Show all images on one page	#002119 Title: St.Petersburg--Views of an Old Town Artist: Strunin Mikhail Size: 16x11x13.5 Size (inches): 6.25x4.25x5.25 Price : $950 SOLD!

This large box has four extensive paintings around the body, one rectangular composition on the lid, and a panorama that runs around the curved sides of the lid. The creator of this work is Mikhail Strunin from the village of Mstera. It is dedicated to St.-Petersburg, the second capital of Russian Federation.
It's very interesting that the artist has chosen to depict here the copies of ancient lithographs painted in the XVIII-XIX centuries featuring various sights of the city instead of painting its modern views.
The rectangular composition on the lid shows the copy of lithograph painted in 1823. Here we can see the busy street, and ladies and gentlemen strolling along it. The panorama that runs around the sides of the lid features the Gulf of Finland, and the fleet of Peter the Great. The front side portrays the copy of lithograph that is called "Fontanka". Fontanka is the famous street located in the very center of St.-Petersburg. It stretches along the embankment of the Fontanka River. On the rear side there is a copy of lithograph called "The Winter Palace Embankment". The left side features the copy of lithograph entitled "Sennaya Square", while the right side shows the Alexandro-Nevskaya Laura founded by Peter the Great in 1710 to commemorate Novgorodian Prince Alexander Nevsky who defeated the Swedes in 1240 on the Neva River. At the bottom of each scene you can find its title written in gold paints.
The box is painted in the traditional for Mstera School palette. Every element of the architecture in the scenes exudes precision. Each line has its place and there is nothing that is overdone or underdrawn.
Each scene is framed with a thin red line and then framed with intricate gold ornamentation. The work is signed, dated (2005), and titled ("The Views of St.-Petersburg") on the box's exterior bottom in gold paints. Here the artist has also painted the gold sailing ship.
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 lacquer completes the interior of the box. The box has a hinge above the scene on the lid and rests on four carved feet.