Theodor Kittelsen. En Uheldig Bjørnejakt (A Bear-Hunt Gone Wrong). 1908

En Uheldig Bjørnejakt (A Bear-Hunt Gone Wrong) (Theodor Kittelsen, 1908)

Not a work by a Russian artist, but, “bears” are an archtypical “Russian” subject, so, I offer no excuses for this romp into “bearishness”. Don’t mess with the bear! You might be sorry!

By the way, my Nicky LOVES this picture… you can see why, of course!

For the curious, this painting is Danish… so… a bow of respect to Fr Peter Olsen, rector at St Basil Russian Orthodox Church in Maplewood NY, one of the finest priests and human-beings I have ever met. God keep you, Batiushka Peter!

Valery Busygin. A Cat. 1992

A Cat (Valery Busygin, 1992)

This cat reminds me of one of our cats, Poochie, a grey tomcat. No, his fur is not matted, but, he is as every bit as inquisitive and bold. Nicky named him Poochie because “he acts like a dog”, in his words. That is, Poochie is very protective and “guards the house”. It is interesting how this cat came into Nicky’s life. Nicky heard a scratching at the door, and, when he opened the door, Poochie meowed, walked in, and made himself right at home. That was ten years ago…

Andrei Drozdov. Fyodor the Groom. 2003

Fyodor the Groom (Andrei Drozdov, 2003)

Nikolai Bogatov. It Frightened Him. 1896

It Frightened Him (Nikolai Bogatov, 1896)

Happy New Year… Hic! …s Novym Godom, Y’all!

Looks like Sir Rabbit has been hitting the ol’ Mousecatel again! Where else but Russia would you find an image of a tiddly coney for New Year’s?

Cheers! Prosit! ¡Salud! Na stroviya! Down the hatch, y’all! Now, where did I put that corkscrew… Nicky!

s Novym Godom! To the New Year!

N. Samokish. A Troika. circa 1930

A Troika (N. Samokish, circa 1930)

Konstantin Vasiliev. The Falcon. 1969

The Falcon (Konstantin Vasiliev, 1969)

Konstantin Vasiliev. The Burning Fire (an étude). 1973

The Burning Fire (an étude) (Konstantin Vasiliev, 1973)

Konstantin Vasiliev. The Burning Fire. 1973

The Burning Fire (Konstantin Vasiliev, 1973)

Konstantin Vasiliev. A Man with an Eagle-Owl. 1976

A Man with an Eagle-Owl (Konstantin Vasiliev, 1976)

This was the last painting completed by Vasiliev before his early and untimely death at the age of 34. There are now two museums devoted exclusively to this artist and his work. The Konstatntin Vasiliev Museum is at 3b Cherepovetskaia Ulitsa in Moscow, and it is very popular with international tour groups. The Konstatntin Vasiliev Memorial Museum is in the village of Vasilevo in Tatarstan, and it is the house where he grew up.

Doesn’t this painting give you the feeling that he knew that his time was short? Eerie…