. On the way back he visits Paris, Spain and Portugal. Four years later he is back in Russia.

Aivazovsky, living in St. Petersburg, became an honorary professor of the academy both in this city and in Paris, Rome, Stuttgart, Florence and Amsterdam. He continued to write marine paintings. He has more than 6,000 landscapes to his credit.

From 1845 he lived in Feodosia, where he founded his own school, helped create a gallery, initiated the construction railway. After death, the unfinished painting "The Explosion of a Turkish Ship" remained.

famous paintings

Aivazovsky's paintings were dearly loved by representatives of all classes of the Russian Empire, and later Soviet Union. Almost in every modern family, at least one reproduction of Ivan Konstantinovich is kept at home.

His name has become familiar highest quality among the mariners. The most popular are the following works of the artist:

• "The Ninth Wave".
• "Pushkin's Farewell to the Sea", which he wrote together with Repin.
• "Rainbow".
• « Moonlight night on the Bosphorus.
• Among the masterpieces that Aivazovsky wrote is "The Death of Pompeii."
• "View of Constantinople and the Bosporus".
• "Black Sea".

These pictures even appeared on postage stamps. They were copied, embroidered with a cross and stitch.

Confusion

It is interesting that many confuse the "Death of Pompeii". The picture, who painted it, is not known to everyone, has nothing to do with Bryullov's canvas. His work is called "The Last Day of Pompeii".

It was written by Karl Pavlovich in 1833. It depicts ancient people fleeing from an erupting volcano. In Bryullov, the inhabitants of Pompeii are locked in the city itself. "The Death of Pompeii", the description of the painting is very different, conveys a completely different idea.

Aivazovsky's landscape was painted in 1889, much later than his predecessor. It is likely that, being a friend of Bryullov, the marine painter could be inspired by the same chosen theme of the tragedy of the ancient period.

History of the painting

The most uncharacteristic work of Aivazovsky is considered to be The Death of Pompeii. The painting was created in 1889. He took a plot from history as a basis. What happened to the city is still considered one of the biggest natural disasters in the world. Pompeii, once a beautiful ancient settlement, was located near Naples, near an active volcano. In 79, an eruption began, which claimed hundreds of lives. Description of the painting by Aivazovsky helps to convey all these events.

If Bryullov showed in his canvas what the city itself and the people inside it could look like, then Aivazovsky focused on the sea.

"Death of Pompeii". Picture: who wrote and what he wanted to say

Being a marine painter, Ivan Konstantinovich focused on conveying the plot outside the city. History already tells us how the death of Pompeii ends. The picture is painted in very gloomy scarlet tones, symbolizing all human lives buried alive under a layer of lava.

The central figure of the canvas is the sea, along which ships sail. In the distance you can see the city illuminated by lava. The sky is dark with smoke.

Despite the horror of this event, Aivazovsky gives a certain hope for a brighter future, showing the ship, crowded with escaped people.

Ivan Konstantinovich wanted to convey the despair of those who saw the death of Pompeii. The painting is not focused on the faces of dying people. Nevertheless, all the tragedy and horror of the situation seems to be spoken by a hot sea. Crimson, black and yellow colors predominate on the canvas.

In the central plan are two large ships that are fighting sea ​​waves. A few more can be seen in the distance, hurrying to leave the place of death, in which the inhabitants of the city, captured on the canvas “The Death of Pompeii”, forever froze.

If you look closely, at the top, in the rings of smoke, there is an erupting volcano, from which pour on ancient temples and lava river houses. Aivazovsky strengthened by adding throughout the picture a lot of black dots of ash settling on the water.

View picture

"The Death of Pompeii" - a painting painted oil paints, on an ordinary canvas measuring 128 by 218 cm, is stored in Rostov.

It is an integral part of the collection. Visitors are welcome here every day from 10.00 am to 18.00 pm. The museum is closed only on Tuesdays. Address: Pushkinskaya street, 115.

The cost of a regular ticket without benefits will cost the visitor 100 rubles. Children who do not yet go to school will need to pay 10 rubles. Students can pay entrance ticket 25 rub. Students pay 50 rubles, and pensioners 60 rubles.

The museum collection also contains other paintings by Aivazovsky, such as "Sea" and "Moonlight Night". Nevertheless, the pearl of the collection is the “Death of Pompeii”. The description of the painting gives a clear idea of ​​how formidable nature can be.

Employees of the Murom Historical and Art Museum. The article is titled "Masterpiece and Tragedy or the History of One Painting" and is dedicated to ingenious picture Karl Bryullov "The Last Day of Pompeii".

I really liked the article, I quoted it, but quotations are rarely read, and with the permission of the author, I put it in its entirety in this post, slightly embellished with reproductions of the picture and musical accompaniment.

Read it, I assure you, you won't regret it...

Passing through the halls of the Murom Gallery, the guests of Murom often freeze in amazement at one nondescript, at first glance, exhibit. It's simple black and white drawing in a regular frame behind glass. It would seem, why does it attract visitors to the museum so much? However, peering into his faded features, it is difficult to contain an involuntary sigh of admiration. On the yellowish paper of the exhibit, a story familiar to many from childhood is depicted. famous painting. Before the guests, a sketch of Karl Bryullov for his famous canvas"The Last Day of Pompeii" is one of the brightest pearls of the Murom Gallery!

A rare museum can boast of such an acquisition in its collection. Sometimes this sketch surprises even guests from Moscow and St. Petersburg. And they are captivated not only by the uniqueness of the old drawing, but also by the attraction of the tragic plot, conveyed by the genius of the artist.

And indeed, this small yellowed leaf tells the audience not only about terrible disaster antiquity, but also how the greatest canvas of Russian painting was created.

ON THE EVE OF THE TRAGEDY.

The talented brush of Bryullov revealed to us one of the pictures of the terrible tragedy ancient world. For two fateful days, August 24 and 25, 79 AD, several Roman cities ceased to exist at once - Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and Octavianum. And the reason for this was the awakening of the volcano Vesuvius, at the foot of which these settlements are located.

People have long and appreciated the high, incomparable fertility of volcanic soils and began to cultivate them from time immemorial. Scientists have at their disposal written sources that even more than two thousand years ago, rich harvests gathered around Vesuvius and on its slopes.

At the beginning of the 1st century Vesuvius was covered in a dense forest with wild grapes. At its top there was an overgrown cup-shaped depression - traces of an ancient crater, preserved after a 300-year dormant period of the volcano. In this crater in 72, Spartacus was hiding with rebellious slaves. 3,000 soldiers, led by Praetor Clodius Pulker, were sent to search for him. However, Spartacus eluded them and broke out onto the plain surrounding the volcano from the north.

Volcanic ashes and tuffs, which covered the gentle slopes of Vesuvius and its environs like a cloak, made the lands around it extraordinarily fertile. Corn, barley, nuts, wheat, grapes grew especially well. No wonder this area is famous for its excellent wines.

And at the beginning new era the area near the Gulf of Naples was also a favorite residence of wealthy Romans. In the north was the city of Herculaneum, to the south were Pompeii and Stabia - three kind of suburban suburbs of Naples. The patricians were attracted here by the mild and warm climate. Therefore, this part of the coast of the bay near Naples was built up with rich villas.

The first signs of Vesuvius's unrest were seen as early as mid-August 79. But at the time it didn't bother anyone. Similar surprises have been seen behind the volcano before. The last time he thoroughly "disturbed" Pompeii was on February 5, 62 AD. powerful earthquake order destroyed the city, but it did not serve as a lesson to its inhabitants. They were in no hurry to leave their homes. And this is no accident!

So, for the next 15 years, Pompeii was built - the inhabitants of the city restored the houses destroyed by the earthquake and built new buildings.

Oddly enough, the townspeople, despite the cruel lesson of fate, did not take Vesuvius seriously and did not expect further trouble from him.

The tremors didn't really bother the townspeople. Each time they closed the cracks in the houses, updating the interior and adding new decorations along the way. No panic.

DAY OF THE ANGER OF THE GODS.

Vesuvius opened the pharynx - the smoke gushed out in a club - the flame
widely developed like a battle flag.
The earth is worried - from the staggering columns
Idols are falling! A people driven by fear
Under the stone rain, under the inflamed ashes,
Crowds, old and young, run out of the city.

A.S. Pushkin.

August 24 began as the most ordinary day in the life of Pompeii. In the morning, there were no signs of an impending tragedy. The bright sun flooded the streets of the city. People slowly went about their business, discussing last news. Shops worked, incense was smoked in temples, and in the city theater they were preparing for a performance - on this day next fights gladiators. These handsome warriors proudly strolled through the streets of Pompeii, laughing, reading the inscriptions on the walls of the houses, which were left to them by numerous admirers.

Now, after almost 2000 years, we know literally by the minute what happened in those tragic days. And this is thanks to two amazing letters of Pliny the Younger - an eyewitness to the tragedy.

August 24, at about 2 pm, a giant cloud began to rise rapidly over Vesuvius white color with brown spots. It grew and spread to the sides at a height, resembling the crown of a Mediterranean pine - pine. A terrible roar was heard near the volcano, and continuous tremors occurred, which were also felt in Miseno (about 30 km from Pompeii), where Pliny's family was located. The lines of his letter say that the shaking was so strong that the wagons were thrown from side to side, roof tiles fell off the houses and statues and obelisks collapsed.

The sky suddenly became formidable, the cloud became darker and darker ...

Behind the abundant ashfall, the sun completely disappeared, and the pitch darkness. This further increased the anxiety and confusion of the people. At the same time, there were heavy showers on the western slopes of the volcano, which often occur during eruptions. Loose ash and pumice layers on the slopes, "saturated" with water, rushed down with powerful mud, apparently , hot streams - lahars. Three such streams, following one after another, covered the city of Herculaneum, located on the seashore, destroying all life in the blink of an eye.

Hercalanum was the first to die, since it was located almost at the foot of Vesuvius. Its inhabitants of the city, who tried to flee, died under the lava and ash.

The fate of Pompeii was different. Here there was no stream of mud, from which, apparently, flight was the only escape; here it all started with volcanic ash that could be easily shaken off. However, lapilli soon began to fall, then pieces of pumice, several kilograms each.

The whole danger became clear only gradually. And when people finally realized what was threatening them, it was already too late. Sulfur fumes descended on the city; they crawled into all the cracks, penetrated under the bandages and scarves with which people covered their faces - it became more and more difficult to breathe ... Trying to break free, swallow fresh air, the townspeople ran out into the street - here they fell under a hail of lapilli and returned in horror, but as soon as they crossed the threshold of the house, the ceiling collapsed on them, burying them under its debris. . It was impossible to go outside without covering your head with a pillow, as heavy stones fell on your head along with the ashes. Some managed to delay their death: they hid under the stairwells and in the galleries, spending the last half an hour of their lives there in deathly fear. Later, however, sulfur fumes penetrated there as well.

By the time the terrified residents realized the seriousness and danger of their situation, the streets were already buried under a thick layer of ash, and it kept falling and falling from the sky. Soft ash on the ground, falling ash from the sky, sulphurous fumes in the air...

People, mad with fear and horror, fled, stumbled and fell, dying right on the streets, and they were instantly covered with ashes. Some of them decided to stay in houses where there was no ash, but the houses quickly filled with poisonous fumes, and hundreds of people died from suffocation. Many found their death under the ruins of their own houses, were crushed by roofs that collapsed under the weight of ash.

The last blow of Vesuvius to the unfortunate cities was the fiery wall of lava, which forever buried the once flourishing settlements.

Forty-eight hours later, the sun shone again, but both Pompeii and Herculaneum had already ceased to exist by that time .. In place of olives and green vineyards, in marble villas and throughout the city, ash and undulating lava lay. Everything within a radius of eighteen kilometers was destroyed. Moreover, the ashes were carried even to Syria and Egypt.

Now, over Vesuvius, only a thin column of smoke was visible, and the sky was blue again ...

However, despite the scope of the tragedy, only two thousand of the twenty thousand inhabitants of Pompeii died. Many residents realized in time what the eruption could threaten them with, and tried to quickly leave for a safe place.

Nearly seventeen centuries have passed. In the middle of the 18th century, people of a different culture, other customs took up spades and dug up what had been lying underground for so long.

Before the excavations began, only the very fact of the death of two cities during the eruption of Vesuvius was known. Now this tragic incident gradually emerged more and more clearly, and the reports of ancient writers about it were clothed in flesh and blood. The terrifying scope of this catastrophe and its suddenness became more and more visible: everyday life was interrupted so rapidly that the pigs remained in the ovens, and the bread in the ovens. What story could, for example, be told by the remains of two skeletons, on whose legs slave chains were still preserved? What did these people survive - shackled, helpless, in those hours when everything around was dying? What agony must have been experienced by this dog before dying? She was found under the ceiling of one of the rooms: chained, she rose along with a growing layer of lapilli, penetrating into the room through windows and doors, until, finally, she stumbled upon an insurmountable barrier - the ceiling, yapped at last time and suffocated.

Under the blows of the spade, pictures of the death of families, terrifying human dramas, were revealed. . Some mothers were found with children in their arms; trying to save the children, they covered them with the last piece of cloth, but they died together. Some men and women managed to grab their treasures and run to the gate, but here they were overtaken by a hail of lapilli, and they died, clutching their jewelry and money in their hands.

"Cave Canem" - "Beware of the dog" reads the inscription from the mosaic in front of the door of a house. On the threshold of this house, two girls died: they hesitated to escape, trying to collect their things, and then it was too late to run. At the Hercules Gate, the bodies of the dead lay almost side by side; the load of household belongings that they dragged turned out to be unbearable for them. In one of the rooms, the skeletons of a woman and a dog were found. A careful study made it possible to restore the tragedy that had played out here. Indeed, why was the skeleton of the dog preserved in its entirety, while the remains of the woman were scattered throughout the room? Who could scatter them? Maybe they were taken away by a dog, in which, under the influence of hunger, wolf nature woke up? Perhaps she delayed the day of her death by attacking her own mistress and tearing her to pieces. Not far away, in another house, the events of the fateful day interrupted the wake. The participants in the feast were reclining around the table; so they were found seventeen centuries later - they turned out to be participants in their own funeral.

In one place, death overtook seven children who were playing, suspecting nothing, in a room. In the other, there are thirty-four people and with them a goat, which, apparently, was trying desperately to ring its bell to find salvation in the imaginary strength of a human dwelling. The one who was too slow to escape, neither courage, nor prudence, nor strength could help. A skeleton of a truly Herculean man was found; he also proved unable to protect his wife and fourteen-year-old daughter, who ran ahead of him: all three remained lying on the road. True, in the last effort, the man apparently made one more attempt to rise, but, intoxicated by poisonous fumes, he slowly sank to the ground, rolled over on his back and froze. The ashes that covered him, as it were, took a mold from his body; scientists poured gypsum into this form and received a sculptural image of the deceased Pompeian.

One can imagine what a noise, what a rumble was heard in a covered house, when a person left in it or lagging behind the others suddenly discovered that it was no longer possible to get out through the windows and doors; he tried to cut a hole in the wall with an axe; not finding a way to salvation here, he took to the second wall, and when a stream rushed towards him from this wall, he, exhausted, sank to the floor.

The houses, the temple of Isis, the amphitheater - everything has been preserved intact. There were wax tablets in the offices, papyrus scrolls in the libraries, tools in the workshops, strigils (scrapers) in the baths. On the tables in the taverns there were still dishes and money, thrown in a hurry by the last visitors. Love poems and beautiful frescoes have been preserved on the walls of the taverns.

“AND THE LAST DAY OF POMPEI WAS THE FIRST DAY FOR THE RUSSIAN BRUSH…”

For the first time, Karl Bryullov visited the excavations of Pompeii in the summer of 1827. The history of the tragic catastrophe that befell the ancient city completely captured all the thoughts of the painter. Most likely, it was then that he had the idea to create a monumental historical picture.

The artist began to collect necessary materials before you start painting. An important source of information was for him the letters of an eyewitness to the catastrophe, Pliny the Younger, to the Roman historian Tacitus, which contained details of the catastrophe.

Bryullov studied the customs of ancient Italy, visited Naples several times, explored the ruined Pompeii, walked along its streets, examined in detail the houses preserved under volcanic ash with all the furnishings and utensils. He visited the Neapolitan Museum, where there were amazingly living prints of the bodies of people covered with hot ash. He makes a series of sketches: landscapes, ruins, petrified figures.

The artist visited Pacini's opera The Last Day of Pompeii several times and dressed his sitters in the costumes of the heroes of this performance. Based on materials archaeological sites Bryullov writes not only all household items. He will depict some figures in the very poses that have been preserved by the voids formed in the frozen lava in place of the incinerated bodies - a mother with her daughters, a woman who fell from a chariot, a group of young spouses. The artist took the image of a young man with his mother from Pliny.

In 1830 the artist began work on a large canvas. He wrote at such a limit of spiritual tension that it happened that he was literally taken out of the studio in his arms. However, even shaken health does not stop his work.

And so the final composition of the picture was born.

The crowd in the picture breaks into individual groups, according to which the viewer gradually reads the literary intention of the artist - to depict the feelings and behavior of people in the face of death.

Each group has its own content, arising from the general content of the picture. The mother seeks to shelter the children. The sons save the old father, carry him on their shoulders. The groom carries off the unconscious bride. A weak mother convinces her son not to burden himself, and the father of the family tries to cover his loved ones with the last movement in his life. But the rider, who has much more chances to escape than others, rushes at full speed, not wanting to help anyone. And the priest, whom they used to listen to and trust, cowardly leaves the dying city, hoping to go unnoticed.

In one of the background groups, the artist depicted himself. In his eyes, not so much the horror of death as close attention artist, exacerbated by a terrible sight. He carries on his head the most precious thing - a box with paints and other painting accessories. It seems that he slowed down his steps and tries to remember the picture that unfolded before him.

And here is the finished painting. Preparation for work as a masterpiece took six years of the master's life (1827-1833). But her success was also grandiose.

Long before graduation in Rome, they began to talk about the marvelous work of the Russian artist. When the doors of his studio on St. Claudius Street opened wide to the public, and when the painting was then exhibited in Milan, the Italians came to indescribable delight. The name of Karl Bryullov immediately became known to everyone Italian peninsula from one end to the other. When meeting in the streets, everyone took off his hat to him; when he appeared in the theaters, everyone stood up; at the door of the house where he lived, or the restaurant where he dined, there were always many people gathered to greet him.

The real triumph awaited K. Bryullov at home. The picture was brought to Russia in July 1834, and it immediately became the subject of patriotic pride, was in the center of attention of Russian society. Numerous engraved and lithographic reproductions" last day Pompeii" spread the glory of K. Bryullov far beyond the capital. Best Representatives Russian culture enthusiastically welcomed the famous painting: A.S. Pushkin translated his story into verse, N.V. Gogol called the picture "a universal creation", in which everything "is so powerful, so bold, so harmoniously brought into one, as soon as it could arise in the head of a universal genius." But even these own praises seemed insufficient to the writer, and he called the picture "a bright resurrection of painting. He (K. Bryullov) is trying to grab nature with gigantic embraces."

E.A. Boratynsky, composed a laudatory ode on this occasion. Words from which - "The last day of Pompeii became the first day for the Russian brush!" - later became a famous aphorism.

The owner of the painting, Anatoly Demidov, presented the painting to Nicholas I, who exhibited the painting at the Academy of Arts as a guide for beginner painters. After the opening of the Russian Museum in 1895, the canvas was exhibited there, and the general public gained access to it.

Note.

This is what the painter Karl Pavlovich Bryullov looked like while working on his painting. This is a self-portrait of the artist, dated "circa 1833". He was only 28 years old when he started this work, and 34 when he finished the picture.

This is how he depicted himself on the canvas (remember, with a box on his head ...), he can best be seen on the first fragment of the picture from above.

Russian artist Pushkin era known as a portrait painter and the last romantic of painting, and not in love with life and beauty, but rather, as experiencing tragic conflict. It is noteworthy that small watercolors during his life in Naples were brought by aristocrats from trips as a decorative and entertaining souvenir.

A strong influence on the master's work was exerted by life in Italy, and a trip to the cities of Greece, as well as friendship with A. S. Pushkin. The latter drastically affected the vision of the world of the graduate of the Academy of Arts - the fate of all mankind comes to the fore in his works.

The 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. This is also evidenced by the manuscripts of ancient historians, in particular, Pliny the Younger. He says that Pompeii was famous throughout Italy for its mild climate, healing air and divine nature. Patricians built villas here, emperors and generals came to rest, turning the city into an ancient version of Rublyovka. It is authentically known that there was a theater, plumbing and Roman baths. August 24, 79 CE e. people heard a deafening roar and saw how pillars of fire, ash and stones began to break out of the depths of Vesuvius. The catastrophe was preceded by an earthquake the day before, so most of the people managed to leave the city. The rest did not escape from the ashes that reached Egypt and the volcanic lava. terrible tragedy came in a matter of seconds - the houses collapsed on the heads of the inhabitants, and meter layers of volcanic precipitation covered everyone without exception. Panic broke out in Pompeii, but there was nowhere to run. It is this moment that is depicted on the canvas by K. Bryullov, who saw the streets live ancient city, even under a layer of petrified ash, remaining as they were before the eruption. Painter for a long time collected materials, visited Pompeii several times, examined houses, walked the streets, made sketches of the body prints of people who died under a layer of hot ash. Many figures are depicted in the picture in the same poses - a mother with children, a woman who fell from a chariot and a young couple.

The work was written for 3 years - from 1830 to 1833. The master was so imbued with the tragedy of human civilization that he was taken out of the workshop several times in a semi-conscious state. Interestingly, the themes of destruction and human self-sacrifice are connected in the picture. The first moment you will see in the fire that engulfed the city, the falling statues, the enraged horse and the murdered woman who fell from the 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 hugging 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, who looks madly at the sky and closes his eyes from the ashes with his hand, try to save him at the cost of their lives. A young man holding his dead bride in his arms does not seem to believe that she is no longer alive. The mad horse, which is trying to throw off its rider, seems to convey that nature has not spared anyone. A Christian shepherd in red robes, who does not let go of the censer, fearlessly and terrifyingly calmly looks at the falling statues. pagan gods, as if he sees God's punishment in this. The image of the priest, who, having taken a golden cup and artifacts from the temple, is striking, leaves the city, cowardly looking around. The faces of people are mostly beautiful and reflect not horror, but calmness.

One of them in the background is a self-portrait of Bryullov himself. He clutches the most valuable thing - a box of paints. Pay attention to his look, there is no fear of death in him, there is only admiration for the opened spectacle. The master seems to have stopped and remembers a deadly beautiful moment.

Remarkably, there is no main character on the canvas, there is only a world divided by the elements into two parts. Characters diverge on the proscenium, opening the doors to volcanic hell, and a young woman in a golden dress lying on the ground is a symbol of the death of the sophisticated culture of Pompeii.

Bryullov knew how to work with chiaroscuro, modeling voluminous and lively images. Important role clothes and draperies play here. The robes are depicted in rich colors - red, orange, green, ocher, light blue and blue. Contrasted with them is deathly pale skin, which is illuminated by the glow of lightning.

Continues the idea of ​​dividing the picture with light. He is no longer a way of conveying what is happening, but becomes a living hero of "The Last Day of Pompeii." Lightning flashes yellow, even lemon, cold color, turning the townspeople into living marble statues, and blood-red lava flows over a 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 not saving rain pours, but destructive ash, as if they say that no one can be saved. The dominant color in the painting is red. And this is not the one cheerful color which is meant to give life. Bryullov red is bloody, as if reflecting the biblical Armageddon. The clothes of the heroes, the background of the picture seem to merge with the glow of the volcano. Flashes of lightning illuminate only the foreground.

"The Last Day of Pompeii" is terrible and beautiful. It shows how powerless a person is in front of an angry nature. The talent of the artist is amazing, who managed to convey all the fragility human life. The picture silently screams that there is nothing in the world more important than human tragedy. A thirty-meter monumental canvas opens up to everyone those pages of history that no one wants to repeat. ... Of the 20 thousand inhabitants of Pompeii, 2000 people died on the streets of the city that day. How many of them remained buried under the rubble of houses is unknown to this day.

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It is possible for contemporaries to see through the eyes of a painter last moments life of the inhabitants of the city of Pompeii. It must be admitted that the manner of Raphael and Velasquez is guessed in the artist's hand. The display and detail, so sharply grasped, the saturation of crimson and reddish hues, the technique of chiaroscuro - the master absorbed all the best from the artists of that era. Bryullov himself had a very significant influence on the technique and manner of drawing, Flavitsky, Serov, Moller, and others. He was characterized by a certain academicism and majesty, which he violently displayed in the painting “The Horsewoman” and “The Siege of Pskov”.

In order to implement his idea (and the idea, it must be admitted, was embodied in a very grandiose way - on a canvas measuring 465 × 561 centimeters), Bryullov had to go to the foot of Mount Vesuvius, to see the city ruins of Pompeii. In the same place, on the spot, he made sketches for the future canvas, imagining how the revived Vesuvius spews hundreds of thousands of tons of ash and lava on the confused inhabitants of Pompeii. It took Bryullov 3 years to write the work, and in 1833 he finished writing it.

Immediately after the completion of the painting, it was brought to Rome for viewing - critics and viewers were unanimous in flattering reviews. Then the painting was taken to an exhibition in Paris and placed in the Louvre. There she was seen by a world-famous writer - Walter Scott. He said that the painting is "unusual, epic." A year later, after the completion of the Paris exhibition, the canvas finally arrives in Russia, in St. Petersburg. And here, at home, great figures and writers do not get tired of talking about it. A flattering review was left by Turgenev, and Baratynsky and Pushkin immediately sprinkled aphorisms, immediately banned by the censors.

The style of the work at that time was considered something extraordinary, innovative, because it was ahead of its time. Now this technique is recognized as neoclassicism.
So popular then stories on historical themes, Bryullov turned into a kind of reality - the characters depicted are not static, he is all in motion. Their faces are filled with horror and fear. It seems that the artist himself caught the crowd at this very moment - the reality of the painted figures is so great. Not indifferent to Countess Yulia Pavlovna Samoilova, the royal maid of honor, Bryullov could not deny himself the pleasure of capturing her several times in the picture.

Here she appears on the left side of the canvas on a hill, in the form of a woman with a jug on her head, then the image of a woman who has crashed to death - she and her child (he is alive) were thrown off the broken stairs, and finally, she is a mother hugging her daughter. The artist depicted himself as the same painter on the left in the corner of the picture. The artist depicted in great detail and exaltation a blazing glow and falling marble statues of the gods, over which lightning is scattered.

People, maddened by fear, run away from the destruction, but fail to escape. "The Last Day of Pompeii" presents us with an image of eternal life imprinted.
Currently, the painting belongs to the Russian Museum, where in 1895 it was transferred by Nicholas I.