Rusalka [Konstantin Vasilyev] Russian Masterpiece Painting

Product Description

Konstantin Vasilyev (Константин Васильев) (1942-1976) was a Russian painter whose strength was in the Symbolist genre. He painted Rusalka in 1968. The "rusalka" in Slavic folklore is a feminine benevolent spirit, often associated with water. She is similar to the mermaid, and has similar counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixie. In northern Russia, other names include vodyanitsa (водяни́ца) and kupalka (купа́лка). The term "rusalka" derives from Byzantine Greek "rousália" (Medieval Greek: ῥουσάλια), from the Latin "Rosālia", and is a name for Pentecost and the days adjacent to it. Thus she has pagan origins, likely attached to traditions which resulted in that time of year being associated with spirits of seduction.

Copy painted by Igor Shepel (see bio below). Mounted in an ornate frame. About 6½" x 8½".

Igor Viktorovich Shepel was born in 1961 in the city of Rostov-on-the-Don. From 1978-1984 he studied at the Rostov College of Arts (named after M. Grekov (1882-1934, founding father of Soviet military theme and panoramic painting). Shepel is a member of the Union of Artists of Russia and participates in many regional and personal exhibitions. He works and teaches at the Grekov Art School. He specializes in museum quality art done in oil, Russian masterpiece replicas as well as replicas of Western masters, both complex and simple. He is especially fond of painting landscapes as well as renditions of famous Russian icons. Many of his works are in museums, galleries and private collections in Russia, Germany, Brazil, and Canada.