Along with his brother, Karl, he was sent to Europe to study art and architecture with a stipend from the Society for the Promotion of Artists.

Alexander Brullov spent eight years abroad, from 1822 to 1830, in Italy, Germany and France, studying architecture and art.

In 1831, after his return to Russia, he was appointed professor at the Imperial Academy of Arts and these were the years when he created his best architectural projects.

Among others, he designed and supervised the construction of the following buildings in Saint Petersburg: He was one of the principal architects for the reconstruction of the Winter Palace after the fire of 1837.

In 1837, Briullov painted his portrait of Walter Scott at an evening in Paris at the house of Princess Golitsina and had the drawing transferred onto the lithographic stone.