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Karl Brulloff (Brullo
until 1822, when the family name was changed according to Russian
pronunciation) was born in 1799 in St. Petersburg into the family of
painters: his great grand-father, his grand-father, his father and
his two elder brothers Fedor and
Alexander
were artists. In 1809-1821, Karl studied art in the Academy of Arts
in St. Petersburg. One of his early notable pictures
Narcissus
(1819), created while studying in the Academy, was implemented in
the principles of Classicism, which he was taught. Brulloff
graduated from the Academy with honors and was sent along with his
brother Alexander to Italy to study art as pensioners of the Society
for the Promotion of Artists.
He spent in Italy 13 years, studying art of the ancient Italy,
copying the antiques in the museums and making a lot of drawings in
the streets of Rome. He painted portraits, both ceremonial and
intimate ones, and created series of genre scenes of everyday Roman
life. The most important of his genre works was
Italian
Midday (1827). In Italy Brulloff created over 120 portraits in
various techniques. Among them are portraits of the Russian
aristocracy, residing in Italy, as well as painters, sculptors,
writers, etc., and also Italian statesmen and artists. Among the
most notable are portraits of
Grand
Duchess Elena Pavlovna,
Prince
G. Gagarin,
Countess
Yu. Samoilova and
her
foster children,
Princess
Z. Volkonskaya,
Bruloff's
brother Alexander,
A.
Lvov,
Architect
K. A. Ton, Italian singers
Juditta
Pasta and
Fanny
Persiani-Tacinardi and many others. He also painted
several
self-portraits,
some of them were commissioned by the Uffizi Gallery.
One of the
requirements of the Society for the Promotion of Artists for its
pensioners was to paint a big historical picture. In 1827, Brulloff
visited the excavation site of Pompeii, a town destroyed and buried
in hot lava during an eruption of Volcano Vesuvius on August 24, 79
A.D. Brulloff was deeply impressed when he saw the town, preserved
under the layer of lava, where a life was suddenly stopped. Six
years were to pass between the first conception and its
materialization. After the first sketches have been done, Brulloff
began studying the materials of the excavations and historical
documents, such as the letters of Pliny the Younger, who was an
eye-witness of the event. It is believed, that the son
persuading his mother to come with him in the right part of the
picture
is Pliny with his mother. The picture
The
Last Day of Pompeii (1830-1833) was a huge success in
Italy. It was also exhibited in Louvre, Paris.
In 1835, Brulloff returned to Russia. In the years that followed he
painted mostly portraits. Among the best portraits of this period
are those of
Author
Nestor Kukolnic,
Count
A. A. Perovsky (the Author Anton Pogorelsky) and his nephew
future
Poet
and Playwright Alexey Tolstoy,
Author
A. N. Strugovshchikov,
Princess
Ye. P. Saltykova,
Countess
Yu. P. Samoylova.
In 1849, Brulloff had to come to Italy again for his deteriorating
health, which was due to his unhappy marriage and his hard work on
the paintings of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which he
was unable to finish. He spent one year on Madeira, the climate of
each was believed to be beneficial for the patients with heart
diseases, and his last two years in Rome. He created several
excellent works during these years, including portraits of members
of Tittoni family, with whom he was very close. He died in Rome on
June 23, 1852.
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