The soft warm light permeating out of the trees delivers great, yet subtle, contrast to the winter theme painted on this box.
Out and about on her daily walk, the Snowmaiden, has come across a beautiful deer. She stops and they chat while the winter wind swirls loose snow behind them. Its not easy being the daughter of Father Frost and Fairy Spring, but the Snowmaiden is making them proud. As of now she is living with her new family, who she cares for very much. She is the most beautiful girl in the village and Lyel, the local shepherd boy, is madly in love with her. Right now he is out tending to his herd, but is thinking up new tunes to play on his flute for the next time that they meet.
Egg-tempera paint is used to paint this scene. The colors range from pastels to earth tones that work well, and create a complex dynamic in the scene. Sweeping brushwork creates the swirling snow in the background. The artist gives the deer and the Snowmaiden elongated features, which also creates an illusion of movement. What really works here is the combination of colors. There is a delicacy and softness in the technique used to paint this scene that one cannot define.
The box is constructed out of paper-mache made in the village of Mstera. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior and red lacquer is used to paint the interior of the box. Gold filigree with aluminum flowers frames the scene and wraps around the sides of the box. This decoration complements the palette in the composition and attracts a good amount of light to the box in general. The box does not have a hinge and rests on four rounded feet. Upon completing the work on this piece the artist writes the title above the scene, and Mstera and her signature below the composition.
Materials: paper-mache, egg-tempera paint, gold paint, aluminum paint, and lacquer.
About Artist Medvedeva, Antonina Konstantinovna:
Antonina Konstantinovna Medvedava was born in 1952 in the town of Lukyanov of Niznegorod region. She attended the Mstera Art School 1973, where she studied under Vasiliy Ivanovich Korsakov. Korsakov himself was chairman of the "Proletarian Art" Artel for two years before becoming its leading artist in 1948. He also held the position of chairman of Mstera's Applied Art Department. (For more information about Korsakov, see The Art of Mstiora: Catalogue of Mstiora Art Museum Exhibits, pg. 197.
Medvedava is most well known for her pieces entitled, " Twelve Months"(1973), "Once on the eve of the Epiphany"(1974), "Song about merchant Kalashnikov" (1985). The themes of her lacquer art r
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read about Medvedeva, Antonina Konstantinovna
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Item Specifications:
- Title: "Snowmaiden 2000"
- Price: $225.00
- Status: SOLD
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