s Last day of Pompeii — AR for the Russian Museum

Last Day of Pompeii

Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
company: Media Minds / Virtual Russian Museum
Role: Art Director

The AR experience was commissioned specifically for the anniversary of Bryullov’s birthday, and later was intended to become the foundation of an educational course “Art & Technology” at the museum’s school.

The Russian Museum wanted to reveal the depth of Karl Bryullov’s masterpiece The Last Day of Pompeii and engage visitors with the painting in a modern, interactive way. 

Museum hall with Bryullov’s painting used for the augmented reality experience
Exhibition space at the Russian Museum featuring Karl Bryullov’s “The Last Day of Pompeii
AR app interface revealing details of Karl Bryullov’s artistic process

We created an augmented reality application for Epson Moverio smart glasses that allowed visitors to explore the painting beyond its surface. Standing in front of the canvas, users could access interactive layers: preparatory sketches, compositional changes, highlighted characters, painting techniques, and guided narration.

The AR content was synchronized with the visitor’s position, blending digital storytelling with direct physical presence in front of the original artwork.

Epson Moverio BT 350
Augmented reality overlay showing the internal structure of Bryullov’s painting
AR reconstruction of sketches and early studies for “The Last Day of Pompeii”
Digital visualization of painting layers created for the museum’s educational program

After the exhibition, the project was adopted as a learning tool in the new educational initiative “Art & Technology,” where students used the application as a reference to develop their own AR experiences.

Visitor in AR glasses exploring the painting
User interacting with the augmented reality installation in front of Bryullov’s painting
Mobirise Website Builder
Audience experiencing digital layers and narration through AR glasses at the Russian Museum

Russian Museum
General director: Vladimir Gusev
Curator of the project: "Virtual Russian Museum" service 
Head of service : Maria Gladkikh
Scientific consultants: Boris Stolyarov, Maria Rudenskaya, Sergei Sirro

MediaMinds
Project manager: Anton Saraev
Art-director: Alex Parshin
Content manager: Oksana Balandina
3D-modeling: Anastasia Kamenko, Sergey Shipov
Programmer: Jasur Sadekov
Illustrator: Nadezhda
2D-graphics: Oksana Kuzmina
Sound design: Dmitry Vasiliev
Voiceover: Stanislav Kontsevich

Supported by
Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation
Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
AFK Sistema
Service “Virtual Russian Museum”

© Alex Parshin, 2025