From Italy to Russia: Karl Bryullov’s Life in Three Periods
The Last Day of Pompeii brought Karl Bryullov global fame—but his genius extended far beyond. The Tretyakov Gallery’s new exhibition reveals the full scope of his art, from sun-drenched Italian scenes to haunting historical epics and the portraits that were so loved by the public. The exhibition traces Bryullov’s life through works created in three pivotal periods, exploring how the genius loci—the spirit of place—shaped his art.
Rome
The exhibition divides the paintings into sections according to three periods, each reflecting a key location in Bryullov's life. It begins with works that were painted in Italy, where he lived for many years. There he developed his distinctive style defined by vibrant colours, sunlight, and airiness. Italian Noon (1827) and Girl Gathering Grapes in the Vicinity of Naples (1827) are among the works presented at the exhibition. These canvases embody the artist's style, radiating warmth and demonstrating how he drew inspiration from his surroundings for the subjects of his canvases. In addition, Bryullov was fond of painting historical and religious topics. One of the most famous in this genre is The Last Day of Pompeii (1830–1833), for which he studied excavations and historical sources. Visitors will be able to see the painting in the exhibition halls, observe many micro-plots of the huge canvas, have a try at finding Bryullov himself in it, and identify his main muse, Yulia Samoilova, whom he painted many times. Works with her image, as well as The Horsewoman (1832)—an incredibly famous Bryullov painting depicting pupils of Samoilova—are presented at the exhibition.
The artist’s friend and muse—Countess Yulia Samoilova—was a woman of intellect, charisma, and fiery temperament. She was described as Bryullov’s ‘personal Vesuvius,’ a reference to the volcanic eruption that destroyed Pompeii.
Moscow
The next stage in Bryullov's career was his return to Russia and a stop in Moscow, where he met and befriended Alexander Pushkin and Vasily Tropinin. After Pushkin's death, Bryullov, grieving over what had happened, would work on The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (1838–1849) for many years. During his stay in Moscow, the artist painted Fortune-telling Svetlana (1836), based on the ballad by V.A. Zhukovsky.
Despite his friendship with Pushkin and the poet’s repeated requests, Bryullov refused to paint a portrait of his wife, Natalya Goncharova, because of his selectivity in choosing models for portraits.
St Petersburg
Returning to his hometown of St Petersburg, Bryullov received an order for the painting The Siege of Pskov by Polish King Stefan Batory in 1581 (1839–1843), which he was not satisfied with, despite the scale of the work and its attention to detail. The exhibition also features a sketch that he made in preparation for the work. Bryullov achieved popularity thanks to his portraits, which made the young artist famous even while in Italy, but in St Petersburg he revealed his talent even more. Bryullov received a lot of commissions, so he had the opportunity to choose only the people he was interested in, and talked to them for a long time before starting his works. The exhibition features a huge number of portraits depicting contemporaries of the artist. At the exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to see an unfinished Portrait of I.A. Krylov (1839), Portrait of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna with Her Daughter Maria (1830), as well as Portrait of Countess Y.P. Samoilova, Retiring from a Ball with Her Foster Daughter Amalicia Pacini (no later than 1842) and many others. Bryullov painted more than 30 self-portraits during his life, and some of them can be seen at the exhibition.
His drafts and pencil sketches are presented separately at the exhibition. Also, a special hall is dedicated to the artist's work in St Isaac's Cathedral in St Petersburg, to which he devoted time in the last years of his life.
The exhibition Karl Bryullov: Rome–Moscow–Petersburg borrows pieces from other museums and private collections, revealing lesser-known works.
This is a beautiful, carefully prepared exhibition, with purposefully dimmed lights in the rooms and sources of illumination aimed only at the paintings, which only emphasises the bright and rich colours. The spacious room makes it possible to explore all the exhibits even with a large number of visitors and fully immerse yourself in the life of the artist.
For more information, visit the website of the gallery.
Until January 18, 2026
Address: New Tretyakov, 10 Krymsky Val, Moscow
Open: SUN, TUE, WED: 10 am–6 pm (last entry at 5 pm)
THU, FRI, SAT: 10 am–9 pm (last entry at 8 pm)
Price: 900 RUB (students–540 RUB).
Text by Angelina Firsova, bachelor’s student of Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication, intern at the HSE University English website team