Italian morning

Italian Morning (Russian: Итальянское утро) is a painting by the Russian painter of French origin Karl Briullov (1799-1852). He worked in Rome until 1835, as a genre painter, portraitist and historical painter.

This painting was made by Briullov after his arrival in Italy in 1823. Lighting and the play of shadows and light play an important role of which the artist himself writes: "I illuminated the sun model, in such a way that the face and chest are in shadow but they receive the reflection of the sunlight that overlooks the fountain, which makes all the shaded part more pleasant than simple direct lighting."

The painting shows a young woman doing her morning toilet under the sun's rays.

He brought the artist rave reviews from the Italian public and made him known in that country. Then also from the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts thanks to which the artist had obtained a scholarship to study abroad. This Society of Encouragement offered this painting "Italian Morning" to Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, the wife of Nicholas I. The emperor wanted to obtain a painting that went hand in hand with this "Italian Morning" and Briullov embarked, in 1827, on the realization of another painting entitled "Italian Midi".

His portraits of the 1820s are marked by the seal of Romanticism. Later, his portraits will evolve towards the expression of the psychology of his characters, giving the impression of having been painted on the spot and emphasizing the personality of the subject. Although Briullov was more attached to his historical works, among which The Last Day of Pompeii assured him an extraordinary success, his intimate portraits, sometimes made under the influence of Ingres, have qualities of seductive freshness and sincerity.