Show all images on one page	#002038 Title: Holiday in Suzdal town Artist: Strunina Tatiana Petrovna Size: 24.5x11.5x4.5 Size (inches): 9.5x4.5x1.75 Price : $395 SOLD!

Talented Tatyana Strunina painted the scene on this box. Her work has been fascinating the lovers of Mstera art for a number of years. She and her husband, fellow Mstera artist, Mikhail Strunin paint using a similar style that is highly recognizable as being their own.
The artist has depicted a typical winter afternoon in the region of Suzdal. Two troika drivers race their passengers across the icy landscape. Situated along the banks of the Kamenka River, just north of the city of Vladimir, the town of Suzdal contains 200 historical and architectural monuments. The city is over 900 years old, and some of the churches and buildings date back to the 13th Century. With so much history retained in this city, and with such beautiful surroundings, it's no wonder that Suzdal has become a common theme in the miniature paintings of Russian lacquer art.
The colors are so light in their shading that there seems like there might be a hidden light source somewhere within the box. The background sky alternates between powder blue, sky blue and yellow. Lime greens, navy blue, creamy yellow and a variety of earth tones look wonderful against their contrasting neighbors. Brilliant oranges and reds, dark pine greens, maroon and blue make up the troikas and their contents.
The box is constructed from paper-mache made in the village of Mstera. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior of the piece while a radiant red-orange lacquer completes the interior of the piece. The closest edge of the composition is framed with a thin band of bright orange paint. The lid's artistry and the base sides of the box are both decorated by an elaborate band of filigree. Golden vines swerve around multiple aluminum wild flowers within this design. The lid's decoration reflects in the gold contours added to the composition. The crosses, bridles, manes of the steeds and the character's clothing are all intensified with this gold.
The artist makes sure that there is ample texture in the background buildings and especially within the layered leaves in the trees. A hinge has been fastened to the top of the composition. The box rests on a flat bottom. The artist's name and the village name of Mstera are signed along the bottom of the composition. This writing is completed in gold paint.