Simonetta Vespucci as Cleopatra
Piero di Cosimo
This painting (c. 1480) by di Cosimo depicts Simonetta Vespucci as Cleopatra, with an asp coiled around her neck. Created posthumously, it honors Vespucci’s beauty; she died in 1476 at 23. The profile view echoes medal portraits, while the snake may symbolize her death from tuberculosis. The serene landscape and sky enhance her ethereal presence, making this work a poignant tribute.
Five Dancing Angels (detail)
Giovanni di Paolo
This detail (c.1436) comes from Giovanni di Paolo’s Five Dancing Angels. Here, three angels join hands in a celestial dance while another plays the trumpet before a golden sun, symbolizing God. Their flowing robes and rhythmic gestures convey divine harmony, reflecting the spiritual intensity of 15th-c. Sienese art.
Still Life with Cheese
Floris Claesz van Dijck
On a damask-draped table (c.1615) lie fruit, bread, and three cheeses, carefully grouped by type. Floris van Dijck’s mastery of illusion is evident in the pewter plate jutting over the edge, as if within reach. A pioneer of Haarlem still-life painting, he helped establish the Dutch Golden Age tradition of rendering everyday abundance with startling realism.
Machine for Polishing Mirrors
Leonardo da Vinci
This technical drawing (c. 1490) shows Leonardo’s device for polishing concave mirrors, likely used in optical or experimental studies. Its mechanism demonstrates advanced knowledge of geometry, motion, and material tension. The design reflects his pursuit of instruments that could extend human perception through mechanical precision.
A Dangerous Whisper
Luis Alberto Acuña
This mural (1950s) by Luis Alberto Acuña depicts a man whispering seductively into a woman’s ear while she listens with a mix of curiosity and restraint. The intimate gesture contrasts with the servant above, who quietly performs her duties, reinforcing themes of gender dynamics, social roles, and the tension between desire and decorum in colonial society.
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.
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.
Pentheus Attacked by Bacchic Women
The Oxford Group Workshop
This Apulian red-figure plate (360–350 BC) shows Pentheus arming himself against Dionysus’ cult. In myth, he is seized by Bacchic women, including his mother Agave, who mistake him for prey and tear him apart. The scene warns against impiety and defying divine power, embodying the tragic cost of resisting Dionysian ecstasy and communal worship.
The Veil Torn (The Door to Heaven)
Mariano Bidó
In this mixed-media work (2018), a vast crowd moves toward a hill crowned by three crosses under a black veil of smoke. Referencing the crucifixion, the piece evokes mass devotion, suffering, and salvation. The dense humanity contrasts with the distant, divine climax—highlighting faith as both a collective journey and personal reckoning.
Tuttomondo
Keith Haring
This section of Tuttomondo (1989) showcases Keith Haring’s vibrant visual language with simplified human forms, radiant lines, and vivid colors in rhythmic harmony. The mural, painted in Pisa, celebrates peace and collective action, with each figure symbolizing a social or spiritual force working toward global unity. Haring’s work demonstrates the power of art to convey universal themes of cooperation and harmony.
Hercules the Archer
Antoine Bourdelle
This plaster sculpture (1906–09) shows Hercules, the Greek hero, drawing his bow with taut energy. Bourdelle captures both physical strain and mythic power, fusing classical subject with modern dynamism. The work marks a turning point in early 20th-c. sculpture, bridging academic tradition with expressive innovation.
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.
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.
Chiminigagua Releases Light
Luis Alberto Acuña
Detail from a mural (1960–70s) reimagining the Chibcha creation myth. The supreme god Chiminigagua raises his arms as radiant birds burst forth, bringing light to the cosmos. A glowing sun and celestial rainbow crown the scene, marking the divine act that initiated life and order in the Muisca universe.
Man, Controller of the Universe (detail)
Diego Rivera
This section of Rivera’s 1934 recreated mural shows Lenin uniting workers of different races and nations, flanked by scientific, agricultural, and cosmic imagery. It contrasts socialism’s collective promise with capitalist individualism. The original was destroyed at Rockefeller Center.
“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!