Message on the painting the last day of pompeii. What Karl Bryullov encrypted in the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" & nbsp
The famous painting by Karl Bryullov "The Last Day of Pompeii" was painted in 1830-1833. On this epic canvas, the painter captured the death of the city of Pompeii as a result of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
In search of authenticity, Bryullov visited the excavations of the deceased city. The figures and faces of people were created by the painter from nature, from the inhabitants of Rome. Almost all the objects depicted in the picture, the artist painted from the original things stored in the Museum of Naples.
Bryullov depicts a truly hellish picture. In the distance, a volcano is burning, from the depths of which streams of fiery lava spread in all directions. Reflections of flame from burning lava illuminate the back of the canvas with a reddish glow. A flash of lightning, cutting through the cloud of ash and burning, illuminates the front of the painting.
In his painting, Bryullov uses a bold color scheme for his time. The painter pays the closest attention to the aerial perspective - he manages to create a feeling of deep space.
Before us is a whole sea of human suffering. In the hour of real tragedy, human souls are exposed. Here is a man protecting his loved ones, desperately raised his hand, as if trying to stop the elements. The mother, passionately embracing her children, looks at the sky with a plea for mercy. Here are the sons on their shoulders trying to carry the weak old father away from danger. A young boy persuades his fallen mother to gather strength and flee. In the center of the picture is a deceased woman and a baby reaching out for the lifeless body of its mother.
The painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" reminds the viewer that the main value of the world is man. The artist contrasts his physical beauty and spiritual greatness with the destructive forces of nature. The picture caused an explosion of admiration and admiration, both in Italy and in Russia. A.S. Pushkin and N.V. Gogol enthusiastically welcomed the work.
In addition to describing the painting by K. P. Bryullov "The Last Day of Pompeii", our website contains many other descriptions of paintings by various artists, which can be used both in preparation for writing an essay on the painting, and simply for a more complete acquaintance with the work of famous masters of the past ...
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K. P. Bryullov
The last day of Pompeii. 1830-1833
Canvas, oil. 465.5 × 651 cm
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
The last day of Pompeii is a painting by Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, painted in 1830-1833. The painting had an unprecedented success in Italy, was awarded a gold medal in Paris, in 1834 it was delivered to St. Petersburg.
Karl Bryullov first visited Naples and Vesuvius in July 1827, in the fourth year of his stay in Italy. He had no specific purpose of the journey, but there were several reasons for undertaking this journey. In 1824, the painter's brother, Alexander Bryullov, visited Pompeii and, despite the restraint of his nature, enthusiastically talked about his impressions. The second reason for visiting was the hot summer months and almost always the accompanying outbreaks of fever in Rome. The third reason was the recently rapidly emerging friendship with Princess Yulia Samoilova, who also went to Naples.
The sight of the lost city stunned Bryullov. He stayed in it for four days, more than once bypassing all the nooks and crannies. “Going to Naples that summer, neither Bryullov himself nor his companion knew that this accidental journey would lead the artist to the highest peak of his work - the creation of the monumental historical painting The Last Day of Pompeii,” writes art critic Galina Leontyeva.
In 1828, during his next visit to Pompeii, Bryullov made many sketches for a future painting about the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. NS. and the destruction of this city. The canvas was exhibited in Rome, where it received rave reviews from critics, and was sent to the Louvre in Paris. This work was the first painting by the artist to arouse such interest abroad. Walter Scott called the painting "unusual, epic."
The classical theme, thanks to the artistic vision of Bryullov and the abundant play of chiaroscuro, resulted in a work that was several steps ahead of the neoclassical style. "The Last Day of Pompeii" perfectly characterizes classicism in Russian painting, mixing with idealism, an increased interest in plein air and a passionate love of that time for such historical subjects. The artist's image in the left corner of the painting is a self-portrait of the author.
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The canvas also depicts Countess Yulia Pavlovna Samoilova three times - a woman with a jug on her head, standing on a dais on the left side of the canvas; a woman who had crashed to death, sprawled on the pavement, and next to her a living child (both were presumably thrown out of a broken chariot) - in the center of the canvas; and a mother attracting daughters to her in the left corner of the picture.
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In 1834 the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" was sent to St. Petersburg. Alexander Ivanovich Turgenev said that this picture was the glory of Russia and Italy. EA Baratynsky wrote on this occasion the famous aphorism: "The last day of Pompeii became the first day for the Russian brush!" Alexander Pushkin responded with a poem: “Idols are falling! The people driven by fear ... ”(this line was forbidden by the censorship). In Russia, Bryullov's canvas was perceived not as a compromise, but as an exclusively innovative work.
Anatoly Demidov presented the painting to Nicholas I, who exhibited it at the Academy of Arts as a guide for novice painters. After the opening of the Russian Museum in 1895, the canvas moved there, and the general public gained access to it.
The last day of Pompeii - Karl Pavlovich Bryullov. 1830. Oil on canvas. 456.5x651
An outstanding master of historical paintings and portraits, Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (1799-1852) is a prominent representative of romanticism painting, which painted the era of the first half of the XlX century. He was often accompanied by the epithets "Brilliant Karl", "Karl the Magnificent", rarely did anyone get such fame and recognition of his contemporaries. Having received his art education in Russia, Bryullov went to Italy to improve his painting skills.
About the plot of the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii"
The plot of the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" taken from ancient history - the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the collapse of the city of Pompeii (II century BC). The omnipotence of blind fate is a favorite theme of the art of romanticism. The death of people, their confusion and horror before the impending collapse of the city are conveyed by the artist in an interesting and complex multi-figured composition. With theatrical effectiveness of poses and gestures, various facial expressions, fluttering draperies of clothes, the painter shows all the drama of the scene, however, despite the impending death, the heroes, even in suffering, do not lose their beauty and greatness of spirit. This was the philosophy and aesthetics of romanticism. Bryullov's painting with the inherent mastery of the beauty of form and the solemnity of bright colors contributes to the transfer of the pathetic mood of the unfolding action.After the execution of this monumental canvas, the artist gained European fame. Moving at the end of his life to Italy, he finally settled there and became an honorary member of the Academy of Arts in Milan, Florence, Bologna and the Academy of St. Luke in Rome.
Nearly 2000 years ago, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed several ancient Roman settlements, including the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Futurist chronicles the events of August 24-25, 79 AD.
The ancient Roman writer and lawyer Pliny the Younger said that it happened in the seventh hour after sunrise (at about noon) on August 24. His mother pointed out to his uncle, Pliny the Elder, a cloud of unusual size and shape that had arisen at the top of the mountain. Pliny the Elder, who at the time was the commander of the Roman fleet, went to Misena to observe the rare natural phenomenon. Over the next two days, 16 thousand inhabitants of the Roman settlements of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia died: their bodies were buried under a layer of ash, stones and pumice, thrown out by the raging volcano Vesuvius.
Casts of bodies found during excavations are now exhibited inside the Baths of Stabian at the archaeological site in Pompeii
Since then, interest in Pompeii has not faded: modern researchers draw digital maps of the ruined city and go on archaeological expeditions to show us the daily life of people who fell at the foot of the volcano.
Letters from Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus, the results of excavations and volcanological evidence allow scientists to reconstruct the timeline of the eruption.
Ruins of Pompeii against the background of Vesuvius
12:02 Pliny's mother tells his uncle Pliny the Elder about a strange cloud that appeared over Vesuvius. Before that, for several days the city was shaken by tremors, although this was uncharacteristic for the Campania region. Pliny the Younger would later describe this phenomenon as follows:
“A huge black cloud was rapidly approaching ... from it every now and then long, fantastic tongues of flame, reminiscent of flashes of lightning, only much larger ones burst out” ...
Winds carry most of the ash to the southeast. The "Plinian phase" of the eruption begins.
13:00 Ash begins to fall east of the volcano. Pompeii is just six miles from Vesuvius.
14:00 Ash first falls on Pompeii, then white pumice. The layer of volcanic sediments that has covered the ground is growing at a rate of 10-15 cm per hour. Ultimately, the pumice layer will be 280 cm thick.
The Last Day of Pompeii, painting by Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, painted in 1830-1833.
17:00 Rooftops collapse under the mass of volcanic sediments in Pompeii. Fist-sized stones are raining down on the city at a speed of 50 m / s. The sun is covered with an ash veil, and people seek refuge in the pitch darkness. Many rush to the harbor of Pompeii. In the evening comes the turn of gray pumice.
23:15 The "Peleus eruption" begins, the first wave of which hit Herculaneum, Boscoreale and Oplontis.
00:00 The 14-kilometer column of ash has grown to 33 kilometers. Pumice and ash enter the stratosphere. Over the next seven hours, six pyroclastic waves (a gassing stream of ash, pumice and lava) will strike the area. Death overtakes people everywhere. Here is how volcanologist Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo describes the night for National Geographic:
“The temperature outside and indoors has risen to 300 ° C. This is more than enough to kill hundreds of people in a split second. When the pyroclastic wave swept over Pompeii, people did not have time to suffocate. The distorted postures of the victims' bodies are not a consequence of prolonged agony, it is a spasm from a heat shock that bent already dead limbs. "
Undoubtedly, he was sufficiently respected for his skill long before the creation of this masterpiece. Nevertheless, it was "The Last Day of Pompeii" that brought Bryullov, without exaggeration, worldwide fame. Why did the catastrophe painting have such an impact on the public, and what secrets does it still hide from the audience?
Why Pompeii?
At the end of August 79 AD, as a result of the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano, the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and many small villages became graves for several thousand local residents. Real archaeological excavations of the areas sunk into oblivion began only in 1748, that is, 51 years before the birth of Karl Bryullov himself. It is clear that archaeologists have worked not one day, but several decades. Thanks to this circumstance, the artist managed to personally visit the excavations and wander along the ancient Roman streets already freed from the frozen lava. Moreover, at that moment it was Pompeii that turned out to be the most cleared.
Together with Bryullov, Countess Yulia Samoilova, for whom Karl Pavlovich had warm feelings, also walked there. Later, she will play a huge role in the creation of the lover's masterpiece, and even more than one. Bryullov and Samoilova had the opportunity to see the buildings of the ancient city, restored household items, the remains of dead people. All this left a deep and vivid imprint on the fine nature of the artist. It was in 1827.
Disappearing characters
Impressed Bryullov almost immediately got down to work, and, moreover, very seriously and thoroughly. He visited the vicinity of Vesuvius more than once, making sketches for the future canvas. In addition, the artist got acquainted with the manuscripts that have survived to this day, including letters from an eyewitness to the disaster, the ancient Roman politician and writer Pliny the Younger, whose uncle Pliny the Elder died during the eruption. Of course, this kind of work took a lot of time. Therefore, the preparation for writing the masterpiece took Bryullov more than 5 years. The very same canvas, with an area of more than 30 square meters, he created in less than a year. From exhaustion, the artist sometimes could not walk, he was literally carried out of the workshop. But even with such careful preparation and hard work on the masterpiece, Bryullov now and then changed the original idea to one degree or another. For example, he did not use the sketch on which he drew a thief removing jewelry from a fallen woman.
Identical faces
One of the main mysteries that can be found on the canvas is the presence in the picture of several identical female faces. This is a girl with a jug on her head, a woman lying on the ground with a child, as well as a mother hugging her daughters, and a person with her husband and children. Why did Bryullov draw them so similar? The fact is that the same lady served as the nature for all these characters - the same Countess Samoilova. Despite the fact that the artist drew other people in the picture from ordinary inhabitants of Italy, apparently, Samoilov Bryullov, seized with certain feelings, just liked to write.
In addition, in the crowd depicted on the canvas, you can find the painter himself. He portrayed himself as who he was, an artist with a box full of drawing supplies on his head. This method, as a kind of autograph, was used by many Italian masters. And Bryullov spent many years in Italy and it was there that he studied the art of painting.
Christian and pagan
Among the characters in the masterpiece there is also an adherent of the Christian faith, who is easily recognizable by the cross on his chest. A mother and two daughters cling to him, as if seeking protection from the old man. However, Bryullov drew a pagan priest who was running away swiftly, not paying any attention to the frightened townspeople. Undoubtedly, Christianity at that time was persecuted and it is not known for certain whether any of the adherents of this faith could then be in Pompeii. But Bryullov, trying to adhere to the documentary reliability of events, introduced a hidden meaning into his work. Through the aforementioned priests, he showed not only the cataclysm itself, but the disappearance of the old and the birth of the new.