Show all images on one page	#002704 Title: The Fisherman and the Magic Fish Artist: Strunina Tatiana Size: 7.5x7.5x6.5 Size (inches): 3x3x2.75 Price : $285 SOLD!

Tatiana Strunina of Mstera painted this bright composition. The subject is based on the popular fairy-tale "The Fisherman and the Magic Fish", written in 1833 by A.S.Pushkin. This tale tells about a fisherman and his greedy wife. Once the fisherman caught a magic gold fish that promised to fulfill all his wishes in return for releasing her. The fisherman didn't want anything, but his greedy wife wanted everything! At first she ordered the fisherman to get her a new washtub, then she wanted to have a new cottage. After receiving these trivial things, she decided to be a lady instead of being a peasant, and again it wasn't her last wish, later on, she wished to be a tsaritsa, and even a mistress of all the seas and oceans. In the end the fisherman's wife was punished for her greediness. She again sat near the cracked washtub not far from her shabby hut. The key scenes from this tale decorate the box's lid and sides. The sides depict the following episodes from this tale: the fisherman drops the sweep-net net into the sea while his greedy wife sits on the seashore; than we can see the fisherman imploring the magic fish to fulfill his wife's extravagant wishes. Realization of some of these wishes we may also observe on this box: the fisherman's wife turns into a lady at first (the next scene depicted on the box's sides, and then into a tsaritsa (this scene is depicted on the box's lid).
The artist uses a diverse mixture of colors that complement each other on the scene. She uses gold paint to accent the composition and make a viewer want to be attracted to it. Every detail is delicately manipulated for a great overall effect.
The box is constructed from paper-mache. The edges of the lid and its sides are decorated with beautiful gold patterns. The exterior of the box is painted with black lacquer while the interior is completed with dark red lacquer. The lid isn't hinged and the box rests on a small platform. The work is signed with the artist's name, the title and the village of Mstera.