Italian morning. 1823 Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (1799-1852)

Description of Karl Bryullov’s painting "Italian Morning"

In 1822, after the establishment of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, Karl Bryullov had the good fortune to become one of the Society’s first pensioners in Italy. Abroad, having visited the workshops and absorbed the achievements of the greatest masters of all times, he becomes one of the best painters in Rome.

Carl Bryullov, with his work "Italian Morning," presents the viewer with a portrait of a young Italian woman making her morning toilet. The canvas is filled with modesty, femininity, innocence and gentle sophistication. The girl is caressed by the morning sunlight, it shades her face and breasts. She is totally focused on her toilette and doesn’t notice the author.

The background of the painting is darkened, thus the artist allows the audience to see the girl clearly, noticing everything down to the smallest detail. The young Italian is full of charm and natural beauty: she has puffy lips, a regular nose, and under the lowered eyes, framed by thick and lush lashes, you can see the black eyes.

Karl Bryullov was able to achieve faithful color combinations, very realistically conveyed the texture of the water, the skin tone of the southern beauty.

Small details, such as a small shining earring, made the image of the Italian woman attractive and warm. Everyone raved about the canvas - first the Italian and then the Russian public. It was presented to the Russian Emperor Alexander I. The painting received a positive review in the Russian journal Otechestvennye Zapiski and the admiration of a whole pleiad of Russian painters.

Continuing to compare and unravel the complex mysteries of nature and man, as well as experimenting with light, Karl Bryullov, following the canvas "Italian Morning," would write the painting "Italian Noon," which summed up the many years of searching of the great Russian artist.