When all the snow is gone that means Spring has arrived. The streets become the popular destination for the village youth, and there is no telling what can happen when they get together. This scene was inspired by a song that tells of these wonderful Spring days and evenings. It is sung in the first person and tells of how the singer is ready to go into the streets to sing and dance. A passionate line from the song states “I feel hot and cold all over,” which characterizes the transition from Winter to Spring perfectly. The singer joins the other young men and young ladies in the street as they gather for a night of revelry and excitement.
Victor Babkin of Palekh painted this composition. His master's touch came from many years of painting in the Palekh style and experimenting with other forms of painting like oil on canvas work and painting in the Kholuy style. Today he lives on the outskirts of Palekh amidst a beautiful landscape on a plot of land where chickens and cattle are kept. His connection with the earth and the seasons is remarkable, which clearly comes through in his art.
Egg-tempera paint is the main medium used to paint this composition. His palette is based on warm tones to convey the bright spirit of the Spring season. There are minor infusions of cool blues and green, but these are made to create emphasis through contrast. The architecture in relation to the landscape is depicted with skill and ease. It shows a balance and a linear structure that has a developed set of angles to show a dynamic world. By no means is this static, rather he couples this precision with an animated hodgepodge of characters. Each of them is painted to carry their own unique character traits that signal just how good this artist is. He limns gold and aluminum paint over the temperas to add an aesthetic flair to the scene.
The box is made out of paper-mache made in Palekh. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box; clear lacquer is added in layers that are polished to a gleaming finish. Gold and aluminum ornamentation frames the scene and wraps around the sides of the box. Both decorations are exquisitely rendered and create a perfect complement to the scene on the lid. The box has a hinge above the composition and rests on four carved feet. Upon completing the work on this piece the artist writes Palekh, 2002, the title, and signs his name along the bottom of the composition.
Materials: paper-mache, egg-tempera paint, gold, aluminum, and lacquer.
About Artist Babkin, Victor Alexeevich:
Babkin Viktor Alexeevich was born in 1938 in the village of Tolishmanovo, Tumen Region. Now he resides in the village of Palekh, Ivanovo Region.
In 1961 the artist finished the Palekh Art School. His teachers were Astakhov, Nemtinov B.M., Bondarenko V.T., Vikhrev N.F., Kaurtsev F.A., Borunov A.V., Zhegalov V.V. and Solovyov. Thesis work of Babkin V.A. was the composition “Ivan the Terrible in the gun court”.
Works by Babkin V.A. are exhibited in the State Museum of Palekh Art, in the State Russian Museum and many others.
Viktor Alexeevich works at home. He paints his compositions in the style of Palekh lacquered miniature, using tempera paints. Themes of his works are various.
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Item Specifications:
- Title: "A Song For Spring 2002"
- Weight: 14.5 oz 411 g
- Price: $950.00
- This specific item is available as a single work.
We do not expect to carry this item in the foreseeable future!
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