Among the portraits of Academic Classicism, which are displayed in the art gallery, “Italian Woman at the Spring” by an unknown artist has a special place.

The canvas depicts a knee-high image of a young woman sitting with her back to the viewer against the background of a mountainous landscape. Her head is turned three-quarters to the right, and her gaze is fixed on the viewer. The Italian girl is dressed in a white blouse, red skirt and green corset, and she has a white bonnet on her head.

The painting came to the museum as part of the Volga-Kama traveling exhibition, which was brought in 1918 from Kazan. For a long time, it was believed that “Italian Woman at the Spring” is the work of the Russian painter, draftsman, professor and Academician Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, but this was not confirmed.

Karl Bryullov is known as the creator of numerous paintings: “The Last Day of Pompeii”, “Italian Noon”, “Horsewoman” and others. In 1821, the Society for the Encouragement of Artists encouraged Karl Bryullov to go abroad to improve his skills.

Italy captivated the artist,

The artist lived in Italy for 13 years. The artist’s favorite genre was portraits of women, and the first successful work was the painting “Italian Morning”. Contemporaries were amazed by the unique interpretation of the subject and new manner of painting. This work was presented to Emperor Nicholas I, who praised it so highly that he commissioned a paired work. And so, the canvas “Italian Afternoon” was created.

Some of Karl Bryullov’s paintings were completed by his students. Presumably, “Italian Woman at the Spring” was started by the master himself, but finished by one of his students.

The book “Karl Bryullov” by Esfir Atzarkina, Doctor of Art History, Honored Worker of Culture of the RSFSR, published in 1963, contains a mention of this painting. It indicates that it is included in the list of works by unknown artists, which are attributed to Karl Bryullov.

In 1997, the work was under restoration at the All-Russian Art Research and Restoration Center named after Academician Igor Grabar. After numerous studies, the restorers determined that it was not the “Great Karl”, as Briullov was referred to by his contemporaries.