University of Pavia

Pompeiian Heritage in Russian Environment

Polina Antipova
The Reception of The Classical Past
Professor: Stefano Rocchi
05/05/2022
Introduction

In the following paper I would like to delve into the connection between Pompeiian culture
and place of Russia in discovering Pompeii, to review the contribution of travelers and people
of art coming from Russia, to provide some of the important names, and to mention their
specific influence on the rich world of art and collections throughout the whole country of
Russia. On top of that, I would as well like to explore Ancient Pompeii as the source of
inspiration for Russian painters and people of art, who used to create their works affected by
the events took place in the 79 century AD in Pompeii. Some particular examples of art
works will be given, supported by visual images in the end of this essay. Moreover, I would
also like to discover shortly the influence of all the artist mentioned on the world and their
followers. The imagination of Pompeii by Russian artists is also crucial, and with this in mind
I will try to explain some of the common iconographical aspects of perceiving days of
Vesuvian eruption.

1. Grand Tour and Russian artists inspired by Vesuvius

First of all, I would like to mention the concept which gave birth to the majority of
discoveries made not only by people with the following exploration interest from Russia, but
from many other countries (mostly European ones). It was the time of so-called Grand Tours,
the time spawned many talents to visit historical places, and Pompeii in particular, to learn
the culture, get connected with history, to paint, to write, to create, and to be identified with
the principal places from the inner part of soul. Interestingly, the concept of Grand Tour
started with sending abroad children coming from aristocratic families, for example, people
from royal families, or so-called new «bourgeois»: their parents and relatives wanted their
kids to go around the world at a considerably younger age to obtain global education and free
mentality. Families were ready to pay huge amounts of money just to allow their children to
explore themselves and their preferences outside their motherland. It could also be applied
not to the only desire expressed from parents, as these broadening trips as well existed for
independent adults, rulers and politicians themselves, painters, musicians, writers, not
obligatory coming from aristocracy. These people and many other people of art used to travel
to Europe or other further destinations in order to get new sources of inspiration, to get more
knowledge about themselves and to dive into history and completely different culture just to
become more educated and broaden their horizons.
 Discussing the Grand Tour, it is not only important to reflect on the exploration of Pompeii,
but also on the discovery of Italy and other European countries in general. With that being
stated, there are a lot of Russian influencers who were on this trendy, fashionable path of
going to such journeys. Many emperors and rulers back then were obsessed with that kind of
cultural trips, as they followed not only the desire to enrich their personal knowledge, but
also to bring fame to Russia and places of main art collection concentrations, such as
Hermitage and State Russian Museum, both located in Saint Petersburg. Here I would like to
mention Peter the Great and Catherine the Second, who did a lot to enlarge collections
obtained by museums in the previous capital of Russia, as well as to attract European
specialists in all possible spheres and to expand national educational institutions. For
example, to mention creation of the Academy during the reign of Peter the Great in 1724,
where new minds and creative talents were started to being fostered.
Taking into consideration Catherine the Great, for example. She was incredibly inspired by
the example of European courts and the important role of Roman way of ruling in antiquity
times. The Russian Tsaritsa was the ruler who rebirthed the practice of visiting Italy in order
to search for inspiration and new ideas to bring back to Russia and recreate them in a
different perspective.
The main destination of Grand Tour trips was Italy, but the path to Italy laid through other
European countries, such as France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany. Nevertheless, Italy was
the final spot, as it was a perfect place to connect with architecture and art of Renaissance in
a place of its birth.
Among Russian people who managed to go to Italy for the purposes stated above were
Alexander Ivanov, Silvestr Shchedrin, Nikolai Efimov, Alexei Markov, Fedor Matveev,
Fedor Bruni, Orest Kiprenskii, Briullov brothers, Ivan Aivazovsky, and many others. Apart
from people from the art sphere, many members of aristocracy were also involved in that
kind of trips, the brightest representatives being the dukes Stroganoffs and Demidovs, who
were collectors and after some time in Italy they both managed to acquire some properties in
Italy.
One of the Russian artists is the architect I.E. Starov, who went to develop his education in
Rome. He wrote several notes on ancient buildings he observed in Italy, also Vasily
Bazhenov, an architect who travelled to Rome as a part of his studies even before Starov.
These cultural Grand Tour trips are an interesting phenomenon, especially if we think about
trips to Pompeii. It is needed to mention, for example, that the Grand Tour and following
travelling routes are forgotten relics nowadays for many different reasons, but Pompeii still
remains the most visited place in Italy for people from different spheres. The influence and
popularity of the site created by previous travelers and artists who started to recreate, rebuild
and renovate the site and its heritage through chosen mediums is obvious, and Russia is not
the last country in achieving the city’s fame.
We also know that Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and his wife Maria Fedorovna experienced
some trips to Italy and to Tivoli, during which they were depicted by accompanied Prussian
master Jacob Philipp Hackert.
Not being able to travel by herself, but acquiring knowledge through books and
correspondences with enlightened minds of her time, Catherine the Great not only introduced
the new law allowing Russian artists to travel abroad, but also started to invite foreign
specialists to help Russia recreate some of the antique architectural gems, for example.
Giacomo Quarenghi was one of such artists who used his previous studies in Rome in Tivoli
to give a flow for Neoclassicism in Russia. Some papers prove that, for example, the general
plan for building main spots in Tsarskoe Selo, Saint Petersburg, was built in the spirit of
Hadrian’s Villa (117-138 C.E.) in Tivoli, reception of which was crucial in creating
Neoclassical Russia.
After the times of Catherine’s the Great reign, the importance of reception of the antiquity,
and of events of Vesuvius explosion in particular, was also laid in artistic images of some
other artists based in Russia. The interest to Pompeii was brought in light of war events
taking place in the 19th century, and also because of the fact of Vesuvius’s sudden awake in
1822 and 1832.
The following interest to represent images of Vesuvius initiated to connect these images with
a metaphorical symbol of global doom. Tragic events which took place in antique Pompeii
became a hot topic, and it was even so to say fashionable to point out this theme in different
works of art. It was not an exception also for Russian people, and here I would like to
mention two paintings – one is Karl Briullov’s “The Last Day of Pompeii” (Image 1) (1833),
and the other is Kiprenskii’s “Newspaper readers in Naples” (Image 2) (1831). Briullov’s
famous painting is presented as a result of a few educational trips to Italy, which he mainly
painted in his own studio in Rome. This work also made Briullov a well-known star in Italy.
This painting depicted people suffering during the explosion, trying to escape with all the
despair and hope they have. Gogol’s notes “The Last Day of Pompeii” on Briullov’s painting
were finished in august of 1834, where the writer compared the painting with opera, as for
Gogol’s reception it reminded him the outcome of three different mediums: painting, poetry
and music. Kiprenskii also wrote his scene after observing Italian sceneries himself, where he
depicted Russian travelers caught in the moment of reading a newspaper about suppression of
the Polish rebellion. In his drаft notes, P.I. Pestel also had a reflection of the Vesuvius in the
face of a graphical sketch of a volcano. We can also note the same motif being mentioned in
Pushkin’s “Evgeny Onegin”, where the writer metaphorically compares European rebellions
of his time with the image of Vesuvius volcano.
Visiting Pompeii, once again, was in such high demand among artists not just to capture the
lefts of the past history, but also to go there and to learn beautiful techniques of original
paintings made by grand classical masters. That is exactly the reason above Briullov’s
inspiration for creating his worldwide gem.
As for the painter Sylvester Shchedrin, another Russian painter, he used to write about this
historical place that: “Naples is worth coming to see its most beautiful place. […] but no
matter how many times I've lived here, I'll always say it again.” We also know that he was
even more attached to Naples, then to Rome, as he was interested in drawing landscapes
mostly.
Overall, Naples was also perceived by painters as a source of classical painting knowledge.
All of them went to the main museums to learn, to remember, and then to try to produce
copies of grand masters’ pictures in order to bring them back to Russia, to have an
opportunity to develop the artistic craftmanship back to homeland and give a flow to quality
boost for local customers in Russia. The Bourbon Museum, for example, famous for its
collections of antiquities, "the only collection of vases, bronzes, and frescoes found at the
discovery of Herculaneum and Pompeii,", as it was described by Briullov, was a must-see
place for artists coming there. In Naples it was also popular to establish expositions, which
were visited by many local art lovers, where local painters used to demonstrate their works.
These events were also attended by many Russians interested in the topic, what helped them
to create strong connection with European art, and kept both Russian art viewers and figures
to stay up to date with contemporaries, and be aware of existing trends and styles.
Interestingly, Briullov’s “obsession” with Rome, Italy and classical history of the country
was marked by many of his contemporaries, such as Pushkin, Stasov and Gogol. Even more
incredible is the fact that Karl Ivanovich did not travel on his own – he was escorted by his
brother – Alexander Bryulov, who was also interested in the topic of Pompeii. The heritage
after K.I. Briullov masterpiece is indescribable: after being exhibited in Milan in 1833 in
Milan “Pompeia”, reviewers compared painter’s work with Michelangelo, Titian and
Raphael, even calling this comparison too plain for master’s talent.
 As for his brother Karl Briullov’s brother, Alexander Briullov, he was also very important
in helping Russia to connect with Pompeii. The influence he had was mainly expressed in
bringing fashion for the Pompeian style into Russian homes. Briullov was an architect, who
firstly went to Pompeii for work purposes, where he published a study on archaeology and
architecture of the Forum Baths at Pompeii. After his theoretical work abroad, he got back to
Russia and succeeded his career as a top architect and interior decorator, whose clients were
the members of the royal family. It is also needed to be mentioned that, unfortunately,
Briullov’s interiors made from 1830 to 1850s were lost both because of the redecoration
projects or destroyed during World War II. Another architect receiving orders for Pompeiian
style houses was Andrei Shtakenshneider, who was asked by Nicholas I to build Tsaritsyn
(Empress’s) Pavilion in Pompeian style as a gift to the Empress. The purpose of this building
was to make the ancient mosaics on the floor and to imitate original interior of Pompeii.
Rozovyi, or Pink Pavilion which was also designed as a Roman villa by Andrei
Shtakenshneider and destroyed also during the World War II.
Continuing searching for Vesuvius mentioning in Russian artists’ art, another example
comes to my mind, which is a draft version of his own thoughts about events from the year
1820 to the year 1830, by Pestel. Vesuvius was mentioned visually on fields of author’s noted
in a way of graphic sketch depicting volcano.
Regarding the most famous Russian writer A.S. Pushkin, in some of his works we can also
find reflections on the tragedy in Naples, when the author creates a parallel between the
volcano eruption and contemporary European revolutionary events in his famed novel
“Evgeny Onegin”, already mentioned before. Connected excerpt is the following:

“The Pyrenees were shivered terribly, 

Naples’ volcano did flare, 
The armless prince to a friend of a Morey 
From Kishinev et did blinked.”

Volcano here is represented metaphorically as a precursor of historical upheavals, but also as

a historical catastrophe display itself. Another example of writer’s appeals to volcano is
Pushkin’s text:

“Vesuvius opened its mouth – smoke poured out in a club – flame

It has developed widely as a battle banner.
The earth is agitated – from the reeling columns
Idols are falling! A people driven by fear
Under the stone rain, under the inflamed ashes
In droves, young and old, he runs out the city.”

With this six-line, Pushkin has simply made a response to Briullov’s painting in a way of a
short poetic fragment with a little sketch depicting central figures of the story. That graphical
sketch shows a young warrior and some other man, trying to save the elder man during
unstoppable building collapse from being buried under all these ruins.
Another Russian writer who was inspired by Briullov’s painting was Evgeny Baratynsky,
who created the following lines in response to the painting:

“He brought peace trophies

With you in a fatherly shade
And there was “The Last Day of Pompeii”
For the Russian brush, the first day”.

Back to the painting heritage, we also can refer to another Russian painter – I.K.
Aivazovsky, who created one painting to commemorate the Ancient city of Pompeii – “The
death of Pompeii” (Image 4), which was, obviously, not a copy of Briullov’s work, but
Aivazovsky’s own reception of the ancient tragedy. The painter, being a marinist master,
depicted not Pompeii or the people as a main character of canvas, but the sea, being the
crucial face in the painting, with all the emotions upon the event expressed by the raging sea.
In her book on Russian artists of 19th century1, Shumova reflected on this painting: “The ships
in the foreground and in the distance act as a symbol of possible salvation, as a symbol that
disaster will pass, and chaos will be replaced by peace. But "here and now" misery is
unfolding - and it is not the city that suffers, not man, but the sea. Flows of incandescent lava
run into it; it receives the ashy dust. And it is the sea that saves people.”
One of the main described purposes of trips of the Grand Tour is a retrospective 2 of the
grand epoch. People wanted to re-evoke it, directly and metaphorically. Here I would like to
mention one of the Russian artists I discovered during doing my research, who is an

1
Shumova M.N. Russian painting of the first half of the 19th century. М., 2001.
2
Angelo cannavacciuolo Cannavacciuolo A. Pompeii: Echoes from the Grand Tour. Hardback Book, 144, 2011.
important historical photographer with travel experience not only to Pompeii, but to Europe
and other important places of exploration. Gavrila Ryumin, he is not much recognized among
Russian publicity, while being really famous, noble and decent figure in Switzerland, as he
was born and raised there. He has participated in a common trip to France, Germany and Italy
under the guidance of a great Knyaz Konstantin Nikolaevich from 1858 to 1859, where
Ryumin’s talent was shown as bright as possible. As the result of this “collaboration”
Ryumin has presented a few series (Images 4-6) of different photographs made in Athens,
Pompeii, and other important historical cities and landmarks. Apart from shooting visual
materials, Ryumin had his own newspaper published in Paris every week from 1859 to 1860,
where he used to talk about Russian life and literature, inserting parts of his joint journey
with Knyaz through Italy. What is also worth mentioning, him and Konstantin Nikolaevich
were also escorted by two Russian writers – Maykov and Grigorovich, and a Russian painter
and an architect Kolman. All of them were there together to collect data and materials for
their future works, both written and visual.
Ryumin’s biggest collection was the collection from French National library, which included
47 wide format prints on carton showing images of Naples, Pompeii, Palermo, but also
Monreale, Athens and Jerusalem. This photographer is also included in my paper, as the most
representative collection of his was found in Saint Petersburg, in Institute of material culture
history, being presented in the photo foundation “Marble Palace Library”, which is basically
the personal collection of great tsars Konstantin Nikolaevich and Konstantin
Konstantinovich. His Pompeiian collection, once again, was detailed, as he captured a few
archaeological landmarks of Pompeii, the ancient frescoes placed nearby and opened there
during various excavations. All of these photographs are of a great value, as they do create a
link for the modern viewer to connect with antiquity on the different levels. The master’s
approach is so accurate, that it creates the illusion of picturesque images.
To get back to the heritage performed by Russian writers, some other important works
related to Pompeii. There was not much of research, but some publications became crucial for
Russian heritage on Pompeiian motifs. In 1843 A.I. Levshin's monograph called "Russian
Walks in Pompeii" was published. Containing 6 chapters, it depicted a historical sketch of the
city, covering Pompeiian streets, fortifications and other described buildings. Levshin
introduced an approach not to remove all the treasures from Pompeii, but to survey each
building as a complex. Another related written work is created by V.I. Klassovsky's "Pompeii
and the Antiquities Discovered in It", firstly published in 1849, and the fourth in 1883.
Consisting of 3 sections and 11 chapters, this book discusses the details of the Vesuvius
eruption, and covers some of the methods and techniques of archaeological and museum
work. It was the first Russian historiographical work where "sketch of Herculaneum" was
given. The author draws attention to the wall inscriptions reflecting the political struggle in
the city. For the first time in Russian historiography a "sketch of Herculaneum" was given.
Both publications of Levshin and Klassovsky were simply reflections on literature gave out
by foreign writers before.
We also in general lack literature of the Soviet times. There is an album of A.A. Pochinkov
"Pompeian paintings", the work published several times, also "Pompeii" by M.E. Sergeenko
published in 1948 for the 200th anniversary of excavations. The work was made with relying
on foreign literature and created an overview, the result of studies of Pompeii in the twentieth
century. The book consists of 10 chapters, first three of which tell the history of the city itself
and the history of excavations. It covers the general description of the city, it depicts some
important details of life in the city, including political and administrative aspects, as well as
covering trading, craftsmanship and urban planning.
To mention one of the interesting interactive websites occurred in Russia, comparatively
recent one, in 2006 Julia Uletova was the first who created popular science website "Pompeii:
step by step". It contained a lot of information on the city itself, it covered its history of
excavations, provided multiple examples of artefacts, works of ancient and modern authors,
and also covered art and literature related to Pompeii.

2. Heritage in Modern Museum Collections

When thinking about important collections, many Russian cities museums come to my
mind, but this chapter will consider the museum collections exhibited in Saint Petersburg, as
this is my place of birth, and the main focus of interest at the same time.
The most recent cultural event in the art world which united three important museums,
Italian National Archeological Museum of Naples and Archaeological Park of Pompeii with
The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg took place on 19 th April of 2019 in The
Hermitage Museum itself. That was an exhibition “Gods, Men, Heroes. From the Naples
National Archaeological Museum and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii”, whose
organizers created a collaboration in order to make Pompeii available for the Hermitage
visitors. As well a success for Russian publicity, it was a great and prestigious event for
Naples. It mostly covered archeological and art related objects, including “Pompeian”
collection which consisted of frescoes, mosaics, sculptures and other works of ancient
craftmanship and fine art. These items included the ones made of bronze, glass, different
pottery and furniture pieces of people who lived during the time of Ancient Roman city of
Pompeii events. The catalogue is opened by an essay on Pompeii written by
Valeria Sampaolo. Federica Russo performed another essay entitled “Pompeii ‘à la russe”. It
discovers Pompeii in relation towards European architecture and art, also Pompeiian
influence on every type of art after in general. Anna Trofimova analyses the “Pompeian”
archaeological collection of the Hermitage, which includes gifts to and from imperial family
members of the Romanovs and from other representatives of Russian aristocracy.
One part of exhibited things was showing Classical mythological tradition, exploring
symbolic and imaginative sense of the Pompeiian environment, but the major part of the
exhibition itself was dedicated to the lifestyle of ordinary citizens, exposing their houseware,
examples of interior elements of Roman houses and other objects of everyday usage.
Another exhibition, taking place not in Russia but in Milan, Italy, is “'Grand Tour: Sogno
d’Italia da Venezia a Pompei,” which took place in Gallerie Italia from November 2021 to
March 2022. The exhibition was hold in partnership with the National Archaeological
Museum of Naples and the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg. Under the High
Patronage of the President of the Republic, the exhibition was curated by Fernando Mazzocca
with Stefano Grandesso, Francesco Leone and with the general coordination of Gianfranco
Brunelli.

Conclusion

Overall, with this paper I made an attempt to analyze Russian contribution towards
capturing Pompeii. I also tried to give some examples of the important works of art,
reflections and sentiments created by the pure interest of Russian artists on the subject of
Ancient Pompeii and on what Vesuvius left to the manhood after its eruption. The analysis
started with giving an overall concept of what Grand Tours are, with giving historical facts
and names upon it. It was also supported by particular examples of Russian people going to
this kind of tours and going back to their country. Some of the joint collaborations of Italian
& Russian museums are also discussed in the last part of this paper.
 Images:

”The last day of Pompeii”, Karl Briullov

”Readers of newspapers in Naples”, Orest

Kiprenskii
“The Death of Pompeii”, Ivan Aivasovsky

Temple of Vespasian. Pompeii, 1859

House of Dioscurus. Pompeii, 1859

 The Baker's House. Pompeii, 1859

Annotated bibliography:

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