The Comedy, Parody, and Tragedy
Rodel Tapaya
This painting (2018) from Tapaya’s Urban Labyrinth series swirls with hybrid beings, masks, and mythic figures at a chaotic table. Angelic wings, demonic grins, and spectral visages blur folk imagination with urban satire. Tapaya weaves Philippine mythology into contemporary critique, where humor and menace mirror the fractured realities of modern city life.
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.
Arab Chieftains in Council
Horace Vernet
This 1834 work depicts Arab chieftains in council, likely discussing tribal matters or alliances. Vernet, a French artist known for battle scenes and Orientalist themes, illustrates the 19th-c. European interest in the Orient. The painting reflects the complex interplay of art, culture, and imperialism of the era.
Archangel Michael Weighing Souls
Rogier van der Weyden
In this panel from the Last Judgment Altarpiece (1445–50), Archangel Michael dominates the scene, balancing souls in golden scales as Christ presides above. Trumpeting angels herald resurrection while the blessed and damned await their fate. Painted for Beaune’s Hôtel-Dieu, the work reminded patients that earthly suffering was framed within the ultimate hope of divine justice and salvation.
Christ the Judge
Rogier van der Weyden
At the summit of the Last Judgment Altarpiece (1445–50), Christ sits enthroned on a rainbow, resting his feet on a golden globe that symbolizes dominion over the world. He raises his right hand in blessing, while his left gestures toward judgment. The sword and lily flanking him signify justice and mercy, balancing wrath with compassion. Draped in vivid red, Christ embodies divine authority, anchoring the entire altarpiece in the promise of eternal judgment and salvation.
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.
The Death of Adonis
Tintoretto's Workshop
The Death of Adonis (1550–55) captures Venus fainting at Adonis's death, diverging from Ovid’s Metamorphoses by including young women not in the original tale. Created by a Nordic artist in Tintoretto’s Venetian workshop, it blends Tintoretto’s dramatic style with the collaborator’s unique touch, evident in the expressive figures and vibrant colors. This fusion highlights the shared human themes of love and loss, inviting reflection on the timeless nature of myth and emotion.
Male Portrait
Hans Muelich
This portrait (c. 1550) reflects the refined realism of the German Renaissance. The sitter’s composed gaze, luxurious attire, and elegant glass signify affluence and cultured leisure. The distant path and village in the background may allude to the subject’s journey, social standing, or inner world.
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.
Geological Echo. La Pietà
Salvador Dalí
Dalí reinterprets Michelangelo’s La Pietà, merging sacred imagery with surreal geological forms (1982). The figures’ bodies become fragmented landscapes, symbolizing the erosion of memory and time. Created during Gala’s final years, the work reflects personal grief, exploring themes of love, loss, and the unconscious through voids that resonate with emotional depth and introspection.
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee
Jan Brueghel
This oil on copper (1596) shows Christ asleep during a storm as an apostle wakes him amid violent waves on the Sea of Galilee. The heeling boat and twisted sail convey imminent peril, while the darkened sky dramatizes the disciples’ fear. Brueghel’s vivid rendering turns natural turbulence into a meditation on faith and divine control.
Man, Controller of the Universe
Diego Rivera
This mural (1934), a replica of Rivera’s censored Rockefeller Center fresco, places a worker at the symbolic axis of modernity. He guides cosmic, scientific, and political forces—flanked by socialism on the left and capitalism on the right. Lenin’s presence affirms Rivera’s Marxist ideals, asserting art’s power to envision revolutionary futures.
Mercury Brings Psyche up to Olympus
Raphael
In this fresco (1517–18), Raphael depicts Mercury escorting Psyche to Olympus, symbolizing her apotheosis. Mercury’s winged hat and caduceus highlight his role as divine messenger, while Psyche embodies the soul’s ascent to immortality. The scene reflects Renaissance fascination with classical myths as allegories of spiritual transformation.
Mona Lisa, Age Twelve
Fernando Botero
In this whimsical reimagining (1959), Botero transforms da Vinci’s iconic subject into a voluminous child. Created in his signature Boterismo style, the painting blends parody with homage. Born from a cleaning lady’s remark, the work helped launch Botero’s career, celebrating exaggerated form as a tool for both humor and artistic identity.
Saint Michael the Archangel
Pellegrino Tibaldi
This fresco (1545–46) in the Sala Paolina at Castel Sant'Angelo depicts the Archangel Michael sheathing his sword, symbolizing the end of the plague in 590. His muscular form and gilded armor convey divine justice and Roman salvation, highlighting the spiritual and civic authority of angelic intervention.
“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!