Abstract. In the mastery collection of K. P. Bryullov there are several paintings that we can rightfully call symbolic, namely they include a complex, ambiguous perception of the idea. The main purpose of this paper is an attempt to accurately understand the content of two portraits: “Portrait of Nestor V. Kukolnik” and “ Portrait of Countess Yulia P. Samoilova, retiring from the ball.” The paper considers features of allegory and symbol in the era of Romanticism, highlighting their main difference. Along with other well-known interpretations, the analysis of the “Portrait of Nestor V. Kukolnik”, presented in the given paper, suggests another interpretation of the message embedded in the painting. This message is associated with Kukolnik’s “Giulio Mosti”, which reveals the theme of the artist’s pathway. The relevance of the analysis of these works is obvious: these are the paintings that are a typical example of symbolic refl ection of reality in portrait painting of the 1830s. This subject has not been suffi ciently studied in the art history literature in relation to the Russian pictorial portrait.

Keywords: symbolic portrait in the era of Romanticism, allegory and symbol, portrait 

painting in the era of Romanticism, portraits of Karl P. Bryullov of the 1830s, “Portrait 

of Nestor V. Kukolnik”, “Portrait of Countess Yulia P. Samoylova, retiring from the ball”

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