Palermo 

Fyodor Bronnikov painted this landscape of Palermo in oil paint; we can’t be sure exactly when. Bronnikov lived through a period of great change in Russia, with the rise of reformist movements and the beginnings of industrialization. It is interesting to consider this painting within its institutional context. Bronnikov was an academic painter. The cool detachment of his style comes out of the traditions of the Russian Academy of Arts, which trained artists to represent the world in a detached and objective manner. But what does it mean to paint a landscape like this? Was Bronnikov making a comment on the social structures of his own time? In many ways, landscapes were seen as an escape from the increasingly industrialized world. By understanding the institutions and social conditions that shaped Bronnikov's work, we can start to appreciate the richness and complexity of this seemingly simple landscape.