The Council of the Gods (detail)
Raphael
In this scene (1518), Raphael depicts Cupid pleading with Jupiter to grant Psyche immortality and approve their union. Jupiter, seated with his eagle, listens thoughtfully. Beside him are Juno (with peacock), Diana (with crescent moon), and Minerva (in armor). Venus stands bare-breasted beside her son, while Neptune (with trident) and Pluto (with bident and dog Cerberus) and Mars (in armor) observe from behind.
Pietà
Michelangelo
This marble sculpture (1498–99) shows the Virgin Mary holding the body of Christ after the Crucifixion. Carved by Michelangelo at age twenty-four, it unites idealized form and anatomical accuracy with restrained pathos. Commissioned for St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pietà exemplifies High Renaissance harmony between human beauty and divine suffering.
The Prayer
Einar Jónsson
Created in 1909 and later cast in bronze, this sculpture shows a kneeling woman embracing a praying child, merging maternal love with spiritual devotion. Jónsson, pioneer of Icelandic sculpture, wove Nordic symbolism into works that joined earthly care and divine aspiration. His 1909 donation of all his art to the nation ensured the founding of Iceland’s first art museum in 1923, making pieces like The Prayer central to national identity.
Judith Beheading Holofernes (detail)
Caravaggio
In this dramatic scene from Judith Beheading Holofernes (c.1598), the Assyrian general Holofernes struggles in his final moments as Judith, the Jewish widow, delivers the fatal blow. Caravaggio captures his terror with a contorted face and blood spurting across the bed, while Judith's hands hold him with determination. This raw depiction distills the narrative to its core: virtue triumphing over tyranny, conveyed with intense immediacy.
Mapiripana
Luis Alberto Acuña
Inspired by a myth from La Vorágine (a novel by José Eustasio Rivera), this 1950s painting depicts Mapiripana, a river spirit who guards silence and nature’s purity. When a missionary attempts to capture her, she punishes him by birthing monstrous twins—a vampire and an owl. In his final feverish agony, he sees a blue butterfly, symbol of his soul’s escape and eternal remorse.
Holy Family with Saints John, Tobias, and Raphael
Bonifazio Veronese
This Venetian Renaissance oil-on-canvas work (1525–27) expands the traditional Holy Family to include St John, Tobias, and the Archangel Raphael. Rich in color and detail, it blends divine iconography with human warmth, echoing the era’s interest in sacred storytelling through vivid, earthly scenes.
Katharsis (detail)
José Clemente Orozco
This explosive mural section (1934) fuses war, lust, and revolution into a single convulsion. Clashing fists, rifles, and machines crush bodies into chaos. The nude woman evokes both violence and moral decay, while fire and protest surge behind. Orozco presents modernity as an inferno—only through destruction can truth emerge.
Grotesque Fantasy with Beasts
Perino del Vaga, Rietti Domenico
This fresco (1545–46) shows a rainbow-like arch filled with hybrid beasts, winged creatures, feline predators, and playful putti (cherubic child figures) arranged over a pale ground. The painters adapt the Roman taste for grottesche (fantastic ornamental motifs) rediscovered in ancient ruins. Their dense fantasy best reveals how Renaissance courts used such imagery to turn walls into imaginative spectacle.
Santa Conversazione (detail)
Ambrogio Bergognone
This panel 1490-95) features a trio of female saints bearing lilies, symbolizing purity. Adorned with gold and intricate embroidery, their garments suggest sanctity and nobility. The solemn expressions and clasped books evoke wisdom and devotion, emphasizing the fusion of holiness and human dignity in late Gothic religious art.
The Comedy, Parody, and Tragedy
Rodel Tapaya
This 2018 painting layers crowded shanties, billboards, and tangled walkways with mythic creatures from Philippine folklore. Human figures mingle with spirits and masked characters, blurring everyday life with the supernatural. Bright colors and abrupt shifts in scale evoke noise, congestion, and spectacle. Tapaya unfolds contemporary urban experience as a chaotic folk tale, where comedy, parody, and tragedy coexist in a single scene.
Madonna and Child with St Anne (Madonna dei Palafrenieri)
Caravaggio
This bold altarpiece (1605–06) shows the Virgin Mary guiding the Christ Child as he crushes a serpent—symbol of original sin. St Anne watches solemnly, evoking generational grace. Caravaggio’s realism and chiaroscuro infuse the holy scene with human emotion, provoking awe and controversy upon its brief display in St Peter’s.
Cain and Abel
Tintoretto
The scene (1550–53) shows the biblical story of Cain’s jealousy and the murder of his brother Abel. The work reflects the Mannerist style through sharp contrasts of light and shadow, twisting poses, and tense, compressed space. Tintoretto’s hallmark energy appears in the sweeping gestures and urgent brushwork that heighten the scene’s violence, underscoring the enduring power of biblical themes in Renaissance art.
Champán en el río Magdalena
De la Rue & Torres Méndez
This 1878 lithograph depicts a champán, a flat-bottomed river raft common on the Magdalena River, propelled by Afro-Colombian workers using long poles. Wealthy passengers rest under a thatched shelter, highlighting the stark racial and class divisions of the era. The image captures both Colombia’s natural landscape and its colonial labor hierarchies in transition.
Apollo and Daphne with The Apotheosis of Romulus
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Mariano Rossi
Bernini’s sculpture (1622–25) captures the climactic moment in Ovid’s Metamorphoses when the nymph Daphne, fleeing Apollo’s desire, transforms into a laurel tree. Above, Rossi’s Apotheosis of Romulus celebrates Rome’s divine origins. Romulus ascends, clutching Roma—helmeted symbol of the eternal city—while Fame, winged and bearing a trumpet, heralds his glory with laurel crowns. Together, sculpture and fresco exalt mythic transformation and Rome’s enduring legacy.
Prehistoric Hunt
Luis Alberto Acuña
This dynamic mural depicts a prehistoric hunting scene, with a male figure aiming his bow at deer while a woman, carrying a child and bundled goods, follows closely. Painted in Acuña’s signature neo-primitivist style (late 1960s-early 1970s), it reflects his interest in the mythic foundations of civilization and the daily heroism of early human life. The textured brushwork echoes rock art while grounding the composition in a modern, expressive idiom rooted in Colombian identity.
“When the path is beautiful, do not ask where it leads.” — Zen proverb
Welcome to my travel photography!
“When the path is beautiful, do not ask where it leads.” — Zen proverb
Welcome to my travel photography!
For as long as I can remember, my path has been one of discovery—seeking beauty, timelessness, and connection in every corner of the world. It has also been a journey of deep learning and understanding. I’ve been an avid traveler (or perhaps a travel addict?) for most of my life. My love for travel began long before I ever left home: as a child, I drew a fantasy map of my grandparents’ apartment and “traveled” through it with my cousin Sonya, imagining adventures in every corner. Nearly 90 countries and countless moments of awe later, I’m excited to share this journey with you.
Thanks to the tireless and ingenious programming of Diagilev, we’re now able to present about fifteen percent of the images I’ve accumulated over the years. More will be released in small batches depending on your interest. While the first release leans toward museum photography, later ones will include more nature, architecture, culture, and general travel experiences. If you’d like to receive email notifications about new releases, feel free to reach out—no commercial use, ever.
Throughout my travels, I’ve been drawn to two intertwined kinds of discovery. One is intellectual: learning why the world is the way it is. History became my guide, shaping my perspective and filling my camera roll with museums and old buildings. To me, history is not the past—it is the key to understanding the present and how the world became what it is. The other is emotional: seeking moments of elevation—spirituality, beauty, harmony—often found in nature, monasteries, and ancient sacred spaces. Together, these impulses shape my photography. It invites you to learn, admire, and soar—to rise above the mundane and see the world through a lens of curiosity and wonder.
Much of my later travel became possible thanks to my job with Delta Air Lines, but the wanderlust began years earlier. By the time I joined the industry, I had already visited over 35 countries and lived in several—largely thanks to a backpacking journey around the world with Luis León, whose face appears in many early photos. I grew up in Ufa in the USSR, and since leaving it I have lived, studied, and worked in Latvia, the United States, France, South Korea, Canada, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Japan, and Colombia.
A life of near-constant movement may seem a little crazy, but it has deepened my understanding of the world and produced the photography you are about to see. Over the years, my style has evolved—more intentional, more refined—yet its core remains the same: a search for understanding, timeless beauty, and a connection to those who walked this earth long before us.
I hope these photos stir something in your soul, just as they did in mine. I’d love to hear from you—whether reactions, suggestions, corrections, or a request to be added to the email list for new releases (no commercial use, I promise). You can learn more about my travels here, and my academic life here.
Enjoy our shared journey!