The Making of Karl Briullov’s Last Day of Pompeii

• In Event: Defying Categorization in Nineteenth-Century Russian Painting

Abstract

Karl Briullov’s Last Day of Pompeii (1833) is a work that combines the rules of academic classicism with the emotion of the romantic sublime. Its reviews in Rome, Milan, and Paris were both glowing and mocking. Despite winning a gold medal at the Paris Salon, why did it have such a mixed reception? This paper will compare Pompeii to other gold medal winners in light of the Salon jury’s evaluations. It will also consider current ideas in French art and visual culture to gain new insights into the discrepancy between the jury’s and critics’ verdicts. It aims to shed new light on what was at stake during the July Monarchy for the Salon jury to award its highest prize to a Russian.

Author

• Margaret Samu, The New School