The death of Pompeii is a picture of Bryullov where it is located. Characteristics and description of Bryullov's painting "The Last Day of Pompeii". Analysis of the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii"
Almost 2,000 years ago, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed several ancient Roman settlements, including the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. "Futurist" presents a chronicle of the events of August 24-25, 79 AD.
The ancient Roman writer and lawyer Pliny the Younger said that this happened at the seventh hour after sunrise (at about noon) on August 24th. His mother pointed out to his uncle, Pliny the Elder, a cloud of unusual size and shape that appeared at the top of the mountain. Pliny the Elder, who at that time was the commander of the Roman fleet, went to Mysenae to observe a rare occurrence nature. 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 on display 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, excavation results, and volcanological evidence allow scientists to reconstruct the eruption timeline.
The ruins of Pompeii with Vesuvius in the background
12:02 Pliny's mother tells his uncle Pliny the Elder about a strange cloud that has appeared over Vesuvius. Prior to this, for several days the city was shaken by tremors, although this was uncharacteristic for the Campagna region. Pliny the Younger later describes this phenomenon as follows:
“a huge black cloud was rapidly advancing ... long, fantastic flames burst out of it every now and then, resembling flashes of lightning, only much larger” ...
Winds carry most of the ash to the southeast. The "Plinian phase" of the eruption begins.
13:00 To the east of the volcano, ash begins to fall. Pompeii is only six miles from Vesuvius.
14:00 Ash falls on Pompeii first, and then white pumice. The layer of volcanic sediment that covered the earth grows at a rate of 10-15 cm per hour. In the end, the thickness of the pumice layer will be 280 cm.
The Last Day of Pompeii, a painting by Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, written in 1830-1833.
17:00 Pompeii's roofs collapse under a mass of volcanic rainfall. Stones the size of a fist rain down on the city at a speed of 50 m/s. The sun is shrouded in an ashen veil, and people seek refuge in pitch darkness. Many rush to the harbor of Pompeii. In the evening comes the turn of gray pumice.
23:15 The "Peleian eruption" begins, the first wave of which hit Herculaneum, Boscoreale and Oplontis.
00:00 The 14-kilometer column of ash grew to 33 km. Pumice and ash enter the stratosphere. Over the next seven hours, six pyroclastic surges (a gas-laden flow of ash, pumice and lava) will hit the area. People everywhere are overtaken by death. This is how the volcanologist Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo describes this night for National Geographic:
“The temperature outside and inside 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 bodies of the victims are not the result of prolonged agony, but a spasm from heat shock bent already dead limbs.
Undoubtedly, he was respected enough for his craftsmanship 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 disaster picture 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 Mount Vesuvius, the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and many small villages became graves for several thousand local residents. Real archaeological excavations of areas that have sunk into oblivion began only in 1748, that is, 51 years before the birth of Karl Bryullov himself. It is clear that archaeologists worked not for one day, but for several decades. Thanks to this circumstance, the artist managed to personally visit the excavations and wander through the ancient Roman streets already freed from the solidified 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 creating a masterpiece of a lover, 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 subtle nature of the artist. It was in 1827.
Disappearance of characters
Impressed, Bryullov almost immediately set to work, 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 catastrophe, the ancient Roman politician and writer Pliny the Younger, whose uncle Pliny the Elder died during the eruption. Of course, such work required a lot of time. Therefore, the preparation for writing a masterpiece took Bryullov more than 5 years. The canvas itself, 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 continually changed the original idea in one way or another. For example, he did not use a sketch that showed 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 of several identical female faces in the picture. 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 kind for all these characters - the same Countess Samoilova. Despite the fact that the artist painted other people in the picture from ordinary residents of Italy, apparently, Samoilov Bryullov, overcome by certain feelings, simply liked to write.
In addition, in the crowd depicted on the canvas, you can find the painter himself. He portrayed himself as he was, an artist with a box filled with art 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 of the masterpiece there is also an adherent of the Christian faith, who is easily recognizable by the cross on his chest. A mother with two daughters huddles up to him, as if seeking protection from the old man. However, he painted Bryullov and a pagan priest, who quickly runs away, 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 authenticity of events, introduced a hidden meaning into his work. By means of the aforementioned priests, he showed not only the cataclysm itself, but the disappearance of the old and the birth of the new.
We have long known the picture Karla Bryullova THE LAST DAY OF POMPEI, but we did not consider it in detail. I wanted to know its history and examine the canvas in detail.
K. Bryullov. The last day of Pompeii. 1830-1833
BACKGROUND OF THE PICTURE.
In 1827, the young Russian artist Karl Bryullov arrived in Pompeii. He did not know that this trip would lead him to the pinnacle of creativity. The sight of Pompeii stunned him. He walked all the nooks and crannies of the city, touched the walls, rough from boiling lava, and, perhaps, he had the idea to paint a picture of the last day of Pompeii.
From the idea of the picture to its completion will take a long six years. Bryullov begins with the study of historical sources. He reads the letters of Pliny the Younger, an eyewitness to the events, to the Roman historian Tacitus.
In search of authenticity, the artist also turns to the materials of archaeological excavations, he depicts some figures in those poses in which the skeletons of the victims of Vesuvius were found in hardened lava.
Almost all items were painted by Bryullov from authentic items stored in the Neapolitan Museum. The surviving drawings, sketches and sketches show how persistently the artist was looking for the most expressive composition. And even when the sketch of the future canvas was ready, Bryullov regroups the scene about a dozen times, changes gestures, movements, poses.
In 1830 the artist began work on a large canvas. He wrote at such a limit of spiritual tension that it happened that he was literally taken out of the studio in his arms. Finally, by the middle of 1833, the canvas was ready.
Eruption of Vesuvius.
Let's make a small digression to get acquainted with the historical details of the event that we will see in the picture.
The eruption of Vesuvius began on the afternoon of August 24, 79 and lasted about a day, as evidenced by some of the surviving manuscripts of the "Letters" of Pliny the Younger. It led to the death of three cities - Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabia and several small villages and villas.
Vesuvius wakes up and brings down all kinds of products of volcanic activity on the surrounding space. Tremors, ash flakes, stones falling from the sky - all this took the inhabitants of Pompeii by surprise.
People tried to hide in houses, but died from suffocation or under the ruins. Someone has died in in public places- in theaters, markets, forums, temples, someone - on the streets of the city, someone - already beyond its borders. However, the vast majority of residents still managed to leave the city.
During the excavations, it turned out that everything in the cities was preserved as it was before the eruption. Streets, houses with full furnishings, the remains of people and animals that did not have time to escape were found under many meters of ash. The force of the eruption was such that the ashes from it flew even to Egypt and Syria.
Of the 20,000 inhabitants of Pompeii, about 2,000 died in the buildings and on the streets. Most of the inhabitants left the city before the disaster, but the remains of the dead are found outside the city. Therefore, the exact number of deaths cannot be estimated.
Among those who died from the eruption was Pliny the Elder, out of scientific interest and out of a desire to help people suffering from the eruption, who tried to approach Vesuvius on a ship and ended up in one of the centers of the disaster - at Stabia.
Pliny the Younger describes what happened on the 25th at Miseno. In the morning, a black cloud of ash began to approach the city. Residents fled in horror from the city to the seashore (probably, the inhabitants of the dead cities also tried to do the same). The crowd running along the road soon found itself in complete darkness, screams and cries of children were heard.
Those who fell were trampled down by those who followed. I had to shake off the ashes all the time, otherwise the person instantly fell asleep, and there was no way for those who sat down to rest to rise. This went on for several hours, but in the afternoon the ash cloud began to dissipate.
Pliny returned to Miseno, although the earthquakes continued. By evening, the eruption began to subside, and by the evening of the 26th everything had subsided. Pliny the Younger was lucky, but his uncle - an outstanding scientist, author of natural history Pliny the Elder - died during an eruption in Pompeii.
They say that he was let down by the curiosity of a naturalist, he stayed in the city for observations. The sun over the dead cities - Pompeii, Stabia, Herculaneum and Octavianum - appeared only on August 27th. Vesuvius has erupted to this day at least eight more times. Moreover, in 1631, in 1794 and 1944 the eruption was quite strong.
DESCRIPTION.
Black darkness hung over the earth. A blood-red glow paints the sky near the horizon, and a blinding flash of lightning momentarily breaks the darkness. In the face of death, the essence of the human soul is exposed.
Here the young Pliny persuades his mother, who has fallen to the ground, to gather the remnants of her strength and try to escape.
Here are the sons carrying the old man on their shoulders, trying to quickly deliver the precious burden to a safe place.
Raising his hand towards the crumbling skies, the man is ready to protect his loved ones with his chest.
Nearby is a kneeling mother with children. With what inexpressible tenderness they huddle together!
Above them is a Christian shepherd with a cross around his neck, with a torch and a censer in his hands. With calm fearlessness, he looks at the flaming skies and the crumbling statues of the former gods.
And in the depths of the canvas, he is opposed by a pagan priest, running in fear with an altar under his arm. Such a somewhat naive allegory proclaims the advantages of the Christian religion over the outgoing pagan one.
A man who raised his hand to heaven is trying to protect his family. Next to him is a kneeling mother with children who seek protection and help from her.
On the left in the background is a crowd of fugitives on the steps of the tomb of Skaurus. In it, we notice an artist saving the most precious thing - a box with brushes and paints. This is a self-portrait of Karl Bryullov.
But in his eyes it is not so much the horror of death as the close attention of the artist, exacerbated by the terrible spectacle. He carries on his head the most precious thing - a box with paints and other painting accessories. It seems that he slowed down his steps and tries to remember the picture that unfolded before him. Yu.P. Samoilova served as a model for a girl with a jug.
We can see it in other images. This and a woman smashed to death, sprawled on the pavement, where next to her is a living child - in the center of the canvas; and a mother attracting her daughters to her, in the left corner of the picture.
The young man holds his beloved, in his eyes there is despair and hopelessness.
Many art historians consider the frightened child lying near the dead mother to be the central characters on the canvas. Here we see grief, despair, hope, the death of the old world, and perhaps the birth of a new one. This is a confrontation between life and death.
A noble woman tried to escape on a fast chariot, but no one can escape Kara, everyone must be punished for their sins. On the other hand, we see a frightened child who against all odds, he survived to revive the fallen race. But what is his further fate we certainly don't know, and can only hope for a happy ending.
The baby mourning her is an allegory of the new world, a symbol of the inexhaustible power of life.
How much pain, fear and despair in the eyes of people.
"The Last Day of Pompeii" convinces that the main value in the world is a person. Bryullov contrasts the destructive forces of nature with the spiritual greatness and beauty of man.
Brought up on the aesthetics of classicism, the artist strives to give his heroes ideal features and plastic perfection, although it is known that residents of Rome posed for many of them.
Seeing this work for the first time, any viewer admires its colossal scale: on a canvas with an area of more than thirty square meters, the artist tells the story of many lives united by a catastrophe. It seems that not a city is depicted on the plane of the canvas, but the whole world, which is experiencing death.
HISTORY OF THE PICTURE
In the autumn of 1833, the painting appeared at an exhibition in Milan and caused an explosion of delight and admiration. An even greater triumph awaited Bryullov at home. Exhibited in the Hermitage and then at the Academy of Arts, the painting became a subject of patriotic pride. She was enthusiastically welcomed by A.S. Pushkin:
Vesuvius zev opened - smoke gushed in a club - flame
Widely developed like a battle banner.
The earth worries - from staggering columns
Idols are falling! A people driven by fear
Crowds, old and young, under inflamed ashes,
Under the stone rain runs out of the hail.
Indeed, the worldwide fame of Bryullov's painting forever destroyed the disparaging attitude towards Russian artists that existed even in Russia itself. In the eyes of contemporaries, the work of Karl Bryullov was proof of the originality of the national artistic genius.
Bryullov was compared with the great Italian masters. Poets dedicated poems to him. He was greeted with applause in the street and in the theater. A year later, the French Academy of Arts awarded the artist a gold medal for the painting after her participation in the Paris Salon.
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. E. A. Baratynsky composed a famous aphorism on this occasion: “The last day of Pompeii became the first day for the Russian brush!”.
Nicholas I honored the artist with a personal audience and awarded Charles with a laurel wreath, after which the artist was called "Charlemagne".
Anatoly Demidov presented the painting to Nicholas I, who exhibited it at the Academy of Arts as a guide for beginner painters. After the opening of the Russian Museum in 1895, the canvas moved there, and the general public gained access to it.
Man always strives for beauty, such is his essence. And he eagerly studies the past, learns from it, works on mistakes, because without this the future is impossible. An example of this combination of art and history is the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii", painted by a brilliant artist in 1830-1833. What is depicted on it, how the painter worked and what he wanted to convey, we will consider in our article.
A few words about the author
The painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" was painted in the first half of the nineteenth century by Karl Bryullov. Born in St. Petersburg in the family of an academician-sculptor, he was imbued with a passion for art from childhood. studied with the best craftsmen of that time, traveled a lot, often visited Italy, where he lived and worked.
Mostly his canvases are written in the historical and portrait genre. The work to which our article is devoted was awarded the Grand Prix in Paris. It should be noted that the contemporaries of the painter appreciated his work. Even during the life of Bryullov, his canvases received the most enthusiastic reviews. The most famous works are "The Horsewoman", "The Siege of Pskov", "Portrait of the Archaeologist Michelangelo Lanchi" and others. And in 1862, a sculpture dedicated to the millennium of Russia was erected in Novgorod to the best cultural figures. Among the sixteen figures of the composition, there was a place for Karl Bryullov.
History of a masterpiece
The history of the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" is known to us, so we will be happy to share it with the reader.
As we mentioned earlier, Bryullov often visited Italy, where he worked a lot. By the way, he died on this earth, where his body found its last resting place. In 1827, the painter visited the excavations of an ancient Roman city located near Naples. The settlement was buried by the lava of Vesuvius, which suddenly woke up. This moment was captured in the picture.
The last day of Pompey met with a seething life. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of a small but very rich town did not manage to escape. Most of them died from the hot volcanic mass, others suffocated from poisonous fumes and ash. And only a few managed to escape. But the volcano rendered an invaluable service to mankind - it seemed to conserve the life of that time, preserving in its original form the dwellings of the nobility, wall paintings, mosaic floors, paintings, flowers. Clearing the area from dust, ash, dirt and earth, archaeologists find a large number of objects, and the city itself today is an open-air museum.
Preparation for work
The painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" was painted by Bryullov after a thorough study of that era. The artist visited the excavations several times, trying to remember the location of the buildings, every pebble. He read the works of ancient historians, in particular the works of Pliny the Younger, an eyewitness to the tragedy, studied costumes in museums and household items. This allowed him to realistically depict the life of Italian society during the volcanic eruption, as well as convey the feelings of people who are about to die from the elements.
Outcast Labor
Finally, Bryullov decided that he was ready for the titanic work, and set about painting the canvas. It took him three years to create a masterpiece measuring 4.5 x 6.5 meters. He was enthusiastically received in Italy, France, Russia. In his native Academy of Arts, Karl was carried in his arms into the hall, where his painting was already hanging. The last day (Pompeia could not even imagine then that it was the last for her) of the famous city will now forever remain in the memory of mankind, and he himself has risen from oblivion. Consider the canvas, conditionally dividing it into two parts.
Right side of the painting
Bryullov's painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" captivates with its perfection, storm of emotions, drama and harmony of colors. On the right side, the artist depicted a group of people united by a common grief. This is a young guy and a boy who are carrying a sick father in their arms, a young man who is trying to save his mother, but she orders him to leave her and run away on his own. Presumably, that young man is Pliny the Younger, who informed us sad story Pompeii.
The painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” also depicts a couple: a young man carries a bride in his arms and peers into her face - is she alive? Behind them you can see a rearing horse with a rider on its back, falling houses decorated with statues. And above the unfortunate people, the sky, dark from smoke and ashes, clouds cut by lightning, a stream of fiery lava stretches.
Left side of the masterpiece
We continue our description of the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii." On the left, Bryullov depicted steps leading to the tomb of Scaurus. Another group of people gathered at them: a woman looking directly at the viewer, an artist with paints in a box on her head, a mother with two girls, a calm Christian priest, a pagan priest with jewelry under his arm, a man covering his wife and small children with a cloak.
Another "hero" of the canvas is light, or rather, its effects. The cold shade of lightning contrasts with the glow of the volcano. Against its background, the panorama of the dying city looks very tragic and realistic.
Analysis of the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii"
Bryullov masterfully chose the colors that helped him portray the picture very realistically. Shades of red predominate on the canvas - people's clothes, glow, flowers on the bride's head. In the center of the canvas, the artist used greenish, bluish and yellowish tones.
Finishing the description of the painting “The Last Day of Pompey” (as some mistakenly call the canvas), let's try to analyze it, find the hidden meaning. The viewer should pay attention to the fact that people seem to freeze, as if posing for a painter. Their faces are not disfigured by pain, even the girl lying on the ground is beautiful. People's clothes are clean, no blood is visible on it. This is the principle of convention, with the help of which the painter shows that man is the most beautiful creature on Earth. It is striking that many characters in the picture in moments of danger think not only about themselves, but also about others.
Bryullov departed from the rules of realism, following the basics of classicism. He draws not the usual crowd, which in a panic seeks to leave the city, but ordered groups of people in which similar faces, but different poses. Thus, the master conveyed feelings with the help of movement, plasticity. But the master introduces a lot of new things into art, breaks the accepted rules, which is why the canvas only wins. The artist uses restless light, which gives sharp shadows, a plot full of tragedy. Two themes are intertwined in the picture - the height of the human spirit, love, self-sacrifice, heroism and the catastrophe, which entailed the death of not only the city, but the whole culture.
Instead of a conclusion
The picture, created by the genius of art, is both beautiful and terrible. Yes, a person is powerless in front of the elements, which knows no barriers in its power. However, he can and should remain a Man with a capital letter. Not everyone is capable of this, but this should be striven for. Such conflicting feelings cover everyone who looks at the canvas depicting the last days of the ancient city. And today everyone can see the famous painting by visiting the State Russian Museum.
Employees of the Murom Historical and Art Museum. The title of the article is "Masterpiece and Tragedy or the Story of a Painting" and is dedicated to Karl Bryullov's brilliant painting "The Last Day of Pompeii".
I really liked the article, I quoted it, but quotations are rarely read, and with the permission of the author, I put it in its entirety in this post, slightly embellished with reproductions of the picture and musical accompaniment.
Read it, I assure you, you won't regret it...
Passing through the halls of the Murom Gallery, the guests of Murom often freeze in amazement at one nondescript, at first glance, exhibit. This is a simple black and white drawing in a regular frame behind glass. It would seem, why does it attract visitors to the museum so much? However, peering into his faded features, it is difficult to contain an involuntary sigh of admiration. On the yellowish paper of the exhibit, the plot of the most famous painting, familiar to many from childhood, is depicted. Before the guests, Karl Bryullov's sketch for his famous painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" is one of the brightest pearls of the Murom Gallery!
A rare museum can boast of such an acquisition in its collection. Sometimes this sketch surprises even guests from Moscow and St. Petersburg. And they are captivated not only by the uniqueness of the old drawing, but also by the attraction of the tragic plot, conveyed by the genius of the artist.
And indeed, this small yellowed sheet tells the audience not only about the terrible catastrophe of antiquity, but also how the greatest canvas of Russian painting was created.
ON THE EVE OF THE TRAGEDY.
The talented brush of Bryullov revealed to us one of the pictures of the terrible tragedy ancient world. For two fateful days, August 24 and 25, 79 AD, several Roman cities ceased to exist at once - Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and Octavianum. And the reason for this was the awakening of the volcano Vesuvius, at the foot of which these settlements are located.
People have long and appreciated the high, incomparable fertility of volcanic soils and began to cultivate them from time immemorial. Scientists have at their disposal written sources that even more than two thousand years ago, rich harvests gathered around Vesuvius and on its slopes.
At the beginning of the 1st century Vesuvius was covered in a dense forest with wild grapes. At its top there was an overgrown cup-shaped depression - traces of an ancient crater, preserved after a 300-year dormant period of the volcano. In this crater in 72, Spartacus was hiding with rebellious slaves. 3,000 soldiers, led by Praetor Clodius Pulker, were sent to search for him. However, Spartacus eluded them and broke out onto the plain surrounding the volcano from the north.
Volcanic ashes and tuffs, which covered the gentle slopes of Vesuvius and its environs like a cloak, made the lands around it extraordinarily fertile. Corn, barley, nuts, wheat, grapes grew especially well. No wonder this area is famous for its excellent wines.
And at the beginning new era the area near the Gulf of Naples was also a favorite residence of wealthy Romans. In the north was the city of Herculaneum, to the south were Pompeii and Stabia - three kind of suburban suburbs of Naples. The patricians were attracted here by the mild and warm climate. Therefore, this part of the coast of the bay near Naples was built up with rich villas.
The first signs of Vesuvius's unrest were seen as early as mid-August 79. But at the time it didn't bother anyone. Similar surprises have been seen behind the volcano before. The last time he thoroughly "disturbed" Pompeii was on February 5, 62 AD. A powerful earthquake destroyed the city in order, but this did not serve as a lesson to its inhabitants. They were in no hurry to leave their homes. And this is no accident!
So, for the next 15 years, Pompeii was built - the inhabitants of the city restored the houses destroyed by the earthquake and built new buildings.
Oddly enough, the townspeople, despite the cruel lesson of fate, did not take Vesuvius seriously and did not expect further trouble from him.
The tremors didn't really bother the townspeople. Each time they closed the cracks in the houses, updating the interior and adding new decorations along the way. No panic.
DAY OF THE ANGER OF THE GODS.
Vesuvius opened the pharynx - the smoke gushed out in a club - the flame
widely developed like a battle flag.
The earth is worried - from the staggering columns
Idols are falling! A people driven by fear
Under the stone rain, under the inflamed ashes,
Crowds, old and young, run out of the city.
A.S. Pushkin.
August 24 began as the most ordinary day in the life of Pompeii. In the morning, there were no signs of an impending tragedy. The bright sun flooded the streets of the city. People slowly went about their business, discussing last news. Shops worked, incense was smoked in the temples, and in the city theater they were preparing for a performance - on this day, regular gladiator fights were to take place. These handsome warriors proudly strolled through the streets of Pompeii, laughing, reading the inscriptions on the walls of the houses, which were left to them by numerous admirers.
Now, almost 2,000 years later, we know literally minute by minute what happened in those tragic days. And this is thanks to two amazing letters of Pliny the Younger - an eyewitness to the tragedy.
On August 24, at about 2 pm, a giant white cloud with brown spots began to rise rapidly over Vesuvius. It grew and spread to the sides at a height, resembling the crown of a Mediterranean pine - pine. A terrible roar was heard near the volcano, and continuous tremors occurred, which were also felt in Miseno (about 30 km from Pompeii), where Pliny's family was located. The lines of his letter say that the shaking was so strong that the wagons were thrown from side to side, roof tiles fell off the houses and statues and obelisks collapsed.
The sky suddenly became formidable, the cloud became darker and darker ...
Behind the abundant ashfall, the sun completely disappeared, and pitch darkness fell. This further increased the anxiety and confusion of the people. At the same time, there were heavy showers on the western slopes of the volcano, which often occur during eruptions. Loose ash and pumice layers on the slopes, "saturated" with water, rushed down with powerful mud, apparently , hot streams - lahars. Three such streams, following one after another, covered the city of Herculaneum, located on the seashore, destroying all life in the blink of an eye.
Hercalanum was the first to die, since it was located almost at the foot of Vesuvius. Its inhabitants of the city, who tried to flee, died under the lava and ash.
The fate of Pompeii was different. Here there was no stream of mud, from which, apparently, flight was the only escape; here it all started with volcanic ash that could be easily shaken off. However, lapilli soon began to fall, then pieces of pumice, several kilograms each.
The whole danger became clear only gradually. And when people finally realized what was threatening them, it was already too late. Sulfur fumes descended on the city; they crawled into all the cracks, penetrated under the bandages and scarves with which people covered their faces - it became more and more difficult to breathe ... Trying to break free, take a breath of fresh air, the townspeople ran out into the street - here they fell under a hail of lapilli and returned in horror , but as soon as they crossed the threshold of the house, the ceiling collapsed on them, burying them under its debris. . It was impossible to go outside without covering your head with a pillow, as heavy stones fell on your head along with the ashes. Some managed to delay their death: they hid under the stairwells and in the galleries, spending the last half an hour of their lives there in deathly fear. Later, however, sulfur fumes penetrated there as well.
By the time the terrified residents realized the seriousness and danger of their situation, the streets were already buried under a thick layer of ash, and it kept falling and falling from the sky. Soft ash on the ground, falling ash from the sky, sulphurous fumes in the air...
People, mad with fear and horror, fled, stumbled and fell, dying right on the streets, and they were instantly covered with ashes. Some of them decided to stay in houses where there was no ash, but the houses quickly filled with poisonous fumes, and hundreds of people died from suffocation. Many found their death under the ruins of their own houses, were crushed by roofs that collapsed under the weight of ash.
The last blow of Vesuvius to the unfortunate cities was the fiery wall of lava, which forever buried the once flourishing settlements.
Forty-eight hours later, the sun shone again, but both Pompeii and Herculaneum had already ceased to exist by that time .. In place of olives and green vineyards, in marble villas and throughout the city, ash and undulating lava lay. Everything within a radius of eighteen kilometers was destroyed. Moreover, the ashes were carried even to Syria and Egypt.
Now, over Vesuvius, only a thin column of smoke was visible, and the sky was blue again ...
However, despite the scope of the tragedy, only two thousand of the twenty thousand inhabitants of Pompeii died. Many residents realized in time what the eruption could threaten them with, and tried to quickly leave for a safe place.
Nearly seventeen centuries have passed. In the middle of the 18th century, people of a different culture, other customs took up spades and dug up what had been lying underground for so long.
Before the excavations began, only the very fact of the death of two cities during the eruption of Vesuvius was known. Now this tragic incident gradually emerged more and more clearly, and the reports of ancient writers about it were clothed in flesh and blood. The terrifying scope of this catastrophe and its suddenness became more and more visible: everyday life was interrupted so rapidly that the pigs remained in the ovens, and the bread in the ovens. What story could, for example, be told by the remains of two skeletons, on whose legs slave chains were still preserved? What did these people survive - shackled, helpless, in those hours when everything around was dying? What agony must have been experienced by this dog before dying? She was found under the ceiling of one of the rooms: chained, she rose along with a growing layer of lapilli that penetrated the room through windows and doors until, finally, she came across an insurmountable barrier- the ceiling, yelped for the last time and suffocated.
Under the blows of the spade, pictures of the death of families, terrifying human dramas, were revealed. . Some mothers were found with children in their arms; trying to save the children, they covered them with the last piece of cloth, but they died together. Some men and women managed to grab their treasures and run to the gate, but here they were overtaken by a hail of lapilli, and they died, clutching their jewelry and money in their hands.
"Cave Canem" - "Beware of the dog" reads the inscription from the mosaic in front of the door of a house. On the threshold of this house, two girls died: they hesitated to escape, trying to collect their things, and then it was too late to run. At the Hercules Gate, the bodies of the dead lay almost side by side; the load of household belongings that they dragged turned out to be unbearable for them. In one of the rooms, the skeletons of a woman and a dog were found. A careful study made it possible to restore the tragedy that had played out here. Indeed, why was the skeleton of the dog preserved in its entirety, while the remains of the woman were scattered throughout the room? Who could scatter them? Maybe they were taken away by a dog, in which, under the influence of hunger, wolf nature woke up? Perhaps she delayed the day of her death by attacking her own mistress and tearing her to pieces. Not far away, in another house, the events of the fateful day interrupted the wake. The participants in the feast were reclining around the table; so they were found seventeen centuries later - they turned out to be participants in their own funeral.
In one place, death overtook seven children who were playing, suspecting nothing, in a room. In the other, there are thirty-four people and with them a goat, which, apparently, was trying desperately to ring its bell to find salvation in the imaginary strength of a human dwelling. The one who was too slow to escape, neither courage, nor prudence, nor strength could help. A skeleton of a truly Herculean man was found; he also proved unable to protect his wife and fourteen-year-old daughter, who ran ahead of him: all three remained lying on the road. True, in the last effort, the man apparently made one more attempt to rise, but, intoxicated by poisonous fumes, he slowly sank to the ground, rolled over on his back and froze. The ashes that covered him, as it were, took a mold from his body; scientists poured gypsum into this form and received a sculptural image of the deceased Pompeian.
One can imagine what a noise, what a rumble was heard in a covered house, when a person left in it or lagging behind the others suddenly discovered that it was no longer possible to get out through the windows and doors; he tried to cut a hole in the wall with an axe; not finding a way to salvation here, he took to the second wall, and when a stream rushed towards him from this wall, he, exhausted, sank to the floor.
The houses, the temple of Isis, the amphitheater - everything has been preserved intact. There were wax tablets in the offices, papyrus scrolls in the libraries, tools in the workshops, strigils (scrapers) in the baths. On the tables in the taverns there were still dishes and money, thrown in a hurry by the last visitors. Love poems and beautiful frescoes have been preserved on the walls of the taverns.
“AND THE LAST DAY OF POMPEI WAS THE FIRST DAY FOR THE RUSSIAN BRUSH…”
For the first time, Karl Bryullov visited the excavations of Pompeii in the summer of 1827. The story of the tragic catastrophe that befell ancient city, completely captured all the thoughts of the painter. Most likely, it was then that he had the idea to create a monumental historical picture.
The artist began to collect the necessary materials before starting to paint the picture. An important source of information was for him the letters of an eyewitness to the catastrophe, Pliny the Younger, to the Roman historian Tacitus, which contained details of the catastrophe.
Bryullov studied the customs of ancient Italy, visited Naples several times, explored the ruined Pompeii, walked along its streets, examined in detail the houses preserved under volcanic ash with all the furnishings and utensils. He visited the Neapolitan Museum, where there were amazingly living prints of the bodies of people covered with hot ash. He makes a series of sketches: landscapes, ruins, petrified figures.
The artist visited Pacini's opera The Last Day of Pompeii several times and dressed his sitters in the costumes of the heroes of this performance. Based on the materials of archaeological excavations, Bryullov writes not only all household items. He will depict some figures in the very poses that have been preserved by the voids formed in the frozen lava in place of the incinerated bodies - a mother with her daughters, a woman who fell from a chariot, a group of young spouses. The artist took the image of a young man with his mother from Pliny.
In 1830 the artist began work on a large canvas. He wrote at such a limit of spiritual tension that it happened that he was literally taken out of the studio in his arms. However, even shaken health does not stop his work.
And so the final composition of the picture was born.
The crowd in the picture is divided into separate groups, according to which the viewer gradually reads the artist's literary intention - to depict the feelings and behavior of people in the face of death.
Each group has its own content, arising from the general content of the picture. The mother seeks to shelter the children. The sons save the old father, carry him on their shoulders. The groom carries off the unconscious bride. A weak mother convinces her son not to burden himself, and the father of the family tries to cover his loved ones with the last movement in his life. But the rider, who has much more chances to escape than others, rushes at full speed, not wanting to help anyone. And the priest, whom they used to listen to and trust, cowardly leaves the dying city, hoping to go unnoticed.
In one of the background groups, the artist depicted himself. In his eyes, not so much the horror of death, but the close attention of the artist, exacerbated by the terrible sight. He carries on his head the most precious thing - a box with paints and other painting accessories. It seems that he slowed down his steps and tries to remember the picture that unfolded before him.
And here is the finished painting. Preparation for work as a masterpiece took six years of the master's life (1827-1833). But her success was also grandiose.
Long before graduation in Rome, they began to talk about the marvelous work of the Russian artist. When the doors of his studio on St. Claudius Street opened wide to the public, and when the painting was later exhibited in Milan, the Italians were indescribably delighted. The name of Karl Bryullov immediately became known throughout the Italian peninsula - from one end to the other. When meeting in the streets, everyone took off his hat to him; when he appeared in the theaters, everyone stood up; at the door of the house where he lived, or the restaurant where he dined, there were always many people gathered to greet him.
The real triumph awaited K. Bryullov at home. The picture was brought to Russia in July 1834, and it immediately became the subject of patriotic pride, was in the center of attention of Russian society. Numerous engraved and lithographic reproductions of "The Last Day of Pompeii" spread the glory of K. Bryullov far beyond the capital. The best representatives of Russian culture enthusiastically welcomed the famous painting: A.S. Pushkin translated his story into verse, N.V. Gogol called the picture "a universal creation", in which everything "is so powerful, so bold, so harmoniously brought into one, as soon as it could arise in the head of a universal genius." But even these own praises seemed insufficient to the writer, and he called the picture "a bright resurrection of painting. He (K. Bryullov) is trying to grab nature with gigantic embraces."
E.A. Boratynsky, composed a laudatory ode on this occasion. Words from which - "The last day of Pompeii became the first day for the Russian brush!" - later became a famous aphorism.
The owner of the painting, Anatoly Demidov, presented the painting to Nicholas I, who exhibited the painting at the Academy of Arts as a guide for beginner painters. After the opening of the Russian Museum in 1895, the canvas was exhibited there, and the general public gained access to it.
Note.
This is what the painter Karl Pavlovich Bryullov looked like while working on his painting. This is a self-portrait of the artist, dated "circa 1833". He was only 28 years old when he started this work, and 34 when he finished the picture.
This is how he depicted himself on the canvas (remember, with a box on his head ...), he can best be seen on the first fragment of the picture from above.