Ever since I was little I have seen them, played with them, broke them...One of the favorite things little kids love to do (and it is actually recommended in books on parenting in Russia) is to give these nesting dolls to kids, so they can grasp the concept of small , larger, the largest. So they can put them into each other, and figure out which one goes where. A brilliant toy if you think about it, very safe and beautiful,a puzzle in itself. Those of you who have kids know, how around the age of 1-2 they love to play with containers placing them inside each other. Usually kitchen wear is their favorite;) But back to matryoshkas, they serve the purpose beautifully. 
I painted one yesterday. Just because. It is a very easy and appealing concept to play with, colors, shapes, and after having done one picture I realize that there is really much more to it, I think I will keep working on them.
And then for the first time in my life I did some research of the subject. And how surprised I was to find out that this symbol of Russia is really not Russian , but came from Japan in the late 1890s. A Buddhist doll with a round face was brought as a gift to a Russian monk, and he decided to make a doll of his own. Only a female one. And a different artist painted it--and that's how it all started.
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6 comments:
See this is why Japan is awesome, awesome stuff comes from Japan :)
alex--did I ever think otherwise?:)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll
arkadi--yep, wiki rules;)
but I think it's pritty much what I wrote, with much less detail of course (mine)
Including Wikipedia link in a post this maybe good for building up blog credibility…
Great painting Vita... I love the shape of matryoshkas... it's interesting to hear where they came from. Your blog is growing beautifully (small.. bigger.. biggest). I am so glad you started one. X
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