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 | An Oak Tree Greening by Kritov, Feodor Stepanovich of Palekh #991940 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Feodor Kritov of Palekh has displayed his talents and imagination across the surface of this impressive Russian lacquer box. There is poetic flow here, for more than one reason. The scene is based upon the introduction to the classic poem by Alexander Pushkin "Ruslan and Ludmila". The introduction has come to stand on its own, as it preview the other characters and tales in Pushkin's following lyricized fairytales, and is often known as Lukomorye:
An oak tree greening by the sea; A golden chain about it wound: Whereon a learned cat, in motion Both day and night, will walk around; On walking right he sings a ditty, On walking left, he tells a lay. A magic place: there wends his way The woodsprite, there's a mermaid sitting In branches, there on trails past knowing Are tracks of beast you never met; On chicken feet a hut is set With neither door nor window showing. There wood and dale with wonders teem; At dawn of day the breakers stream Upon the bare and barren lea, And thirty handsome armored heroes File from the waters' shining mirrors, With them their Usher from the Sea. There glimpse a prince, and in his slave; A lot, before the people massing, Across the wood, across the wave, A warlock bears a warrior brave; See Baba-Yaga's mortar glide All of itself, with her astride. There droops Kashey, on treasure bent; There's Russia's spirit... Russian scent! And there I stayed, and drank of mead; That oak tree greening by the shore I sat beneath, and of his lore The learned cat would chant and read. One tale of these I kept in mind, And tell it now to all my kind... The characters and settings have enchanted young and old alike for decades now, just as this artistic illustration of the poem, adapted by accomplished Palekh artist Feodor Stepanovich Kritov from Dmitry Butorin's 1934 original has. Kritov believes that his themes and unique color palette draw collectors to his work. Before he begins a piece, the artist spends a considerable amount of time thinking about the composition and how the scene can be best interpreted. The artist pays a lot of attention to detail using ancient Palekh technique. All of Kritov's work displays a distinct color pallet and quality. At the center of Kritov's composition sits the handsome Pushkin, dressed in gentlemanly attire and sitting under an oak tree. Most literary scholars consider Pushkin to be the father of Russian literature as we know it. Unfortunately his life ended tragically after being mortally wounded during a duel at the ripe age of 37. The artist uses traditional iconographic technique, intermingling several scenes to tell the story. At the base of the oak tree, a wise cat walks from left to right, in a poetic waltz, telling stories and singing songs. Behind the oak tree, lurks a woodsprite, and in its branches sits a mermaid. From the treacherous sea, waves crash against the barren shore. Out of the sea appear thirty wondrous warriors decorated in mirrored armor, lead by the Usher of the sea. Baba Yaga rides her enchanted mortar overhead. In a castle on the hill, Ludmila has been taken captive. Below, Tsar Kaschei bends over his gold-filled treasure chest. To the left, the evil dwarf magician Chernomor eludes the heroic Bogatyr, just above Ruslan's victorious ride with Tsar in hand. Egg-tempera paint is the primary medium used to craft the impressive array of details, filled with a dream of a palette. The original sketch had to be thin and exact in order for the details to create this advanced definition and depth within the scene. This is especially true for the leaves of the trees, the clothing and the facial expressions of the characters. The box is constructed from paper-mache made in the village of Palekh. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior of the piece while red lacquer completes the interior of the work. A hinge has been fastened to the top of the composition to be used for ease of opening. The portion of the lid that contains the composition is slightly raised up away from the outermost edge of the lid's surface area. The composition is then decorated around its closest edge with a thin strand of bright golden beads. There is an elegant filigree-like bouquet that is painted within each of the four corners of this area. The lower decoration is patterned with shimmering Byzantine-like golden filigree designs that interlock among one another. The base side decoration is a bit more lavish. An entire garden of golden filigree expands across al four sides. The golden designs surround smaller aluminum flowers that bloom into beadwork. Upon completion of the piece the artist signs his name, the title, the village name of Palekh and the year of 2002 of which the piece was finished along the lower right corner of the composition. Materials: Egg-tempera paint, paper-mache, gold paint, aluminum paint and lacquer.
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