Conventionally, a Grand Tour leads from somewhere north of the Alps to the historical sights of Italy. In the case of Emel’jan Michailovich Korneev (1780-1843), the journey began in St. Petersburg, took him through Siberia to the border with Mongolia and eventually to Crimea, from where he traveled onward to Greece and Asia Minor. His trip concluded with the classic tour through Italy. Years later, he even circumnavigated the globe as an expedition illustrator on board a Russian ship.


The premiere presentation of the drawings from E.M. Korneev’s journey through Italy at Munich’s Stadtmuseum is an apt occasion to familiarize a broader public outside Russia with the output of this fascinating artistic figure for the first time.

Contributions by: Anna Ananieva, Viktoria Cordts, Susanne Glasl, Peter Prange