Temple of Love
Richard Mique
Erected in the gardens of the Petit Trianon (1778), this neoclassical rotunda shelters a sculpture of Cupid and symbolizes Marie Antoinette’s idealized vision of romance and pastoral escape. Designed by architect Richard Mique, the temple reflects Enlightenment-era aesthetics and the queen’s longing for simplicity within Versailles’ opulence.
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.
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Tintoretto
Tintoretto’s work (1550–1553) depicts the biblical moment of temptation in the Garden of Eden. Eve, holding the forbidden fruit, entices Adam, who hesitates, capturing the tension between desire and conscience. The background suggests their impending expulsion, a consequence of their choice. Dramatic lighting highlights the figures, emphasizing their forms and the scene’s gravity.
Descent from the Cross
Luis Alberto Acuña
Acuña (mid-1950s) renders the moment of Christ’s body being lowered from the cross with emotional gravity and communal sorrow. The composition emphasizes solidarity in grief, surrounding Christ with figures of all ages and backgrounds, reinforcing the universality of human suffering and compassion.
A Soft Watch to Cause a Young Ephebe to Die
Salvador Dalí
Dalí’s 1971 painting explores surrealist themes of time and mortality. A lifeless youth draped in a melting clock symbolizes the decay of ideal beauty. Hovering figures and a burning sky enhance the dreamlike tragedy, reflecting Dalí’s interest in the collapse of classical ideals. The work underscores his preoccupation with the relentless passage of time and its impact on human existence.
Instant Gratification
Rodel Tapaya
This work (2018) reinterprets the Filipino fable of The Monkey and the Turtle, placing its lesson within a crowded jungle of gambling stalls and restless figures. Monkeys embody the tale’s impatience and hunger for quick gain, while a small turtle-the steady effort outlasts reckless desire. Log piles, patterned trunks, and theatrical foliage frame a world driven by instant gratification and easy profit. Tapaya adapts indigenous storytelling to expose modern cycles of greed.
Retrato alegórico de la injusticia
Dustín Muñoz
In his powerful Allegoric Portrait of Justice (2018), Muñoz portrays a masked judge seated atop chaos, weighing gold bars against an empty scale. His gavel and gas mask signal institutional blindness and moral decay. Painted in acrylic on canvas, the work denounces injustice as systemic, silencing truth and privileging wealth over human 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.
Portrait of Indigenous Person
Luis Alberto Acuña
This striking 1934 oil painting reflects the artist’s deep engagement with indigenous identity and pre-Columbian heritage. The stoic, symmetrical face, wrapped in a red hood beneath a wide-brimmed hat, evokes dignity and resilience. Acuña, a key figure in Colombian modernism, often highlighted native ancestry as a counter-narrative to Eurocentric ideals.
Venus and the Doves
Raphael
In this fresco (1518), Raphael presents Venus, goddess of love, gracefully accompanied by doves, her sacred birds. The flowing ribbon emphasizes her divine beauty and motion, while the doves allude to purity and erotic desire. The image echoes Venus’ central role in the myth of Cupid and Psyche, where love governs both divine and mortal fates.
Saint Anthony the Hermit
Jan Brueghel
This tranquil painting (early 17th c.) shows Saint Anthony seated at the mouth of a cave, gazing contemplatively toward the city and sea. The vivid flora and distant harbor contrast with his solitude, symbolizing the tension between worldly life and spiritual retreat. A vision of a sacred altar within the cave suggests divine presence in the midst of earthly temptation.
The Tree of Vowels
Giuseppe Penone
This monumental bronze sculpture (2000) shows a fallen oak with roots extending like veins across the ground. Installed in the Jardin des Tuileries, it demonstrates Penone’s exploration of the connection between humanity and nature. The work combines organic memory with sculptural permanence, inviting reflection on time, fragility, and the endurance of natural forms.
Dionysian Procession
Raphael
In this scene (1518), Raphael depicts Bacchus (Dionysus) leading a joyful procession of Maenads, Satyrs toward Cupid and Psyche’s wedding. The central Maenad, in ecstasy, embodies the Dionysian cult of revelry, blending divine intoxication with theatrical festivity.
Euclid Teaching Geometry
Rapahel
In this vibrant lower-right scene from The School of Athens (1509–1511), Raphael presents Euclid demonstrating geometric principles with a compass. Painted in Rome during the High Renaissance, this detail celebrates empirical learning as foundational to human knowledge. The intense focus of his young onlookers reflects the Renaissance ideal of rediscovering ancient scientific wisdom through observation and reason.
Cupid and the Three Graces
Raphael
In this fresco (1518), Raphael portrays Cupid with the Three Graces, who embody beauty, charm, and joy. The scene reflects the harmony of love and divine favor, integral to Psyche’s myth. Framed by Giovanni da Udine’s botanical festoons, it blends mythology with Renaissance ideals of grace and abundance.
“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!