Fyodor Antonovitch Bruni was born in 1799 in Milan under the name Fidelio Bruni, into a family of Swiss Italian origin. His father, a painter and restorer, soon moved to Saint Petersburg, where the young artist entered the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts very early. There he received training based on drawing, anatomy, the study of Antiquity and the classical hierarchy of genres. After his diploma in 1818, Bruni reached Italy and worked for a long time in Rome. After his diploma in 1818, Bruni reached Italy and worked for a long time in Rome. After his diploma in 1818, Bruni reached Italy and worked for a long time in Rome. After his diploma in 1818, Bruni reached Italy and worked for a long time in Rome. After his diploma in 1818, Bruni reached Italy and worked for a long time in Rome. After his diploma in 1818, Bruni reached Italy and worked for a long time in Rome. After his diploma in 1818, Bruni reached Italy and worked for a long time in Rome. The Renaissance masters, Michelangelo and Raphael in particular, nourished his taste for monumental compositions and powerfully modeled bodies. His great project, The Brazen Ser many years. Inspired by the Book of Numbers, the immense canvas combines panicked crowds, physical twists, supernatural light and religious salvation. Presented in Saint Petersburg in 1841, it became an event in Russian artistic life. Bruni then alternated between Russia and Italy, produced portraits, mythological subjects, drawings and cartoons, then participated in the decor of Saint-Isaac Cathedral. Professor and rector of the Academy, he formed several generations while directing imperial artistic institutions. His painting unites neoclassical discipline with romantic intensity: the construction remains scholarly, but fear, desire, suffering and revelation run through the bodies. Died in Saint Petersburg in 1875, Bruni remains with Karl Brioullov and Alexander Ivanov one of the great representatives of Russian monumental painting of his century. The "Fyodor Bruni" selection notably compares The Brass Serpent and Bacchante playing with Cupid. His reading favors the material.
Bruni constructs history as a collective test: drawing orders the crowd, while light and movement make destiny visible.
