Show all images on one page	#008550 Title: Miracle of St. George and the Dragon Artist: Dmitriev Sergey Size: 18x24x5 Size (inches): 7.75x9.75x1.25 Price : $1190 SOLD!

Sergey Dmitriyev of Kholuy does not cease to amaze his audience with each box he paints. One gets a sense that he is only getting better with every subsequent work that appears from under his already talented brush. His skill is at the level of a master; however, with each passing improvement one can speculate that the peak of his artistic ability might be a few years down the road. Collecting his work is quite interesting because it shows his evolution. Where some artists stagnate, Sergey Dmitriyev excels.
As the patron saint of England, Portugal, and Greece, St. George is best known for being the patron Saint of Russia. He is also the symbolic figure of Moscow and its strength as the Russian capital. He is most famous for the miracle involving him fighting a dragon.
There are several versions of the story, but the main point remains that a dragon was terrorizing people of a land. Every so often to appease the beast the people would give it human sacrifice in the form of a virgin girl. When St. George was passing through this land people asked him to help. He went to see if the dragon had already eaten the newest offering, who was the king's daughter this time, and instead of eating the dragon had to meet its doom at the lance of St. George.
Egg-tempera paint is the main medium used to paint this composition. The palette is filled with warm tones to convey the heated situation taking place. Each element of the tale is present. Even the approval of God is represented by the rays of light shining down on the saint's head. In the background there is a small kingdom, which the dragon terrorized. To the right is the virgin, who is painted in a red dress with beautiful gold ornamentation decorating it. The dragon and the saint are painted with fluid brushwork that produces lively animation and movement in the composition.
St. George is painted to be bigger proportionally than his horse, to make him seem larger than life. Gold is used to outline and highlight much of the composition. No area of the composition is more impressive than the sky, which is filled in with gold and textured with more gold paint to show the rays of light and the intricacies of the sky.
The box is made out of paper-mache. 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 scrollwork frames the scene with small designs in each corner. There is a larger ornamentation pattern wrapping around the sides of the box, which uses aluminum and bronze paints to add crucial accents. The box has a hinge to its left and rests on four rounded feet. Upon completing the work on this piece the artist writes Kholuy, the title, 2017, and signs his name at the bottom of the scene. He also does so on the interior of the lid, but adds that this work is an artistic creation.