Show all images on one page	#001309 Title: Morning in the Woods Artist: S.N. Size: 21x15x5 Price : $250 SOLD!

This marvelous box was created by a talented Kholui artist whose name isn't noted on the box, we know only his initials: S.N. It shows how Russian lacquer miniature artists are able to bring hand-painted masterpieces into regular people's homes."Morning in the Woods" as this work is entitled was originally painted on canvas by Ivan Shishkin. Exhibited in the Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery, it is one of the most popular pieces viewed in the entire museum. It has become something of a national symbol for Russia, which lacquer miniature artists were quick to adopt into their work. This box also deserves the viewer's attention for the following reason: here a Kholui artist successfully imitates the Fedoskino technique of painting.
Painted originally in 1889, the scene shows a mother bear watching her three cubs playing on the fallen trunk of a tree. The landscape, executed in transparent technique, presents real Russian impenetrable thickets with mighty firs and pines, lacy foliage and lush grass. Greens, browns, yellows and blues make up the tonal majority in the composition. Each bear is painted as Shishkin had them in his work, and they are the single element in this work that defines it as a masterpiece. The painting is filled with the sensation of magnificent wild nature of the Russian North.
The box is made out of paper-mache. The box has a hinge from the top of the composition and rests a flat bottom. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. The box is signed with the artist's initials (S.N.), village (Kholui) and the title ("Morning in the Woods").