Amalfi 

Konstantin Gorbatov made this oil painting, Amalfi, in the first half of the 20th century. The town, stacked on the hillside with the sea at its feet, is awash with light. Gorbatov was a Russian painter, and it’s interesting to consider this vision of Italy in relation to the push and pull of Russian art institutions at the time. The Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, for instance, promoted a conservative, nationalistic style. Many artists pushed back against this in favor of more progressive European styles such as Impressionism. We might consider the way the art market in Western Europe and Russia shaped his artistic choices, as he emigrated in 1922. The image also invokes the idea of the Grand Tour, a traditional trip of Europe undertaken by upper-class European men from the 17th century onwards as a means to acquire knowledge. We can find evidence of this cultural phenomenon in many novels and paintings. It is a privilege available only to some. Historians would be interested in researching his ties to artistic unions, movements and academies to shed more light on the socio-political dynamics that shaped his life and art.