The Soviet artist Porfiry Nikitich Krylov visited Italy for the first time together with the Kukryniksy collective. They presented their works at the Venice Biennale in 1956 for which they gained worldwide recognition and were invited to take part in the exhibition again.

Coming to Italy on creative trips or on family vacations, Porfiry Krylov visited Florence, Rome and Venice more than once. The ancient city on the water charmed the artist with its unique silhouette and way of life. A number of works from Krylov’s Italian series are dedicated to Venice. One of them is the painting “Venice. Gondolier”. It was created during his trip to Italy in 1958.

It depicts a light gondola swiftly floating away in the quietly splashing azure waters of the Grand Canal along its ancient palazzi. The gondola and the gondolier are legendary symbols of Venice. The artist admires the elegance of the gondola, which is a work of art in itself, thanks to its unique design. The overall contrast and rhythm of the painting underlines that the gondolier is in a hurry — probably to get passengers, or maybe on a date. The joyful, bright mood of the picture suggests the answer.

Krylov’s art united three distant and different cities: Venice, Tula and Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Two works by Porfiry Krylov with a Venetian landscape seem to be the same, but they have different names and are kept in different museums: “Venice. Gondolier” is housed in the Museum of Porfiry Krylov in Tula, and “Venice. The Grand Canal” — in the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Fine Arts Museum. At first glance, the paintings differ only in color, but upon closer inspection, other details become noticeable.