Did you know artist Mikhail Vrubel made fairy-tale FIREPLACES?
There are several replicas of this majolica masterpiece. Some had a purely decorative function, while others were literally used for their intended purpose.
The fantastic fireplace (or more precisely, a stove facade made in the majolica technique) was created by genius Russian modernist and symbolist Mikhail Vrubel, known for his macabre paintings with demons and other fairy-tale characters.
This masterpiece of decorative and applied art received a gold medal at the ‘World's Fair’ in Paris in 1900, where the Art Nouveau style was heavily showcased.
Vrubel became interested in ceramics at the art residence of patron Savva Mamontov at the Abramtsevo Estate, where many of his great contemporaries worked. The artist not only drew sketches, but also personally took part in making the structural elements.
The facade depicts a subject from the Russian epic – the meeting of two bogatyrs, Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich. Their mighty figures are visible, along with powerful fairy-tale horses, ‘siren’ birds and other characters from Russian fairy-tales and epic poems.
There are several versions of the fireplace: at least six are known, with differences in color and details. The first one to come out of the workshop is, today, displayed at the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille (Palace of Fine Arts) in Lille, France. Variations are also housed at the Tretyakov Gallery (and it served in one of Moscow's houses), as well as at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
