Brought out of Egypt by Moses, the people of Israel wandered about the
desert for a long time on their way to the Promised Land. Thirst and hunger
exhausted them. And though, seeing their suffering, God sent them manna
from heaven and struck water from rock, the wanderers continued to grumble.
They blamed Moses and God for having brought them out of Egypt where they
had had enough food. God got angry with the ungrateful and sent them poisonous
snakes to punish them. Many died of snakebites. In their utter sorrow they
pleaded to God. In despair the people of Israel asked Moses: we have sinned
against God and against you; pray to God that He would remove the snakes
from us. And Moses began to pray for the faint-hearted people. And then
the Lord told Moses: make a brass serpent and carry it like a banner. If
a snake bites someone, he will look at the serpent and stay alive. Moses
complied with God’s will, made a brass serpent and raised it so that everyone
could see it. And when a snake bit a man, he would look at the serpent
and stay alive.
This horrible but instructive event from the Old Testament is reflected
in a painting by Fyodor Bruni.
Bruni was born in 1799 into a family of an Italian artist. He arrived in
Russia with his family at the age of six, and Russia became his second
motherland. As a student of the Academy of Arts Bruni displayed uncommon
talents, and he was sent to Italy to continue his studies together with
another painter, Karl Bryullov.
In Italy Fyodor Bruni was greatly influenced by artists in whose works
Biblical themes prevailed. In 1841 Bruni painted “The Brass Serpent.” The
picture was a tremendous success, it was praised in Russia, and even more
so in the West. His compatriots preferred Karl Bryullov’s “The Last Day
of Pompeii”, though. Bruni was a peerless master of drawing, but the coloring
of his picture was gloomier than that of Bryullov’s painting. In contrast
with Bryullov, Bruni was a reserved, taciturn, meditative man.
In 1836 the Emperor asked Fyodor Bruni to leave Italy and make paintings
for the St.Isaac Cathedral in St.Petersburg. The artist devoted nine years
of his life to this work. He painted the grandiose picture of the Holy
Writ on the cathedral’s walls and dome. According to architect Auguste
Montferrand under whose project the cathedral was built, the artistic values
of Bruni’s work were equal to those of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
St.Petersburg’s museums boast of many icons and paintings on biblical themes
painted by Bruni. His famous canvas depicting Jesus Christ graces the Russian
Museum.
Christ stands on His knees, leaning on an enormous rock. With His eyes
full of tears, He looks at his heavenly father. His face reflects gentleness
and suffering, and at the same time childish trust and purity. In the air
above Him there is a vision of the Cup that He will have to drink for all
of us. It is impossible to look at that image with indifference – reverence
fills the souls of those who look at it.
Alexander Benois, a connoisseur of Russian art, wrote: “This is a truly
religious art, the sanctity of soul, emotion, revelation. Bruni’s talent
was larger-than-life: he was peerless not only in Russia but also in the
West.”
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