Urban Still Life

What the rest of the world was doing while Seattlest was at Bumbershoot:

A mixed case from the wine cellar at El Gaucho, painted by Nina Mikhailenko, the Russian artist whose oils adorn the walls of the tony Belltown steak house.

How much? Nina's asking $2,500. Seems reasonable, given that the bottles alone would run well into five figures.

Nina's style has its roots in a late-19th century Russian art movement called Peredvishniki, a loose group of itinerants who rebelled against the formal restrictions of the tsarist academy. Instead they painted populist themes: peasants, religious celebrations, landscapes. Her most successful works are commissions: murals of life on Pampas, bullfights, chefs, cigar smokers, jazz musicians, well-fed urbanites...and rare bottles.

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By Ronald in Arts & Events on September 4, 2007 9:28 AM

Comments [rss]

ronaldholden

Are you suggesting, "Guest," that Nina's work lacks humility or honesty? My sense is that Nina's classic, academic background was influenced by the Peredvishniki, not that she's claiming to be their equals.

Thanks, in any event, for a thoughtful comment.

guest

The Wanderers or 'Peredvishniki'( Vasily Surikov, Ilya Repin, etc.) are key figures in the history of Russian Art. They are the greats of the late 18th Century. They studied underneath Pavel Tchistiakov, a teacher unique in history for his brilliance and rigorous methods. These artists achieved a technical mastery of drawing and that cannot be found in art today, and for an artist to compare their work to these artists' isn't just presumptuous, it's absurd. The kind of environment that produced artists like the Peredvishniki no longer exists. The remnants of their artistic lineage lie in Russia still, at the Surikov Institute in Moscow. Mikhailenko might find some humility in checking her work against the work of young students there - still honest in intent.