There are several types of cityscapes. A veduta is a realistic image of houses and streets, an architectural landscape focuses on tourist attractions, a capriccio is an architectural fantasy, an industrial landscape is the depiction of plants and factories — a genre popular in Soviet art, and so on. When it comes to Andrey Kurnakov’s drawing made in the center of Florence, it can be described as more of a landscape impression.

Just like a city guide, the artist leads the viewer along an old Italian street, showing his favorite spots, with more and more details gradually showing up in the distance, where the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore rises. Its name is translated from Italian as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower.

This is an architectural complex that includes the cathedral itself, the bell tower, and the baptistery — a special structure where the sacrament of baptism is carried out. The cathedral has become a symbol of Florence and can be seen from almost any place in the city.

The construction lasted for about five centuries under a series of architects: it was interrupted repeatedly due to plague epidemics and the search for technical solutions. As a result, Santa Maria del Fiore became the fifth largest cathedral in the world. This huge building, decorated with fine carvings, colorful pavement, beautiful sculptures, and marvelous frescoes, has the world’s largest brick octagonal dome. The Italian master Filippo Brunelleschi used a herringbone brick pattern to help the bricks support each other.

Kurnakov visited Florence as a tourist and did not have enough time for highly detailed sketches. Of all the amazing sites of this Italian city, he had to choose the most iconic and significant landmarks and depict them in their full splendor. The artist was not disoriented by the variety of sights and got right to the point. He chose the most interesting and distinctive sight and indicated the correct proportions. This rapidly executed small drawing, which is actually more of a sketch, still conveys the perspective, color, space, and even air.

The tall and slender tower of the Palazzo Vecchio and the large terracotta dome of the Florence Cathedral are the compositional centers of the picture. A picturesque street exhibiting such colors as rose, green, blue, and ultramarine, leads to these buildings. Kurnakov uses a marker pen to convey the play of light and shadow and emphasize the decorations of the buildings.

For his series “Travel Sketches from Italy”, Kurnakov chose toned paper to fill his works with sunlight.