I love Russian painters and one of my favorites is Victor Vasnetzov (1848 - 1926). Part of being a good painter is knowing what to paint, and Vasnetzov certainly knew that. He was riveted by the architecture and wall art in the Czar's palace. And no wonder...it's beautiful! Are these rooms still standing? Wouldn't you love to go to Russia and see this for yourself? Why doesn't some public building in the West reproduce some of these rooms? Why doesn't Disneyworld?
Russia's such an interesting blend of East and West. The red pillars are reminiscent of China, and so is some of the wood carving, and the dress patterns sometime seem influenced by the Islamic south, yet the less formal, European-influenced Russian character seems to pervade everything.
The Vasnetsov painting above manages to capture something else about Russia, and that's what a magical country it used to be. You see it in the art and the literature. Here's the beginning of a Russian kids story: "In the golden holiness of a night that will never be be seen again and will never return, there lived in a certain country far, far away at the other side of the great waters, a little mosquito."
Russian traditional dress (above). Beautiful!
The Russian Orthodox church certainly contributed to the country's character. The religious art I've seen emphasizes the tragic, as if to say human beings find nobility and wisdom in their encounters with great suffering.
Talking about suffering, this poor girl (above) looks miserable, but everybody around her is celebrating. At least she has a pretty place to be miserable in.
A Vasnetsov witch (above) abducts her victim, then makes her getaway. Is that a baptismal font? What's going on here?
A typical covered porch outside the elevated front door of a well-to-do house. These outdoor porches were common in old Russia. Maybe that's where you took off your boots, or maybe it was meant to be a buffer separating the house from the world of freezing wind and ice outside.
