a Russian artist associated with Russian Neoclassicism. Alexander Brullov spent eight years abroad, from 1822 to 1830, in Italy, Germany and France, studying architecture and art. He painted many watercolor portraits at that time. Among the best were those of Yekaterina Pavlovna Bakunina, John Capodistria, Natalya Goncharova-Pushkina, wife of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and Yekaterina Ivanovna Zagryazhskaya, her aunt. He also did illustrations for books and magazines. In 1831, after his return to Russia, he was appointed professor at the Imperial Academy of Arts and these were the years when he created his best architectural projects.
