Karl Pavlovich Bryullov ( Bryullo; ; – ) was a Russian painter and draughtsman during the

Romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

, remembered among the greatest visual artists in the history of

Russian art Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...

Biography

Karl Bryullov was born on 12 (23) December 1799 in St. Petersburg, in the family of the academician, woodcarver, and engraver Pavel Ivanovich Briullo (Brulleau, 1760—1833) who was of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

descent. He felt drawn to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

from his early years. Despite his education at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1809–1821), Bryullov never fully embraced the classical style taught by his mentors and promoted by his brother, Alexander Bryullov. After distinguishing himself as a promising and imaginative student and finishing his education, he left

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

for

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where he worked until 1835 as a portraitist and genre painter, though his fame as an artist came when he began doing historical painting. His best-known work, '' The Last Day of Pompeii'' (1830–1833), is a vast composition compared by Pushkin and

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works " The Nose", " Viy", "The Overcoat", and " Nevsky Prosp ...

to the best works of

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

and

Van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of Frans van Dyck, a wealt ...

. It created a sensation in Italy and established Bryullov as one of the finest European painters of his day. After completing this work, he triumphantly returned to the Russian capital, where he made many friends among the aristocracy and intellectual elite and obtained a high post in the Imperial Academy of Arts. An anecdote concerning Bryullov appeared in

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

's essay " Why Do Men Stupefy Themselves?" and later in the same author's book '' What Is Art?''. While teaching at the academy (1836–1848) he developed a portrait style which combined a neoclassical simplicity with a romantic tendency that fused well, and his penchant for realism was satisfied with an intriguing level of psychological penetration. While he was working on the plafond of St Isaac's Cathedral, his health suddenly deteriorated. Following advice of his doctors, Bryullov left Russia for

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

in 1849 and spent the last three years of his life in

. He died in the village of

Manziana Manziana is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region of Latium, located about northwest of Rome. Manziana borders the following municipalities: Bracciano, Canale Monterano Canale Monterano is a ''comune'' (munic ...

near

and is buried at the Cimitero Acattolico there.

Characteristics of art

Bryullov's work is the pinnacle of late Russian Romanticism when the sense of harmonic wholeness and beauty of the world is replaced by a feeling of tragedy and conflict of life. In the forefront of the historical picture, but its main theme - not the struggle of heroes, as in classicism, and the fate of the huge human masses. In his central work " The Last Day of Pompeii" Bryullov combined the drama of action, romantic lighting effects and sculptural plasticity of figures. The painting brought the artist great fame both in Russia and in Europe. An outstanding master of both ceremonial and chamber portraits, Bryullov evolved in his art from the joyful embrace of life in his early works to the intricate psychologism of his later ones, thus anticipating the achievements of such artists like

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is today Ukraine. He became one of the most renowned artists in Russian Empire, Russia in the 19th century. His major works include ''Barge Haulers on the Volga' ...

in the second half of the 19th century. Bryullov had an enormous influence on Russian artists, among whom he had many followers and imitators.

Selected artwork

File:Karl Brullov - The Last Day of Pompeii - Google Art Project.jpg, '' The Last Day of Pompeii'', 1833,

Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (), formerly known as the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (), on Arts Square in Saint Petersburg, is the world's largest depository of Russian fine art. It is also one of the largest art museums in ...

File:BrullovKP OsadaPskovPolGTG.jpg, '' Siege of Pskov by Polish king

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

'', 1839—1843,

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...

File:Брюллов Явление Аврааму трех ангелов у дуба Мамврийского.jpg, ''Three Angels Appearing to

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

at the

Oak of Mamre The Oak of Mamre (, ''hē drys tēs Mambrḗ'') or Oak of Sibta at Khirbet es-Sibte or Ain Sibta in Hebron in the West Bank is a site venerated by some as the "Oak of Abraham". It is distinct from the more ancient site of Mamre. It owes its name ...

'', 1821,

File:Брюллов Нарцисс.jpg, ''Narcissus'', 1819,

File:Briullov, Karl - A Dream of a Girl Before a Sunrise.jpg, ''A Dream of a Girl Before a Sunrise'', 1830-1833,

Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (, abbreviated as , ''GMII'') is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. It is located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatos ...

File:Brjullov Italianskoe Utro.jpg, ''Italian Morning'', 1823,

Kunsthalle Kiel The Kunsthalle zu Kiel is an art museum in the German city of Kiel. With 2,000 m2 of display space, it is the largest museum in the city. It is north of the city centre on Düsternbrooker Weg. It has a lecture hall, a small cafe and a sculptu ...

File:Brjullov Italianskij Poldenj.jpg, ''Italian Midday'', 1827,

File:Karl Bryullov (Bryullo) - Вирсавия - Google Art Project.jpg, ''

Bathsheba Bathsheba (; , ) was an Kings of Israel and Judah, Israelite queen consort. According to the Hebrew Bible, she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, with whom she had all of her five children. Her status as the mother of Solomon ...

'', 1832,

File:Girl gathering grapes in the vicinity of Naples (1827), by Karl Briullov.jpg, ''Girl, gathering grapes in the vicinity of Naples'', 1827,

File:1832. BRULLOV VSADNICA1.jpg, Horsewoman (Daughters of Pacini, Giovannina and Amazilia), 1832,

File:Svetlana at fortune-telling by K.Brullov (1836, Nizhniy Novgorod museum).jpg, '' Fortuneteller Svetlana'', 1836, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum File:Portrait of Sophia Shuvalova (married name Bobrinskaya).jpg, ''Portrait of Sophia Andreevna Bobrinskaya (Shuvalova)'', 1849,

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

File:Ivan Krylov.jpg, ''Portrait of fabulist Ivan Andreyevich Krylov'' , 1839,

File:Yuliya Samoylova.jpg, ''Portrait of Countess Julia Pavlovna Samoilova moving away from the ball with her adopted daughter Amazilia Pacini (Masquerade)''. Not later than 1842.

Notes

References

Literature

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External links

Karl Bryullov
at the

Russian Academy of Arts Russian Academy of Arts (RAA / rus. РАХ, Росси́йская акаде́мия худо́жеств) is the State scientific Institution of Russian Federation, eligible heir to the USSR Academy of Arts. A founder of RAA is the Governmen ...

' official website *
Karl Bryullov
at the

Web Gallery of Art The Web Gallery of Art (WGA) is a virtual art gallery website. It displays historic European visual art, mainly from the Baroque, Gothic art, Gothic and Renaissance periods, available for educational and personal use. In February 2025, the website ...

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Paintings by Bryullov Karl - high res
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryullov, Karl 1799 births 1852 deaths Painters from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Russian people of French descent Russian people of German descent Russian Orientalist painters Russian neoclassical painters Russian romantic painters 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Burials in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome