This Painting Is Moments Before Disaster

This piece is called The Last Day of Pompeii by Karl Bryullov. It was the artist’s attempt to make a name for himself in the art world. A painting that took around 5 years to make. A painting that ended up being his greatest masterpiece. A painting that feels so real and emotional, it’s almost like the artist experienced that day himself. Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, burying the city of Pompeii under a layer of ash. And after this, Pompeii was forgotten for centuries until it was rediscovered in the mid-1700s. When the artist visited the city, he was inspired to make a painting depicting that tragic day. This piece is so chilling to me because it shows the incredible force of nature next to the powerlessness of humans to do anything about it. Yet Bryulllov carefully tells a story with each person, reminding us that they weren’t just a statistic. This painting is a testament to how much the this event impacted the artist. Karl Bryuvoll became a celebrity overnight with this painting and (almost) everyone loved it. Thank you for watching! #arthistory #art #classicart #fineart Credits: Fire and cracking effect from Vecteezy Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: Artist: