Kizhi Island

Here we see the pristine island preserve of Kizhi, which is situated on Lake Onega in the northern part of European Russia. The island is a living museum, home to one of the most famous Russian cathedrals, the Transfiguration Cathedral. The cathedral, which is the centerpiece of this composition, was built in 1714 and does not have one nail in its entire structure. Legend has it that it was built by a master carpenter, and the only tool he used in building the structure was an ax. After completing the structure he proclaimed that he would never be able to build a more perfect structure, and in the shadow of his splendid masterpiece, tossed the ax into the lake.
Full of waterways and frozen soil the Russian North represents the rugged and wild side of Russian culture and history. Bright white light shines down from heaven, an extremely moving touch, showing the delicate balance of God's perfect creation. Dotsenko is in fact the original author of this interesting composition!
The artist uses a rare pallet of mellow earth tones: mint green, antique white and golden brown. Gold paint is used to highlight leaves of the trees and the plants in the foreground.
The structure of the church is painted very precisely, each plank and angle defined and dimensionally shaded. The landscape is painted with smooth watercolor like brushstrokes, creating soft, rolling hillocks, gradually meeting with the darker expanse of water.
A piece of mother-of-pearl is shnning through the waters of the lake and a bell-tower to the right of the composition.
The box is constructed out of papier-mache. The mixture of green and black oils is used to paint the exterior and red lacquer is used to paint the interior of the box. The composition is framed by a white line. The sides of the box are decorated with Scottish ornament painted against the dark green background. The lid is hinged at the top of the composition and the box rests flat. The work is signed with the name of the artist, author(which confirms that the composition is original), village of Fedoskino, 2002 and the title ("Kizhi").