The son of an Italian diplomat, Lev Lagorio was born in Feodosia. In 1850, on the completion of his studies at the St Petersburg Academy of Arts under Maxim Vorobiev (1787-1855) and Bogdan Villeval'de (1818-1903), Lagorio traveled to France, Switzerland, Holland and Italy where he lived and worked from 1852-1860. In addition to his exploration of Europe, Lagorio also traveled extensively in Russia, painting numerous fine works, including the present composition and Night of the Neva, St Petersburg, sold at Christie's, London in 2007 for £1,476,000.

Ernest Chesneau (1833-1890), a notable art critic of the period, praised Lagorio's academic skill, saying 'His painting make the students of our Académie think.' (L'Art et les Artistes Modernes, Paris, 1864, p. 172).

The Neva at dusk, St Petersburg beautifully exemplifies Lagorio's aptitude for expressive color. Like Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900), Lagorio worked in the finest tradition of Romantic landscape painting. Influenced by the older artist, Lagorio's mastery also lies in his rendition of light, here using contrasting colors to depict the vibrant St Petersburg sky above the shimmering silver water. The familiar silhouette of the Peter and Paul Fortress stands out on the horizon, while the barque and its rowers focus the eye.

Louis de Veyran declared Lagorio 'a landscape painter of great talent […] with poetic and touching feeling. He didn't paint alla prima like Aivazowski [sic]: each composition was the subject of much research' (Peintres et Dessinateurs de la Mer, Paris, 1901, p. 72).

The Neva at dusk, St Petersburg is a beautiful and subtle example of a Romantic composition, where poetic impulse is balanced with an academically constructed composition. Typified by a refined sense of composition, Lagorio's paintings consistently depict charming and evocative landscapes. Imbued with the principles of Romanticism, the artist immerses the viewer into a lyrical landscape where the forces of nature express themselves via a simple sky at dusk over the banks of the Neva.

Born in Feodosia into a Genoese family, Lev Lagorio first trained with the celebrated seascape painter Ivan Aivazovsky, before studying at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. In 1861, he travelled to the Caucasus and subsequently presented three Caucasian views to Emperor Alexander II.

In 1863, he returned to the Caucasus in the entourage of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, brother of the Tsar and Governor General of Caucasia, and later Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army in the Caucasus during the Russo-Turkish War in 1877-1878.

Seascapes and Caucasian views form a major part of Lagorio’s oeuvre. Located in present day Dagestan, a republic of Russian on the shores of the Caspian Sea, Kafyr-Kumukh was once one of the main towns of the Shamkhalate of Tarki, a feudal Kumyk state which existed from around the 8th century until its annexation by the Russian Empire in 1813.

The town was one of the residences of the Shamkhals, the rulers of the state.Painted in 1867, the present work shows the Palace of the Shamkhals, located dramatically on a steep rocky outcrop. The palace was abandoned in the 1860s and fell into disrepair with the stones being used by the local population to build houses. Early photographs of the palace already show it in ruins. It was later completely destroyed.

Lew Felixowitsch Lagorio was born in Feodosia in the Crimea, Lagorio. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art with Maxim Vorobyov and Gotfrid Pavlovich Villeval'de from 1843 to 1850.

In his early work, he was influenced by the seascapes of the most famous Russian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky, who also lived in the Crimea. Lagorio took part in the Caucasian War, painting coastal and mountain landscapes.

From 1852, he studied for several years in Italy. In his later works, he painted mainly coastal landscapes in Finland and Norway, as well as scenes from the Russian-Turkish war.

Promoted by the Tsar, he was awarded with several gold and silver medals of the Academy of Arts. Works by Lagorio can be found in many Russian museums, including the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the Museum of Russian Art in Kiev, and the Municipal Museum in Riga.