Show all images on one page	#001166 Title: The last leafs (Temple of Christ the Saviour) Artist: Dmitriev Sergey Size: 13.5x10x5.5 Price : $450 SOLD!

Kholuy's Sergey Dmitriyev has depicted this glorious sight of the Temple of Christ the Saviour. This magnificent building is located in the center of Moscow, not far from the Kremlin. It was constructed on a vow given by sovereign Alexander I in gratitude for saving fatherland "from the Gauls invasion". On September 10, 1839 the solemn laying of the present temple in Russian-Byzantian style took place. It was constructed under the project of architect K.A.Ton, at the expense of the Treasury with attraction of people's donations. Two cemeteries and mammoth remnants were found during digging a foundation ditch. The temple was consecrated on April 10, 1883 during the days of crowning of the emperor Nikolay I. Side - chapels were consecrated later: on June, 12 - the side-chapel of St.Nikolay Chudotvorets and on July, 8 - of St. Alexander Nevsky. K.A.Ton realized the project of a five-domed temple with a big central and four angular turrets with 14 bells. The banners and keys of the conquered cities were transferred to the temple. First electric street lamps in Moscow appeared on the square in front of the temple (you can see several of them in this scene). The height of the temple was 103 m. On December 5, 1931 the temple was blown up. Subsequently the foundation ditch was used for the construction of swimming - pool " Moscow ". In 1994 the pool was closed. On January 1995, the solemn laying of the revived temple took place. Now the construction is completed. The temple has an active museum where excursions are held and the viewing platform is arranged.
. Dmitriyev has chosen to paint the scene with a predominance of white-greenish and grey tones, giving the feeling of a dull winter day. Brown paint is used to paint the trees, the small wooden chapel and human figures in the foreground. Gold paint is used to paint the cupolas of the cathedrals, as well as the golden leaves of a maple twig located in the nearest foreground.
The structure of the temple and the chapel is painted very precisely, each plank and angle defined and dimensionally shaded. The landscape is painted with smooth watercolor like brushstrokes, creating snowdrifts, firs and trees wrapped in white snow. The realism associated with the composition is most impressive. The architecture is painted with photo quality accuracy in the egg-tempera style that gives the artist unlimited power over his composition within the boundaries of the frame.
The decorative additions to this piece are the jewels to this crowning achievement. The lid's composition is framed with a lustrous string of bright golden scrollwork, while highly complex ornamentation, that weaves a spectacular array of gold designs with aluminum accents, makes it way around the sides of the box.
The box is constructed from paper-mache. The exterior of the box is painted with black lacquer while the interior is completed with dark red lacquer. A hinge is fastened to the top of the composition. The box rests on four feet. Dmitriyev adds an inscription to the interior of the lid. Here, we see the title of the work "The last leaves", the fact that this is an author original work, the artist's name, the village name of Kholuy, the date of completion being 2004 and Dmitriyev's flaring signature. The artist also writes his name, the village name of Kholuy and the title at the bottom of the composition.