N.Smirnov
SELECTED WORK
The key work in Nikolai Smirnov's heritage which took two years of his life to be completed.
Nikolai Smirnov's interpretation of timeless Shakespeare's tragedy, a homage to a fleeting and eternal love.
This is one of the most refined and balanced still-lives by Nikolai Smirnov with a well thought "concept" behind it. Inspired by Khachahturian's "Masquerade Ball" and by G.Verdi's "Un ballo in maschera" the painting narrates the story of mystification, temptation and seduction in its own elegant way. The painting has brought Smirnov some sort of first commercial recognition after it has made a a great auction result of $ 13400 in May 1990 (Auction Sale "Soviet Contemporary Art. The Property of Kniga Collection" organised by the Geneva Auction House "Habsburg Feldman").
The last painting by Nikolai Smirnov. Highly challenging both in size and subject it celebrates ancient culture of falcon hunting so popular in Pre-Peter the Great era.
The first proper historic still-life of a large scale devoted to heroic events of Russian history which has brought the artist the fame and reputation. It has also made a considerable commercial success of $36600 at an auction sale "Soviet Contemporary Art.The Property of Kniga Collection" organized by the Geneva Auction House "Habsburg Feldman"(Paris. 1990)
On his first year in Bolivia Nikolai Smirnov was mesmerised and enchanted by the local baroque culture which opened to him as a whimsical and lavish mixture of pre-columbian and catholic traditions.
"The Flowers" represents a symmetrical composition to include a piece of framed antique embroidery from his family estate and two hand made beads purses, a miniature portrait of a noble lady and a kidney shape table with a bunch of garden flowers on it. It's amazing to see how flowers as a piece of real nature blend into the composition erasing boundaries between real and illusory world. Smirnov used to paint such smaller size trompe l'oeils between more complex paintings to refresh and harmonise his skills.
Another elaborated trompe l'oeils where the artist is still developing his mastery, halfway towards the concept of historical still-lives. He is clearly trying his skill in various textures including most challenging, like velvet , golden embroidery or beads and includes into his composition some famous art images like Archimboldo's "Winter".
This nostalgic work is full of objects that had an emotional value for Nikolai Smirnov.
As a child he was raised by his Grandma, an educated lady and an amateur singer, who he was attached to; Her personal belongings, so familiar for the artist, are carefully put together here to re-create the intimate world of her soul from her grown up grandson's perspective.
This painting gives a great example of Nikolai Smirnov's early style when he has been making his first steps in mastering the trompe l'oeil technique using the texture of real wooden board as a background. It's a homage to his beloved Saint Petersburg with a symmetrically placed etchings, watercolours, architectural drawings and an oval miniature of Peter the Great . Smirnov mystifies the spectator inviting him/her to work out which object among others is not painted but glued up. There's also a "secret" signature and confirmation note made by the artist mixed up with other objects.