The Last Day of Pompeii Karl Briullov Full size image
		The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene Alexander Ivanov Full size image
		Portrait of Adam Schwalbe, the Artist's Foster-Father Orest Kiprensky Full size image

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After graduating from the Academy of Arts, Karl Briullov left for Italy to continue his development as an artist. In 1827 he visited the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum and was inspired to paint his most famous work The Last Day of Pompeii. The painting took him six years to finish and when it was shown to the public in Rome it provoked a furore of enthusiasm. In 1834, after a stop in Paris, The Last Day arrived in St Petersburg and was put on display at the Academy of Arts. Here too it caused a storm of delight with the public. In 1851 this monumental work was taken into the Hermitage along with Fiodor Bruni's equally huge Brazen Serpent "to strengthen the Russian gallery". The Russian academic school was further represented in the room by works painted by Kiprensky (Portrait of Bertel Thorwaldsen), Reitern (Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac), Alexander Ivanov (The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene) and Andrei Ivanov (Exploit of a Young Kievan During the Pecheneg Siege of Kiev in 968).