From medieval monasteries to Renaissance castles, Europe has the most stunning and most varied classical architecture in the world. Russian artist Viviene Astakhova captures the alluring beauty of classical European architecture on paper through her awe-inspiring watercolor paintings. She finds inspiration from historical cities such as St. Petersburg, London and Vienna.
As a lover of classical architecture, she glorifies famous landmarks through her series of paintings. Featuring graceful brushstrokes, vivid outlines and sun-dappled lighting, it feels like the viewers are taking a stroll through the scenic cityscapes. Historical buildings and places such as Catherine Palace, Singer House, Big Ben, Burano Houses, Grand Canal and Griboyedov Canal are some of her favorite subjects to paint. With ornate details and the use of atmospheric shadows, she gives each painting a sense of buoyancy and light.
Russian Artist Creates A Series Of Watercolor Paintings Depicting The Alluring Beauty Of Classical European Architecture
https://www.instagram.com/p/B966uNLID1B/
She starts her paintings by sketching the images in pencil. After which, she applies layers of paint to give life to the drawings. She also highlights other essential elements by using shadows and shading to give life to the skies, trees and water. Then she outlines a few details in black ink for the finishing touch.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBSiAdkBn6j/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAnyPshBtV9/
The series of paintings depicting classical European architecture has wowed people on the internet. And to further enhance the beauty of her illustrations on photos, she cleverly applies dimmed or shuttered lighting. This effectively adds a romantic ambience to the scenic places on the illustrations. One of her best photos is of her painting of Big Ben where she lets a thin beam of light across the clock tower. It’s as if the ray of sunlight is a part of the illustration itself, illuminating the clock tower while keeping the rest of the image enveloped in afternoon shadows.
So, this is the painting of Big Ben that we talked about and as you can see it looks great with the sun beam.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA0mtKpB4jw/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_S8nKLBMLu/
Take a trip to the spectacular cities of Europe through this beautiful series of paintings. Visit and follow the artist’s Instagram page to browse all of her creations.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_DYOCmBj6P/
Her paintings also show different angles of a building to. This one shows the statues
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fjp4MIsby/
while this one has less detailed statues and shows the other side of the building with the stairs.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-R5AE0IpUF/
While, some her paintings styles can look a little different to. This one looks a little simpler than some of the others because the detailing on the building is not as intricate but she really makes the colors in the sky stand out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9UnlaEoSS2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ZPKp9oI2b/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B79TQSlonv9/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B52eKZqonHk/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5coScGoDfL/
We love this painting to because it shows more of an aerial view of the building and the city around it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ZoeKzo5wO/
A lot of her paintings show only buildings
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Xd6qmIOOk/
but some also show people during their every day lives to.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Dz_cHoJQX/
This painting is beautiful to because it looks like sunset
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4NXqIDI_0q/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
while the weather in this one looks rainy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ALUp4oDHJ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B26v6FCiv8k/
Some of her Instagram posts show the paintings when they are not fully complete to
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1OTZxYI0pN/
and this painting is so detailed you can almost imagine actually standing on the same street.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0WECpNIGvo/
Lastly, we have this painting showing gondola boats on the canal.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0AsR-7IAzm/
All of these watercolor paintings are amazing but which one do you like best? Let us know!
If you want to have a remarkable illustration for yourself, check out the artist’s website to see her original paintings that are up for sale.