caravaggista:There are few works of art that evoke an immediate emotional response in me. Karl Briul
caravaggista:There are few works of art that evoke an immediate emotional response in me. Karl Briullov’s The Last Day of Pompeii (1830-1833) is one of these artworks. I confess I don’t know much about Briullov, but I know how his masterful painting makes me feel. It transports me to that terrible day in 79 AD when an entire city, an entire region, was decimated and devastated by the eruption of Vesuvius. In the back of my mind, I can feel the heat and the ash, hear the screams of a people crying out, and see devastation happening. And then I am left with a profound sense of loss and mourning. I have been to Pompeii, and it was mesmerizing, if such a word can be used. It was as though I was walking with ghosts and I remember wishing that I could have lived in another time and place so I could have witnessed the art & times of this incredible place. I feel like that with much of history. But Pompeii was so full of memory that I never wanted to leave. I hope that its integrity and value as an archaeological and historical site remains a constant priority for conservators. -- source link