Saint Isaac's Cathedral by Moonlight
Arkhip Kuindzhi, c. 1869
Isaac's dome under lunar glow. Kuindzhi makes Petersburg stone luminous.
About this work
Saint Isaac's Cathedral by Moonlight is an 1869 painting by Arkhip Kuindzhi in the Smolensk State Museum-Reserve. Across the dark water of St Petersburg, the great dome and porticoes of St Isaac's stand in silhouette against a cloudy night sky, with the moon breaking through behind them and a small boat on the river in the foreground. St Isaac's was designed by the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand and took forty years to build, from 1818 to 1858; its foundations needed some 25,000 piles driven into the marshy ground of the city. When Kuindzhi painted it, the cathedral had been finished for only about a decade. Kuindzhi, whose exact birth date is unknown (he celebrated his name day in 1841), was born near Mariupol in present-day Ukraine and grew up in Taganrog. This is an early work. In his mature years he became famous for capturing intense effects of light, using high horizons and composite techniques to create the illusion of illumination, most famously in Moonlit Night on the Dnieper of 1880 in the Russian Museum.
Sources: Wikimedia Commons: St. Isaac's Cathedral by Moonlight (Smolensk State Museum-Reserve) · Wikipedia: Saint Isaac's Cathedral · Wikipedia: Arkhip Kuindzhi
Print facts
- Native resolution
- 3,961 × 2,550 px
- Sharp at 150 ppi up to
- 26 × 17 in
- Sizes
- Small (20 × 13 in) · $100 · 196 ppi
Medium (24 × 15 in) · $150 · 165 ppi
Large (36 × 23 in) · $300 · 110 ppi - Price includes
- Frame and US shipping · 14–21 days · 30-day returns
FAQ
Where can I buy a framed print of Saint Isaac's Cathedral by Moonlight?
Here. Saint Isaac's Cathedral by Moonlight is available as a framed print in three sizes: Small (20 × 13 in) for $100, Medium (24 × 15 in) for $150 and Large (36 × 23 in) for $300. Prices include the frame and US shipping; delivery takes 14–21 days, with 30-day returns.
What size works best for Saint Isaac's Cathedral by Moonlight?
The file is 3,961 × 2,550 px. Medium (24 × 15 in) is the largest size that prints at 150 ppi or more (165 ppi), the sharpest choice for close viewing; Large (36 × 23 in) prints at 110 ppi, fine from a few feet away but softer up close.
Is it legal to print Saint Isaac's Cathedral by Moonlight?
Yes. Saint Isaac's Cathedral by Moonlight is in the public domain: its copyright, if it ever had one, expired long ago. In the United States a faithful photograph of a public-domain painting does not create a new copyright (Bridgeman v. Corel, 1999), so the image can be printed and sold freely.
