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Another Russian painter of Italian descent
was Fedor Antonovich Bruni, 1799-1875 who happened to be just the opposite of
Venetsianov. Bruni started his career as a promising innovator, but soon
switched to pseudo-classical traditions, working for a while on mythological
and allegorical scenes and then ending in mysticism. Most of his paintings were
of a religious character, but they strongly reflected the religious art of
western Europe and had almost nothing in common with traditional Russian
iconography. At that time one could find nameless Russian icon painters in
remote small villages and towns like Palekh, Mstera etc. The better-known
artists in large cities knew little or nothing about great ancient native art,
and when painting religious pictures they usually imitated foreign masters of
Raphael's or pre-Raphael time. Bruni was not an exception, and it was in this
style that he painted his religious canvases and decorated St. Isaac's
Cathedral and the Church in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. His major
work, "The Brazen Dragon," which shows an episode from the Biblical
story about retribution of mankind for their faithlessness, was done in a
similar style. Circumstances in the country were such that, for all this, Bruni
was able to play an important role in Russian art, particularly during the last
twenty years of his life when he presided over the Academy
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