Christmas Composition #7 (Children of the Sun)

Alexander Anichkin
2015
CHRISTMAS COMPOSITION #7 (CHILDREN OF THE SUN.), NEW YEAR'S EVE
wood, enamel, tomatoes, lemon
photo
signed by author l.l.
plate stamped underneath in English and Chinese (pre-simplification characters) 'BUMPER HARVEST. MADE IN CHINA. 304P-23-22CM.'
Provenance: found amongst discarded kitchenware nr. St John's Wood (Saint-Jean-des-Bois), Normandy.

Part VII of my Christmas Compositions for the 2015/2016 festive season.

Christmas Composition #6. (Missing)

 
Alexander Anichkin
2015
CHRISTMAS COMPOSITION #6 (MISSING.)
wood, glazed clay (fine china), tomatoes on wine
photo
signed by author l.l.
plate by 'Sabichi Housewares', stamped underneath.
Provenance: nr. St John's Wood (Saint-Jean-des-Bois), Normandy, found amongst discarded garden pots and crockery.

Part VI of my Christmas Compositions for the 2015/2016 festive season.

Christmas Composition #5 (The Green Planet).

Part V of my Christmas Compositions for 2015/2016 season. This one is called 'The Green Planet.'

Alexander Anichkin
2015
CHRISTMAS COMPOSITION #5 (THE GREEN PLANET.)
wood, glazed clay (fine china), lemon
photo
signed by author l.l.
plate by 'Sabichi Housewares', stamped underneath.

Christmas Composition #4. (The Blue Planet.)

Part IV of my Christmas Compositions for 2015/2016.

Alexander Anichkin
2015
CHRISTMAS COMPOSITION #4 (THE BLUE PLANET.)
wood, glazed clay (crockery), lemon
photo
signed by author l.l.
plate design by an unknown author, stamped underneath 'Corona, microwave, Colombia.'

Christmas Composition #3 (Hope).

Part III of my 'Christmas Composition' series of avant-garde installations for 2015/2016 festive season.

Alexander Anichkin
HOPE
wood, glazed clay and holly twig
signed and dated by author, l.l.

Christmas Composition #2

Second part of my Christmas Compositions 2015.

Alexander Anichkin
THE MAJORITY AND THE MINORITY.
signed b/l.
wood, glazed clay (crockery) and carrots.

Christmas 2015. Composition #1.

A BROKEN WORLD.

(imitation of 1920s)
Wood, crockery, holly, lichen. 

Squinting Chekhov.

I never realised Chekhov had a squint. I've always had a soft spot for people with a squint, especially in women.  'What else did she want, that witch with a very slight squint in one eye?' (from Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, tr. by Michael Glenny).

But Chekhov! The great playwright and humourist, the master of short story who is always portrayed with his trademark pince-nez on!

In this portrait of 1903, Serov, a great portraitist (he is famous for the portrait of Shaliapin among others), removes the pince-nez and tucks it inside Chekhov's waistcoat at the bottom of the picture, as though saying, there, he is not a sad narrator of declime, doom and gloom, look, he is a bubbly, fun loving man.

This portrait and a big gallery of Serov's works is here on Wikiart.

Motherhood.

I am reading 'The Russian Experiment in Art. 1863-1922' by Camilla Gray. Slanted crossing lines was one of the hallmarks, a discovery of the avant-garde.

With this photo of my cat Milka with kittens I pay tribute to that wonderful period.

(By the way, one kitten, all black with a sliver of silver white on the back of her neck, is still up for adoption. Lively character, good for witchcraft.)