Petersburg Floods

This unusual sculpture that stands as you look to your left going across the Ioannovsky Bridge to go to the Peter and Paul Fortress, you will see the sculpture of this small and frightened looking Hare.

"Legend has it that one hare, caught by the rising waters during a flood, saved itself by jumping into Peter the Great's boot as he disembarked from a boat onto the island. This idiosyncratic memorial to the floods that plagued St. Petersburg through the 18th and 19th centuries was erected in 2003 during renovation of Ioannovsky Bridge. The heights of major floods in the history of St. Petersburg are marked on the post beneath the hare."

Source:

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/monuments/the-hare-escaping-flooding/

Народные Русские Сказки

Народные Русские Сказки, or Russian Folk tales, is a collection of various Russian fairy tales put together by Russian folklorist, Alexander Afanasyev. Afanasyev is sort of the Russian equivalent to the German Brother's Grimm. Some of these fairy tales have been retold and adapted into our culture... for example The Princess and the Frog. The Russian style of the story usually differs quite a bit. In these stories, there are some reoccurring characters like Koschei the immortal, Baba Yaga, and Vasilisa the Beautiful. I could not figure out after reading them, however, if these are really reoccurring characters throughout the stories, or if these names like Vasilisa are just common names that are used in several stories. Either way, the set of stories is an interesting read, as are most European folklore. Also, there is a ton of Russian art work dedicated to some of these stories that are really very cool. 








Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (1878—1942)
This is a painting of Koschei the immortal. He is risen from the dead by wizards on a mission to save Marya Morevna.




                                                 




  Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926)
"The Princess who never smiled" was about a shallow princess that could be pleased by nothing. Her father promised her suiters that whoever could make her laugh or smile would be her husband.

Woolly Mammoth Discovered by Russian Boy

A young Russian boy from a nomadic family in Northern Russia stumbled upon what turned out to be what scientists are calling, “the mammoth of the century.” Russian scientists are claiming this mammoth found by an 11 year old boy to be the best preserved woolly mammoth found in over 100 years. Scientists, along with the help of employees of Sopkarga polar station spent nearly five days digging up the mammoth. It was an adult specimen with the full skeleton intact, as well as some of the internal organs, including the heart.  The mammoth was brought to the city of Dudinka, where it will later be transported to Moscow and St. Petersburg to further be studied. There has been talk of possibly cloning the animal and nicknaming it after the Russian boy who made the discovery, Zhenya.

Russian 101, Unit 3: Zinaida Serebryakova

 

(Self Portrait at the Dressing Table)

Zinaida Yevgenyevna Serebryakova was born into a family that encircled themselves in the art world. Her father Yevgey, a famous sculptor, her mother a painter and her three brothers (one a painter, one a graphic artist, and one a sculptor)—naturally, in this family, she’d be not only interested in art but also, have talent in painting. After grammar school (or high school in Russian), she went to an Art School created by Princess Tenisheva (school name was known as Princess Tenisheva Art School) in St. Petersburg where she was directed by the realist painter Ilya Repin. Later, she studied at a studio directed by Osip Braz—and after studying at the studio, she decided to travel to Italy from 1902-1903. In going to Italy, she traveled to paris and studed for one full year at the Academie de la Grande Chaumierce. In returning home, she joined a type of Artist alliance in Russian where she displayed her paintings at a exhibition. A particular painting that led Serebryakova to her first step to fame as one of the first female Russian painters was her Self Portrait at the Dressing table—the painting was critique for its originality and its lack of pretension. Serebryakova was very interested in having her paintings be brought to life with the use of vivid colors and making her art so realistic (by using the geographical landscape and using the sculpture bodies as reference for her subjects). Later on in life, she married a famous writer and railway engineer named Boris Serebraykov—which they had 4 children together. Unfortunately, for Zinaida, her life took a turn for the worst when the October Revolution began. Riots took place in St Petersburg first and later spread to the capital of Russia, spreading chaos. This revolution had made Zinaida  lose her home, her husband (who died of typhus)—leaving her no choice but to escape to Paris with her 4 children. Over at Paris, she had to work to make a living. Although she could continue to draw and paint in her spare time, due to the low income, she had to use more charcoal, papers and pencils rather than paint to save some of the money. However, with that lack of art supplies, she was able to create a masterpiece that also gained Zinaida fame, the Castle of Cards--which depicted the lifestyle she and her 4 childrens faced during the October Revolution and their lifestyle at Paris. From that point on, with charcoal, pencil and some colors, she was able to draw some beautiful paintings--from ballerinas to nudity. And in the end, Zinaida Serebryakova spent her last moments at Paris.

When I look at the Self Portrait, rather than a lack of pretnsion, it seemed brilliant and vivid. It was almost like I was looking at someone else or myself through the mirror.