General Toptygin

This interesting composition was painted by well-known Mstera artist Alexander Dogadin. Alexander Dogadin used to work as a major artist at Mstera Factory in 1990s.
The box features a scene from the poem "General Toptigin", written by Nikolay Nekrasov in the mid-19th century. It is a comic tale about a bear who takes a chaotic ride in a troika. Once a vagrant actor with a bear asks the coachman to take him to the appointed place. The coachman agrees. Driving past the tavern, the coachman and the vagrant actor decide to drop in to have a shot of vodka. The bear left in the troika roars, and the scared horses start galloping. The villagers and the inspector of the road station mistake the bear dressed in the general uniform riding in the troika for the general. Everything falls into place when the actor and the coachman catch up with the sledge...
The artist has used bright and festive colors, typical for traditional Mstera style and helping him to paint snowy winter day.
The box is constructed from paper-mache. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. A hinge is fastened to the top of the composition. The box rests flat. The work is signed with the name of the artist, title and name of the school-Mstera.