"The last day of Pompeii": despair embodied in the painting by Karl Bryullov.

Karl Bryullov is a famous Russian artist of French lineage. It is possible to list his achievements in the field of fine arts for a long time, but we will focus on the main creation of his life – "the Last day of Pompeii".

The plot of the canvas conveys to the viewer the history of the ancient Roman tragedy that occurred on August 54, 79 and claimed the lives of two thousand inhabitants of the ancient city of Pompeii, located at the foot of Vesuvius – one of the most legendary volcanoes in the world.

The creation of such a profound work of Carl feat of military engineer Rocca de Alcubierre or rather, they started archeological excavations on the site of the tragic events. So, this discovery was inspired by Giovanni Pacini, who reflected the events of the tragic day in his Opera l ' ultimo giorno di Pompei, and Edward bulver-Lytton, who wrote the historical novel "the Last days of Pompeii." Among the inspired was Karl Bryullov, who visited the site of excavations in 1827, which was a fateful turn in his work.