A message about Bryullov's painting The Last Day of Pompeii. Secrets of “The Last Day of Pompeii”: Which of his contemporaries did Karl Bryullov depict in the painting four times

Among the masters of Russian romanticism, Karl Bryullov is an outstanding figure. His monumental canvases and portraits of his contemporaries constitute the golden fund of Russian painting. History has preserved the epithets the artist received from his friends: “Brilliant”, “Magnificent”. It was Karl Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” that aroused such high praise, honoring the creator with the title of the great Russian romantic artist. Italian motifs and classical themes of the Renaissance were reflected in Bryullov’s work, making the painting the most important canvas of the artist’s creative path.

“The Last Day of Pompeii”: the history of the painting

79 AD. Volcanic eruption destroys ancient city Roman Empire. During the disaster, more than two thousand inhabitants die, some are buried alive under lava flows. The theme of Pompeii is very popular in the works of the early 19th century. The period between 1748 (the discovery of the ruins of Pompeii as a result of archaeological excavations) and 1835 is marked by many works of painting, music, theatrical arts, literature about this event.

1827. Karl Bryullov personally becomes acquainted with the history of the lost city. He visits the excavations. The young artist did not suspect the fatality of the trip. Then the master will write that he experienced a new sensation, forgetting about everything except the terrible fate that befell the city. The author of the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” was deeply impressed. For several years Bryullov has been working on sources: historical data, literary evidence. The artist studies in detail the history of the region, becoming more and more aware of the theme of the lost city. It is known that the artist communicated with people who carried out archaeological excavations and read a lot of works on the topic.

Karl Pavlovich visits the ancient city many times, taking all the details of the future canvas from life. The sketches and the painting very accurately convey the appearance of Pompeii. Bryullov chose the crossroads known as the “street of tombs” as the location for the action. Here the ancient Pompeians buried the ashes of their deceased ancestors in marble mausoleums. The choice is intentional, filled with deep symbolism.

The artist considered the key point to be the need to illuminate Vesuvius. The volcano, which became the cause of the tragedy, occupies the background of the work, creating a depressing impression, enhancing the monumentalism of the work. Bryullov painted local residents from life. Many Italians living in the vicinity of Vesuvius are descendants of the indigenous inhabitants of the lost city. Having made a sketch of the composition, roughly seeing what the picture would be like, the artist began work on greatest work own creative path.

1830-33. Work on the work, which brought worldwide fame, was in full swing. The canvas was filled with life, the spirit of inevitable death. The picture differs slightly from the original sketch. The point of view has shifted a little, there are more characters. The plan of action, the idea, the stylistic composition, made in the spirit of the works of the era of classicism - everything remains. “The Last Day of Pompeii” is a truly monumental work (4.65 x 6.5 meters).

The picture brought Bryullov world fame. The canvas is sent directly to Rome almost immediately after painting. The reviews from critics were overwhelming. The Italians were delighted to see how deeply the Russian artist felt the historical tragedy, with what painstakingness and involvement he wrote out the smallest details works. The Italians called “The Last Day of Pompeii” a “triumphal” painting. Few Russian artists have received such high praise abroad. The end of the first third of the 19th century for Italy was a turbulent time that foreshadowed strong historical upheavals. Bryullov's painting, saying modern language, has become really trendy. Historical memory – important concept a country that fought for freedom from Austrian rule. The interest of a foreign artist in the heroic past of original Italy only spurred the revolutionary sentiments of the country.

The painting was later sent to Paris. The Louvre was visited by many of Bryullov’s great contemporaries, who wanted to see the magnificent painting with their own eyes. Among those who appreciated the work was the writer Walter Scott, who called the painting extraordinary. In his opinion, the genre of the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” is a real pictorial epic. The artist did not expect such success. Bryullov became a triumph along with the painting.

“The Last Day of Pompeii” went to the artist’s homeland, St. Petersburg, in 1834, where it remains to this day.

Description of the artwork “The Last Day of Pompeii”

The composition of the canvas is made according to strict canons classicism, however, Bryullov’s work is a transitional stage on the path to romanticism. Hence the pronounced theme of tragedy not of a person, but of a people. Appeal to the real historical events- another characteristic romantic feature.

The foreground of the left corner of the picture is a married couple covering their children with their bodies. It shows a woman hugging her daughters and a Christian priest. He expresses calmness and humility, accepting what happened as God’s will. The antipode image of the other characters in the canvas, his eyes do not carry horror. Bryullov laid down deep symbolism, the opposition between Christian and Roman, pagan religion. In the middle of the canvas, the priest, saving temple valuables, runs away from inevitable death. This is how the author marked the historical demise of the pagan religion after the advent of Christianity. On the steps of the tomb on the left we see a woman whose gaze is full of primitive horror. Despair and silent pleas for help are noticeable to everyone. The woman is the only character looking directly, addressing the viewer.

The right side of the picture is the side of the volcano. A thunderous thunderbolt destroys the statues. The sky blazes with a fiery glow, foreshadowing death. Through sharp, dark strokes, the artist metaphorically shows “falling skies.” Ashes are flying. A young man carries a lifeless girl (with a wedding crown on her head). The elements prevented the wedding. Sons carrying their old father take a similar pose. A rearing horse throws off its rider. The young man helps his mother up, persuading her to run.

Located in the center main element compositions. A dead woman lies on the ground, with a baby on her chest. The element carries main idea Bryullov’s paintings “The Last Day of Pompeii”: the death of the old world, the birth of a new era, the opposition of life and death. Symbolism is very characteristic of romanticism.

The hot scarlet flame of the background of the canvas is contrasted with the cold, “dead” light of the foreground. Bryullov enthusiastically plays with chiaroscuro, creating volume, immersing the viewer in what is happening. Russian art criticism rightly considered Karl Pavlovich an innovator who opened a new era of Russian painting.

Interesting facts about the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”

Bryullov’s work conceals many hidden meanings, riddles. It is important for an erudite person not only to know who painted the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”, but also what secrets the painting hides:

• The artist standing on the steps is a self-portrait of the author. Bryullov with this element showed how deeply he experienced the tragedy of the eruption of Vesuvius, sympathizing with the heroes of the canvas;
• Countess Samoilova, the artist’s closest friend and muse, is the model for four characters in the picture (a dead woman, a woman with horror in her eyes, a mother covering her children with a cloak);
• The name of the canvas has actually become popular in the Russian language. “Pompeia” is used in the feminine singular form, but according to the rules the word is plural;
• Bryullov's painting was repeatedly mentioned directly in works of classical Russian literature by Lermontov, Pushkin, Turgenev, Gogol;
• Among the surviving victims of Pompeii is Pliny the Younger, an ancient historian. The artist depicted him as a young man helping his fallen mother rise.

Where is The Last Day of Pompeii located?

Images cannot convey the amazing monumentalism of a famous work of art, so be sure to come to St. Petersburg! 1895 - the canvas becomes part of the permanent exhibition of the Russian Museum. Here you can calmly enjoy the magnificent masterpiece of the famous painter.

Karl Bryullov. The last day of Pompeii. 1833 State Russian Museum

The phrase “The Last Day of Pompeii” is known to everyone. Because the death of this ancient city was once depicted by Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)

So much so that the artist experienced an incredible triumph. First in Europe. After all, he painted the picture in Rome. Italians crowded outside his hotel to have the honor of welcoming the genius. Walter Scott sat in front of the painting for several hours, deeply amazed.

It’s hard to imagine what was going on in Russia. After all, Bryullov created something that immediately raised the prestige of Russian painting to unprecedented heights!

People came in droves to look at the painting day and night. Bryullov was awarded a personal audience with Nicholas I. The nickname “Charlemagne” firmly stuck to him.

Only Alexandre Benois, a famous art historian of the 19th and 20th centuries, dared to criticize Pompeii. Moreover, he criticized very viciously: “Effectiveness...Painting tailored to all tastes...Theatrical loudness...Crackling effects...”

So what struck the majority so much and irritated Benoit so much? Let's try to figure it out.

Where did Bryullov get the plot from?

In 1828, young Bryullov lived and worked in Rome. Shortly before this, archaeologists began excavating three cities that perished under the ashes of Vesuvius. Yes, yes, there were three of them. Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae.

For Europe this was an incredible discovery. After all, before this, they knew about the life of the ancient Romans from fragmentary written evidence. And here are 3 cities, mothballed for 18 centuries! With all the houses, frescoes, temples and public toilets.

Of course, Bryullov could not ignore such an event. And he went to the excavation site. By that time, Pompeii was best cleared. The artist was so amazed by what he saw that he began work almost immediately.

He worked very conscientiously. 5 years. Most of his time was spent collecting materials and sketches. The work itself took 9 months.

Bryullov the documentarian

Despite all the “theatricality” that Benois talks about, there is a lot of truth in Bryullov’s film.

The location of the action was not invented by the master. There is actually such a street at the Herculanean Gate in Pompeii. And the ruins of the temple with the stairs still stand there.

The artist also personally studied the remains of the dead. And he found some of the heroes in Pompeii. For example, a dead woman hugging her two daughters.

Wheels from a cart and scattered jewelry were found on one of the streets. So Bryullov came up with the idea of ​​depicting the death of a noble Pompeian woman.

She tried to escape on a chariot, but an earthquake knocked out a cobblestone from the pavement, and the wheel ran over it. Bryullov depicts the most tragic moment. The woman fell out of the chariot and died. And her baby, having survived the fall, cries next to his mother’s body.

Among the discovered skeletons, Bryullov also saw a pagan priest who tried to take his wealth with him.

On the canvas he showed him tightly clutching attributes for pagan rituals. They consist of precious metals, so the priest took them with him. He does not look in a very favorable light compared to a Christian clergyman.

We can identify him by the cross on his chest. He bravely looks at the enraged Vesuvius. If you look at them together, it is clear that Bryullov specifically contrasts Christianity with paganism not in favor of the latter.

“Correctly” the buildings in the picture are also collapsing. Volcanologists claim that Bryullov depicted an earthquake of 8 points. And very reliably. This is exactly how buildings fall apart during earthquakes of such force.

Bryullov also thought out the lighting very well. The lava of Vesuvius illuminates the background so brightly and saturates the buildings with such red color that they seem to be on fire.

In this case, the foreground is illuminated with white light from a lightning flash. This contrast makes the space especially deep. And believable at the same time.

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Bryullov - theater director

But in the depiction of people, verisimilitude ends. Here Bryullov, of course, is far from realism.

What would we see if Bryullov was more realistic? There would be chaos and pandemonium.

We wouldn't have the opportunity to look at every character. We would see them in fits and starts: legs, arms, some lying on top of others. They would already be pretty dirty with soot and dirt. And the faces would be distorted with horror.

What do we see from Bryullov? Groups of heroes are arranged so that we see each of them. Even in the face of death they are divinely beautiful.

Someone is effectively holding back a rearing horse. Someone gracefully covers their head with dishes. Someone beautifully holds a loved one.

Yes, they are beautiful, like Gods. Even when their eyes are full of tears from the realization of imminent death.

But Bryullov does not idealize everything to such an extent. We see one character trying to catch falling coins. Remaining petty even at such a moment.

Yes it theatrical performance. This is a disaster, as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Benoit was right about this. But it is only thanks to this theatricality that we do not turn away in horror.

The artist gives us the opportunity to sympathize with these people, but not to strongly believe that in a second they will die.

It's more likely beautiful legend than the harsh reality. It's breathtakingly beautiful. No matter how blasphemous it may sound.

Personal in “The Last Day of Pompeii”

In the film you can also see Bryullov’s personal experiences. You can notice that all the main heroines of the canvas have the same face.

IN different ages, with different expressions, but this is the same woman - Countess Yulia Samoilova, the love of the painter Bryullov’s life.

They met in Italy. We even explored the ruins of Pompeii together. And then their romance dragged on, intermittently, for 16 long years. The relationship was free, that is, both he and she allowed themselves to be carried away by others.

Bryullov even managed to get married during this time. True, I quickly got divorced, literally after 2 months. Only after the wedding did he find out terrible secret his new wife. Her lover was her own father, who wished to remain in this status in the future.

After such a shock, only Samoilova consoled the artist.

They separated forever in 1845, when Samoilova decided to marry a very handsome opera singer. Her marital happiness also did not last long. Literally a year later, her husband died of consumption.

Samoilova married for the third time only with the goal of regaining the title of Countess, which she lost due to her marriage to the singer. I've been paying all my life great content to your husband without living with him. Therefore, she died in almost complete poverty.

Of the real people who existed on the canvas, you can also see Bryullov himself. Also in the role of an artist who covers his head with a box of brushes and paints.

Summarize. Why “The Last Day of Pompeii” is a masterpiece

“The Last Day of Pompeii” is monumental in every way. A huge canvas - 3 by 6 meters. Dozens of characters. There are many details by which you can study ancient Roman culture.

“The Last Day of Pompeii” is a story of disaster, beautifully and effectively told. The characters played their roles selflessly. Special effects - on top level. The lighting is phenomenal. This is a theater, but a very professional theater.

No one else in Russian painting could paint a disaster like that. In Western painting, “Pompeii” can only be compared with “The Raft of the Medusa” by Gericault.

Karl Bryullov lived in Italy for more than four years before he reached Pompeii in 1827. At that time he was looking for a plot for big picture on historical topic. What he saw amazed the artist. It took him six years to collect material and paint an epic canvas with an area of ​​almost 30 m2.

In the picture, people of different genders and ages, occupations and faiths, caught in the disaster, are rushing about. However, in the motley crowd you can notice four identical faces...

In the same 1827, Bryullov met the woman of his life - Countess Yulia Samoilova. Having separated from her husband, the young aristocrat, a former maid of honor, who loved a bohemian lifestyle, moved to Italy, where morals are freer. Both the Countess and the artist had a reputation as heartthrobs. Their relationship remained free, but long, and their friendship continued until Bryullov’s death. “Nothing was done according to the rules between me and Karl.”, Samoilova later wrote to his brother Alexander.

Julia with her Mediterranean appearance (there were rumors that the woman’s father was the Italian Count Litta, her mother’s stepfather) was an ideal for Bryullov, moreover, as if created for an ancient plot. The artist painted several portraits of the countess and “gave” her face to the four heroines of the painting, which became his most famous creation. In “The Last Day of Pompeii” Bryullov wanted to show the beauty of a person even in a desperate situation, and Yulia Samoilova was for him a perfect example of this beauty in the real world.

1 Yulia Samoilova. Researcher Erich Hollerbach noted that heroines similar to each other “ Last day Pompeii, despite social differences, look like representatives of one big family, as if the disaster has brought all the townspeople closer together and equalized.

2 Street. “I took this scenery from life, without retreating or adding at all, standing with my back to the city gates in order to see part of Vesuvius as main reason» , Bryullov explained in a letter to his brother the choice of location. This is already a suburb, the so-called Road of the Tombs, leading from the Herculaneum Gate of Pompeii to Naples. Here were the tombs of noble citizens and temples. The artist sketched the location of the buildings during excavations.

3 Woman with daughters. According to Bryullov, he saw one female and two children’s skeletons, covered in these poses with volcanic ash, at excavations. The artist could associate a mother with two daughters with Yulia Samoilova, who, having no children of her own, took in two girls, relatives of friends, to raise. By the way, the father of the youngest of them, composer Giovanni Pacini, wrote the opera “The Last Day of Pompeii” in 1825, and the fashionable production became one of the sources of inspiration for Bryullov.

4 Christian priest. In the first century of Christianity, a minister of the new faith could have appeared in Pompeii; in the picture he can be easily recognized by the cross, liturgical utensils - a censer and a chalice - and a scroll with a sacred text. The wearing of body crosses and pectoral crosses in the 1st century has not been confirmed archaeologically.

5 Pagan Priest. The status of the character is indicated by the cult objects in his hands and the headband - infula. Contemporaries reproached Bryullov for not bringing to the fore the opposition of Christianity to paganism, but the artist did not have such a goal.

8 Artist. Judging by the number of frescoes on the walls of Pompeii, the profession of painter was in demand in the city. Bryullov portrayed himself as an ancient painter running next to a girl with the appearance of Countess Yulia - this is what the Renaissance masters, whose work he studied in Italy, often did.

9 The woman who fell from the chariot. According to art critic Galina Leontyeva, the Pompeian woman lying on the pavement symbolizes the death of the ancient world, for which the artists of classicism yearned.

10 Things, which fell out of the box, like other objects and decorations in the picture, were copied by Bryullov from bronze and silver mirrors, keys, lamps that were filled with olive oil, vases, bracelets and necklaces that belonged to the inhabitants of Pompeii in the 1st century AD. e.

11 Warrior and boy. According to the artist's idea, these are two brothers saving a sick old father.

12 Pliny the Younger. An ancient Roman prose writer who witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius described it in detail in two letters to the historian Tacitus.

13 Mother of Pliny the Younger. Bryullov placed the scene with Pliny on the canvas “as an example of childish and maternal love,” despite the fact that disaster overtook the writer and his family in another city - Misenach (about 25 km from Vesuvius and about 30 km from Pompeii). Pliny recalled how he and his mother got out of Misenum at the height of the earthquake, and a cloud of volcanic ash was approaching the city. It was difficult for the elderly woman to escape, and she, not wanting to cause the death of her 18-year-old son, tried to persuade him to leave her. “I replied that I would be saved only with her; I take her by the arm and make her quicken her pace.”, said Pliny. Both survived.

14 Goldfinch. During a volcanic eruption, birds died in flight.

15 Newlyweds. According to ancient Roman tradition, the heads of newlyweds were decorated with wreaths of flowers. The flammei, the traditional veil of the ancient Roman bride made of thin yellow-orange fabric, fell from the girl’s head.

16 Tomb of Scaurus. Building from the Road of the Tombs, resting place of Aulus Umbricius Scaurus the Younger. The tombs of the ancient Romans were usually built outside the city limits on both sides of the road. During his lifetime, Scaurus the Younger held the position of duumvir, that is, he stood at the head of the city government, and for his services he was even awarded a monument in the forum. This citizen was the son of a wealthy merchant of garum fish sauce (Pompeii was famous for it throughout the empire).

17 Building destruction. Seismologists, based on the nature of the destruction of the buildings depicted in the picture, determined the intensity of the earthquake “according to Bryullov” - eight points.

18 Vesuvius. The eruption occurred on August 24-25, 79 AD. e., destroyed several cities of the Roman Empire located at the foot of the volcano. Of the 20-30 thousand inhabitants of Pompeii, about two thousand were not saved, judging by the remains found.

Bryullov Karl Pavlovich (1799-1852)

Not a single European artist was awarded such a grandiose triumph in the 19th century as befell the young Russian painter Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, when in mid-1833 he opened the doors of his Roman workshop to spectators with a newly completed painting" ". Like Byron, he had the right to say about himself that one fine morning he woke up famous. The word "success" is not enough to characterize the attitude towards it picture. There was something more at hand - painting caused an explosion of delight and admiration among the audience for the Russian artist, who seemed to have opened a new page in the history of world art.

Autumn 1833 painting appeared on exhibition V Milan. Here the triumph of the Russian master reached its highest point. Everyone wanted to see the work “that all of Rome is talking about.” IN Italian newspapers and magazines published rave reviews about " The last day of Pompeii"and its author. Just as the great masters of the Renaissance were once honored, so now they have begun to honor Bryullov. He became the most famous person in Italy. He was greeted with applause on the street and given a standing ovation in the theater. Poets dedicated poems to him. When traveling at 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.

In 1834, "" was exhibited at the Paris Salon. French Academy arts awarded Bryullov gold medal. One of the first biographers Bryullov, N.A. Ramazanov, says that, despite the envious talk of some French artists, the Parisian public mainly focused its attention on " The last day of Pompeii"and with difficulty and reluctance left this paintings".

Never before has the glory of Russian art spread so widely throughout Europe. Even greater celebration awaited Bryullov at home.

Brought to St. Petersburg in July 1834 and exhibited first in the Hermitage and then at the Academy of Arts, it immediately became the center of attention of Russian society and became a subject of patriotic pride.

“Crowds of visitors, one might say, burst into the halls of the Academy to look at Pompeii,” says a contemporary. In his official annual report Academy of Arts admitted Bryullovskaya picture the best creation 19th century. Widely distributed engraved playback "The last day of Pompeii". They smashed glory Bryullov throughout the country, far beyond the capital. The best representatives of Russian culture enthusiastically welcomed picture. Pushkin wrote:

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

Under the stone rain, under the inflamed ashes,

Crowds, old and young, are running out of the city.

Gogol wrote about " The last day of Pompeii"an extensive article in which he acknowledged this picture“a complete universal creation,” where everything is “so powerful, so bold, so harmoniously combined into one, as only it could arise in the head of a universal genius.”

Bryullov's painting raised an unusually high interest in painting in the widest circles of Russian society. Incessant talk about " The last day of Pompeii"in the press, in correspondence, in private conversations, they clearly showed that a work of painting is capable of exciting and touching people no less than literature. Increasing public role visual arts in Russia it began precisely with the Bryullov celebrations.

History painting, which has long occupied leading place in academic art, she turned mainly to subjects taken from the Bible and Gospel or from ancient mythology. But even in cases where plot paintings was not a legendary tale, but a real historical event, the painters of the Academy were, in essence, very far from historical authenticity in their understanding and interpretation of what was depicted. They weren't looking historical truth, because their goal was not to recreate the past, but to embody one or another abstract idea. In their paintings Historical figures took on the appearance of conventional “ancient heroes,” regardless of whether an event from ancient Roman or Russian history was depicted.

" paved the way for a completely different understanding and interpretation of the historical topic.

In search of life's truth Bryullov, the first among Russian artists, set himself the goal of recreating in picture a real event of the past, based on the study of historical sources and archaeological data.

In comparison with the fantastic "archaeology" of its predecessors Bryullov this external historicism was in itself a serious innovative achievement. However, they do not exhaust the meaning Bryullovsky paintings. Archaeological authenticity served Bryullov only a means for a deeper disclosure of the topic, for expressing modern attitude to the past.

"Thought paintings belongs entirely to the taste of our age, which, as if feeling its terrible fragmentation, strives to unite all phenomena in general groups and chooses strong crises felt by the whole mass,” wrote Gogol, revealing the content of “ The last day of Pompeii".

Unlike the previous historical painting with its hero cult and emphasis on the individual as opposed to the impersonal crowd, Bryullov conceived "" as a mass stage in which the only and true hero would be the people. All major characters V picture are almost equivalent exponents of its theme; meaning paintings is embodied not in the depiction of a single heroic act, but in an attentive and accurate transmission of the psychology of the masses.

At the same time Bryullov with deliberate and even sharp straightforwardness, he emphasizes the main contrasts, which express the idea of ​​​​the struggle between the new and the old, life with death, the human mind with the blind power of the elements. Everything is subordinated to this thought ideological And artistic solution paintings, from here come its features that determined the place " The last day of Pompeii" in Russian art of the 19th century century.

Subject The paintings are taken from ancient Roman history. Pompey(or rather Pompeii) - an ancient Roman city located at the foot of Vesuvius - on August 24, 79 AD, as a result of a powerful volcanic eruption, it was filled with lava and covered with stones and ash. Two thousand residents (of which there were about 30,000 in total) died on the streets of the city during a stampede.

For more than one and a half thousand years, the city remained buried underground and forgotten. Only in late XVI century, during excavation work, a place was accidentally discovered where a lost Roman settlement had once been located. Since 1748, archaeological excavations began, especially intensified in the first decades of the 19th century. They aroused increased interest in artistic circles not only in Italy, but throughout the world. Each new discovery became a sensation among artists and archaeologists, and the tragic subject and Pompeii At the same time it was used in literature, painting and music. Opera appeared in 1829 Italian composer Paccini, in 1834 - historical novel English writer Bulverlitton Last days of Pompeii". Bryullov was the first to turn to this topic: sketches of his future paintings date back to 1827-1828.

Bryullov was 28 years old when he decided to write "". The fifth year of his retirement in Italy was ending. He already had several serious works under his belt, but none of them seemed to the artist quite worthy of his talent; he felt that he had not yet lived up to the hopes that were placed on him.

From Bryullov were waiting big historical painting- specifically historical, because in the aesthetics of the early 19th century this type of painting was considered the highest. Without breaking with the dominant aesthetic views of his time, Bryullov and he himself sought to find a plot that would meet the internal capabilities of his talent and at the same time be able to satisfy the requirements that could be presented to him by modern criticism and the Academy of Arts.

Looking for such a story Bryullov I hesitated for a long time between themes from Russian history and ancient mythology. He intended to write picture "Oleg nails his shield to the gates of Constantinople", and later outlined a plot from stories Peter the Great. At the same time, he made sketches on mythological themes (" Death of Phaeton", "Hylas, stolen by nymphs"and others). But mythological themes, highly valued at the Academy, contradicted the realistic tendencies of the young Bryullov, and for the Russian theme, being in Italy, he could not collect material.

Subject destruction of Pompeii resolved many difficulties. The plot itself, if not traditional, was still undoubtedly historical, and from this side it satisfied the basic requirements of academic aesthetics. The action was supposed to unfold against the backdrop of the ancient city with its classical architecture and monuments of ancient art; the world of classical forms thus entered into picture without any deliberateness, as if by itself, but the spectacle of raging elements and tragic death opened up access to romantic images in which the painter’s talent could find new, never-before-seen opportunities for depicting great feelings, passionate emotional impulses and deep experiences. It is not surprising that the topic captivated and captured Bryullov: it combines all the conditions for the most complete expression of his thoughts, knowledge, feelings and interests.

Sources based on which Bryullov solved his topic, genuine ancient monuments appeared, discovered in the lost city, the works of archaeologists and descriptions disasters V Pompeii, made by a contemporary and eyewitness, Roman writer Pliny the Younger.

Work on " The last day of Pompeii" dragged on for almost six years (1827-1833), and is evidence of deep and intense creative quest Bryullov There are numerous drawings, studies and sketches that clearly show how the artist’s idea developed.

Among these preparatory works, the sketch of 1828 occupies a special place. In terms of the power of artistic influence, it is perhaps not inferior to picture. True, the sketch remained not completely finalized, individual images and characters were only outlined in it, and not fully revealed; but this external incompleteness is uniquely combined with deep internal completeness and artistic persuasiveness. The meaning of individual episodes, subsequently developed in detail in picture, here it seems to dissolve in a general passionate impulse, in a single tragic feeling, in the integral image of a dying city, powerless against the pressure of the elements falling on it. The sketch is based on the romantically understood idea of ​​man’s struggle with fate, which here is personified by the elemental forces of nature. Death approaches with inevitable cruelty, like ancient fate, and man with all his mind and will is unable to resist fate; all he can do is face his inevitable death with courage and dignity.

But Bryullov did not dwell on this solution to his topic. He was not satisfied with the sketch precisely because the notes of hopeless pessimism, blind submission to fate and disbelief in human strength sounded so persistently in it. Such an understanding of the world stood outside the traditions of Russian culture and contradicted its healthy folk foundations. The life-affirming power inherent in talent Bryullov, could not come to terms with " The last day of Pompeii", demanded exit and permission.

Bryullov found this way out by contrasting the spiritual greatness and beauty of man with the destructive elements of nature. For him, plastic beauty turns into a powerful force that affirms life in the face of death and destruction. “... His figures are beautiful despite all the horror of their situation. They drown it out with their beauty,” wrote Gogol, who subtly noticed the main idea Bryullovsky paintings.

In an effort to express the diversity psychological states and shades of feelings that gripped the inhabitants of the dying city, Bryullov built my own picture as a cycle of separate, closed episodes, not connected by plot. Their ideological meaning becomes clear only when one simultaneously looks at all the groups and independent plot motifs that make up "".

The idea of ​​beauty triumphing over destruction is expressed with particular clarity in the group of figures crowded on the steps of the tomb on the left side paintings. Bryullov deliberately combined here the images of blooming strength and youth. Neither suffering nor horror distorts their ideally beautiful features; On their faces one can read only an expression of surprise and anxious expectation. Titanic power is felt in the figure of the young man, making his way through the crowd with a passionate impulse. It is characteristic that in this world of beautiful classical images inspired by ancient sculpture, Bryullov adds a noticeable touch of realism; many of his characters are undoubtedly drawn from life, and among them stands out the self-portrait of himself Bryullov, who portrayed himself as a Pompeian artist who, fleeing the city, takes with him a box of brushes and paints.

In the main groups on the right side paintings The main motives are those that emphasize the spiritual greatness of a person. Here Bryullov concentrated examples of courage and selfless performance of duty.

In the foreground there are three groups: “two young Pompeians carrying their sick old father on their shoulders”, “Pliny with his mother” and “young spouses” - a young husband supporting his wife, who is falling in exhaustion, crowned with a wedding wreath. However, the last group is almost not developed psychologically and has the character of a compositional insertion necessary for rhythmic balance paintings. Much more meaningful is the group of sons carrying their father: in the image of an old man, majestically extending his hand, a proud inflexibility of spirit and stern courage are expressed. In the depiction of the youngest son, a black-eyed Italian boy, one feels an accurate and direct sketch from life, in which a living realistic feeling is clearly manifested Bryullov.

Realistic principles are expressed with particular force in the remarkable group of Pliny and his mother. In sketches and early sketches, this episode is developed in classical forms, emphasizing the historicity and antique nature of the scene. But in picture Bryullov decisively departed from the original plan - the images he created amaze with their unbiased and genuine vitality.

IN center paintings there is a prostrate figure of a young woman who was killed when falling from a chariot. It can be assumed that in this figure Bryullov wanted to symbolize the entire dying ancient world; A hint of such an interpretation is also found in the reviews of contemporaries. In accordance with this intention, the artist sought to find the most perfect classical embodiment for this figure. Contemporaries, including Gogol, saw in her one of the most poetic creatures Bryullov.

Not all episodes are the same important to develop the theme, but in their alternation and comparison it persistently reveals the main idea Bryullov about the struggle of life with death, about the triumph of reason over the blind forces of the elements, about the birth of a new world on the crumbling ruins of the old.

It is no coincidence that next to the central figure murdered woman the artist depicted a beautiful baby as a symbol of the inexhaustible power of life; It is no coincidence that the images of youth and old age are contrasted in the groups of Pliny with his mother and sons carrying an elderly father; Finally, the emphasized contrast between the “pagan”, anciently beautiful crowd on the steps of the tomb and the majestically calm “family of Christians” is not accidental. IN picture there is both a pagan priest and a Christian priest, as if personifying the departing ancient world and the Christian civilization emerging on its ruins.

The images of the priest and priest are perhaps not deep enough; their spiritual world is not shown in picture and the characterization remained largely external; this subsequently gave V.V. Stasov a reason to severely reproach Bryullov because he did not use the opportunity to sharply contrast the decrepit, dying Rome and young Christianity. But the thought of these two worlds is undoubtedly present in picture. With simultaneous and integral perception paintings stands out clearly organic connection its constituent episodes. The shades of feelings and various states of mind, acts of valor and self-sacrifice next to manifestations of despair and fear are given in " The last day of Pompeii"towards a harmonious, harmonious and artistically integral unity.

Wonderful canvases. L., 1966. P.107

Restoration of the painting The Last Day of Pompeii

An exceptional event in the life of the Russian Museum was K. P. Bryullova"". Numerous previous restorations only delayed the moment of beginning fundamental work on the canvas - the canvas of the painting “burnt out” and became fragile; in places where the canvas had been broken, there were 42 patches that appeared on the front side; the loss of the paint layer was tinted with the addition of the original painting; The varnish coating has changed greatly in color. After strengthening, the painting was transferred to a new canvas. This wonderful work was done by the restorers I. N. Kornyakova, A. V. Minin, E. S. Soldatenkov; advised by S. F. Konenkov.

Painting by K. P. Bryullov “The Last Day of Pompeii” entered the Russian Museum from the Hermitage in 1897. After a major restoration in 1995, the painting was stretched onto a previously repaired designer stretcher and returned to the exhibition.

The decision to begin restoration of the painting was made at a meeting of the expanded Restoration Council of the State Russian Museum on March 15, 1995.

At the beginning of the work, it was strengthened with preventive paper gluing and then the canvas was removed from the author's stretcher. After this, the painting was stretched over the edges on the marble floor with the colorful surface down and the back side was cleaned of surface dirt. WITH back side Two layers of ancient restoration duplicating edges were removed, which were the cause of severe deformations of the canvas along the edges, and more than 40 restoration patches that stood in place of old breaks in the canvas. Places over hundreds of losses of the author's canvas, especially numerous along the edges, were repaired with inserts of new canvas. After this, the painting was duplicated onto a new canvas, identical in character and quality to the author’s, ordered in Germany. Places where the paint layer was lost were filled with restoration primer and tinted with watercolors. The designer's varnish is completely restored by regeneration with alcohol vapor.

In the process of work, methods for strengthening the paint layer and soil over a large space were developed. An important result of the work was the development of new devices that facilitate and simplify the process of technical restoration. According to a special project, a durable duralumin stretcher was created with a system of special fastenings for stretching the duplicating canvas. This system made it possible to repeatedly tighten the canvas to the desired tension during the work.

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L. Osipova

Alexander Bryullov. Self-portrait. 1830.

“Karl, just imagine - eighteen centuries ago everything was exactly the same: the sun was shining dazzlingly, the pine trees were blackening along the edges of the road and donkeys, loaded with luggage, were stumbling over stones. We are on the main road leading to Pompeii. These are the ruins - Vacation home rich Diomedes, excavations are still underway here, further on is Cicero’s Villa. Next is the hotel, here they found a lot of pottery, marble mortars, on a stone board there was a trace of what looked like a liquid that had just been spilled, and in the cellars there were wheat grains. If you crushed them and baked them, you could taste the most classic bread, which in our romantic era, I think, would amaze many with its taste. Bah, don’t you think that everything has become very lively? Crowds of people rush to the city. Here they are carrying some important gentleman on a stretcher. He is in a tunic of dazzling white, pinned on the shoulder with a gold buckle, in knee-length sandals decorated with diamonds, and behind him is a whole cortege of servants. Do you hear the cries of the mob? Chariots appeared, but it was so difficult for them to move, the narrow streets were all crowded with people. Everything is clear - everyone is rushing to the amphitheater. Today the battles between gladiators and wild animals are scheduled.

Or maybe the judges sentenced one of the guilty to end his life in the arena in a fight with lions just brought from Africa? Oh, of course, this is a sight that no Pompeian can miss.

Karl Bryullov. Self-portrait. OK. 1833.
- Calm down, your imagination is starting to bite! Just look at it, we ourselves will find ourselves condemned. - The Bryullov brothers laugh and, sitting down on a roadside stone, plunge into silence, broken only by the rustling of lizards and the rustle of thorny grass... Alexander gets up and, finding on the dilapidated steps, opens a large album and begins to draw. A little later, Karl joins him. But they draw differently. Alexander, as an architect, is interested in the relationships of parts, the proportions that the builders of Pompeii adopted from the Greeks. Every now and then he runs up to Karl, asking him to pay attention to this simplicity and elegance of lines, combined with the richness and even sophistication of decorations - the capitals of the columns are either in the form of entwined dolphins, or a group of fauns, one of whom is teaching the other to play the flute, that interweaving of fantastic fruits and leaves... Sophistication, an excess of imagination - this is already a phenomenon of modern times, the influence of Rome. And so it is with the Pompeians in everything: in the richest houses, all the rooms, even the banquet halls, are very small, according to the Greek model - after all, the number of guests must correspond to the number of graces (three) or the number of muses (nine). Meanwhile, it is known that Pompeii was not famous for moderation in food and pleasure. Vice versa. At the feasts here they served sirloin parts of an African lion, smoked camel legs, grape-fed foxes, aromatic rabbits, ostrich brain sauce, earthen spiders, not to mention iced wines scented with aromatic herbs... No, our imagination is powerless for all this imagine... Yes, Greece and Rome met in Pompeii in order to be buried in ash and stones for many centuries after the eruption of Vesuvius in August 79 after the birth of Christ...
Karl listens to his brother in half an ear. He sketches a sketch in a pencil in the album, regretting that he did not bring paints. He is already in the power of living beauty, he enjoys.
How amazing is the effect of light here, piercing and soft! And the throughness of the marble leaves an impression of tenderness. The torso of Venus, the statue of an athlete, recently dug up, cleared of earth, seem more authentic, natural than living people - this is the best people. Here it is - this world, which he began to comprehend since childhood.
Father - Pavel Ivanovich Bryullov, academician of ornamental sculpture, forced children to draw from antiques as soon as they learned to hold a pencil in their hands. At the age of ten, Karl was accepted as a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, and at fourteen he received a silver medal for a drawing in which, according to everyone, he revived the times of Phidias and Polykleitos. In the dead world of marble, he felt like he belonged, because with his whole being he felt the laws by which this world was created. Oh, how he believed in his own strength now! To embrace all objects, to clothe them in harmony, to turn all the feelings of the viewer into a calm and endless enjoyment of beauty. To create art that would penetrate everywhere: into a poor man’s hut, under the marble of columns, into a square seething with people - as it was in this city, as it was in distant bright Greece...
...Several years have passed. Alexander went to Paris to improve his knowledge and talent. He also had one more intention, which he soon happily carried out. He published a book about excavations in Pompeii - on luxurious paper, with his own drawings and drawings. The merits of the book were appreciated so much that after a very short time its author was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Architecture in London and a member of the Milan Academy of Arts. Alexander did not so much revel in fame as rejoice - he finally had something to report to the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, which seven years ago, in 1822, sent him and his brother abroad after they graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. But Karl... My God, what rumors have reached here about him from Rome! He managed to become known as a wonderful portrait painter, and every eminent Russian gentleman who came to Italy was in a hurry to order his portrait from him. But it would be a disaster if this man began to inspire antipathy in Karl. He could receive him (as was the case with Count Orlov-Davydov) in the most casual suit and the most careless pose and calmly declare that he was not in the mood to work today. Scandal!..


One of the sketches for the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii".

However, news reached Alexander that Karl had recently been making sketches for a large canvas, which he proposed to call “The Last Day of Pompeii.” This made him so happy that he immediately sat down to write a letter, in which he eagerly inquired whether his brother was going to use historical sources or it will be the fruit of his free imagination; Doesn’t he think that the death of Pompeii was predetermined from above: the Pompeians were wallowing in luxury and amusements, frivolously disregarding all signs and predictions, and languishing the first Christians in prison; where he suggests the scene of the picture; and most importantly, let him, for God’s sake, not be distracted from great work, which, perhaps, is destined for him to reveal his genius to the whole world.
His brother's letter caught Karl in an angry moment. He has already moved from sketches to canvas. It was enormous in size - 29 square meters. He worked voraciously, almost without breaks, to the point of complete exhaustion, so that he was often carried out of the workshop. And then the owner came asking to pay the bills...
Of course, everyone already doubts that he is capable of creating anything worthwhile. The Society for the Encouragement of Artists has not paid him a pension for the second year. They just gossip around about his frivolous and careless disposition. But a brother should know that if he works out of passion, then even if you put a shroud on him, he will not stop working.

K. P. Bryullov "The Last Day of Pompeii", 1830–1833. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.

Karl took up pen and ink only in extreme cases. And then he decided: he will write now - both to his brothers (brother Fedor, also an artist, lived in St. Petersburg), and to the Encouragement Society. “The scenery... I took everything from life, without retreating or adding at all, standing with my back to the city gates so as to see part of Vesuvius as the main reason - without what would it look like a fire? right side I place groups of mothers with two daughters on their laps (these skeletons were found in this position); behind this group you can see a group of people crowding on the stairs... covering their heads with stools and vases (the things they saved were all taken by me from the museum). Near this group is a fleeing family, thinking to find refuge in the city: the husband, covering himself with a cloak and his wife holding infant, covering with his other hand the eldest son lying at his father’s feet; in the middle of the picture there is a fallen woman, deprived of feelings; the baby on her chest, no longer supported by the mother’s hand, grasping her clothes, calmly looks at the living scene of death..."
Dozens of sketches and sketches, several years of exhausting work. No, it was not the horror of doom, nor the nearness of death that he wrote. “Passion, true, fiery feelings are expressed in such a beautiful appearance, in such a wonderful person, that you enjoy to the point of rapture,” Gogol said after seeing the picture. The death of a sensually beautiful, irreversible world. Yes, fame came to the artist. Triumph accompanied his appearance on the streets and in the theater. In St. Petersburg, a wreath of laurels was placed on his head; magazines wrote that his works were the first that could be understood by an artist with the highest development of taste, and who does not know what art is.
Well, Bryullov treated fame as a given, as a burden, not at all burdensome. He laughed carelessly when Alexander, hugging him with tears, insisted that he had done more for Pompeii than any archaeologist or scientist...