LEV LAGORIO (1826-1905)
Mount Kazbek (5,047m - 16, 558ft)
Russia - Georgia border
In Caucasus riders - Mount Kazkek, oil on canvas, 1880, Tretriakov Gallery, Moscow
The mountain
Mount Kazbek (5,047m - 16, 558ft) or Mkinvartsveri (in Georgian) or Bashlam (in Vainkah) is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major mountains of the Caucasus located in the Kazbegi District of Georgia, just south of the border with Russia. It is the third highest peak in Georgia (after Mount Shkhara and Janga) and the seventh highest summit in the Caucasus Mountains. Kazbek is also the second highest volcanic summit in the Caucasus, after Mount Elbrus. The summit lies directly to the west of the town of Stepantsminda and is the most prominent geographic feature of the area. Mount Kazbek is the highest peak of Eastern Georgia.
The region is highly active tectonically, with numerous small earthquakes occurring at regular intervals. An active geothermal/hot spring system also surrounds the mountain.
Kazbek is a potentially active volcano, built up of trachyte and sheathed with lava, and has the shape of a double cone, whose base lies at an altitude of 1,770 m (5,800 feet). Kazbek is the highest of the volcanic cones of the Kazbegi volcanic group which also includes Mount Khabarjina (3,142 m).
Owing to the steepness of its slopes, the glaciers of Kazbek are not very large. The total combined area of all of Kazbek's glaciers is 135 km2. The best-known glacier is the Dyevdorak (Devdaraki), which creeps down the north-eastern slope into a gorge of the same name, reaching a level of 2,295 meters (7,530 feet). Kazbek's other glaciers include the Mna, Denkara, Gergeti, Abano, and Chata. The recent collapse of the Kolka Glacier, located in a valley between Mt. Jimara and Kazbek in the year 2002 was attributed to solfatara volcanic activity along the northern slope of the mountain, although there was no eruption. In addition to the 2002 event, a massive collapse of the Devdaraki Glacier on the mountain's northeastern slope which occurred on August 20, 2014, led to the death of seven people. The glacier collapse dammed the Terek River in the Daryal Gorge and flooded the Georgian Military Highway.
The Painter
Lev Feliksovich Lagorio (Лев Феликсович Лагорио) was a Russian painter and watercolorist, known primarily for his seascapes and maritime scenes. He was associated with the "Cimmerian" school of painting, composed of artists who worked in Southern Crimea.
From 1839 to 1840, he received his first artistic training in the studios of Ivan Aivazovsky. In 1842, with the support of Alexander Kaznacheyev, the Governor of Taurida, he was able to enroll at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Later, he was able to obtain financial assistance from the Duke of Leuchtenberg, the Academy's new President.
In 1850, he received the title of "Artist" for his painting "View of Lahti" and, two years later, became a Russian citizen. He was also awarded a pension to study abroad, visiting Paris first (1853), then Rome, where he stayed until 1859, the last two years at his own expense. After his return, in 1860, he was named a Professor and exhibited the works he had created in Italy. He travelled to the Caucasus in 1861 and presented a series of landscapes from there to Tsar Alexander II, who presented him with the Order of Saint Anna.
He returned to the Caucasus in 1863 and 1864, with the entourage of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, where he participated in the Caucasian War. Afterward he settled in Saint Petersburg, spent the summers in Sudak and often travelled abroad..
In 1885, he was commissioned to paint a series of works on the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 and visited battlefields throughout the European and Asian theaters. In 1900, he was named an honorary member of the Academy.
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2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau
