Nadezhda Glazunova: Festive Art

Twenty-four watercolors by Nadezhda Glazunova. Professionally painted in the style of folk art, these delightful images feature traditional holidays in a Russian village and lifecycle events marking key transitional points in a peasant’s life, such as a wedding or a baptism. Glazunova’s book illustrations are included, as well. The paintings were brought to the US by the American author and artist Alexi Currier who first met Glazunova in Petrozavodsk in 1989. Some of the presented works were commissioned by Currier as designs for Christmas and Easter cards, while others are originals for book illustrations.  

Glazunova’s artistic career began at a Soviet souvenir factory where she painted floral designs on mass-produced souvenirs. Her talent won her admission to a college specializing in traditional folk arts. She also worked with her husband, a woodworker, adding colorful designs to his works in wood.  

Glazunova’s paintings are full of serene joy.  They stir a warm echo of the past that glows from the distance with a golden haze of nostalgia. They reflect her longing for her country to return to life rooted in the traditions and rituals of the Russian Orthodox culture. Today, Glazunova lives in a wooden house near the golden-domed Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, one of the most renowned ancient monasteries of Orthodox Russia.