Alexander Brullov was born on November 29, 1798 in St Petersburg in the family of Pavel Brullo, a sculptor and ornamental artist of French origin. With his brother, Karl, Alexander received a special pension from the Academy of Arts to travel to Italy to study the plastic arts. He spent 8 years travelling in Italy and France, and between 1824 and 1826 took part in restoring the Pompeii thermal baths. This latter work catapulted the young artist to fame: he was appointed the Chief Architect to the Emperor of Russia, and became a corresponding member and a member of the French Institute of Architects and the Royal Society of Architects of Britain, respectively. He also became a member of the Academies of Arts in St Petersburg (Russia) and Milan (Italy).
The watercolour The Italian Ruins was painted between 1822 and 1826. Bryullov manages to bring to the canvas all that could interest him as a painter and architect, starting with a bucolic scene featuring Italian peasants, through the attention to detail in the decor of the archs, and to the perspective that stretches up to the hill in the distance. The “ruins” seem to be scattered all over the place, as indeed befits Italy. As in Greece, these are as natural part of landscape as the mountains and sun, and the picture is literally sun-filled.