Tamara Gavrilova was one of the most famous painters of the Bronnitsky porcelain factory “Vozrozhdenie”. She started working in 1967 and worked there until the factory was closed in the 2000s. In 2011 and 2014, the State Museum of the Novgorod Land held solo exhibitions of Gavrilova’s works.
After the artist’s death, her heirs donated her works to the museum. Nowadays the collection includes different sets and services, decorative dishes, sculptural compositions created by Tamara Gavrilova.
One of the most recurring themes of her work were folk motifs — characters from bylinas and fairy-tales, gusli and balalaika players, girls in “sarafans” (traditional sundresses) and “kokoshniks” (traditional headdresses). In 1973, Tamara Gavrilova created a table sculpture “Sadko”.
The painter chose the technique of underglaze gold and cobalt painting. With the help of the dark blue pigment, she created a variety of color shades to highlight the details of clothes: high hollow out boots, a pointy cap — a type of Old Russian headdress — and a “kosovorotka” (Russian national shirt) with an ornament at the neck and on the sleeves. The painter used thin brush strokes to render the character’s facial lines: the mustache, the thick beard, the eyes, and the raised eyebrows.
Sadko is a character of Novgorod bylinas. He lived in medieval Novgorod — a republic ruled by “boyars” (noblemen), merchants, and craftsmen. Their primary occupation was trading, in particular overseas trading. Although Sadko is a fictional character, the researchers suppose that his image contains characteristic features of a Novgorod citizen of the 12th — 15th centuries. It is possible that Sadko is based on the story of a Novgorod merchant Sotko Sytinich, who lived in the 12th century.
At the beginning of the bylina, Sadko was a poor musician, who played the gusli at the feasts of the rich merchants who ruled the town. One day he was made to leave a feast and went to the bank of Lake Ilmen, where he met the Sea King, “the lord” of the lake, who decided to award a singer. Sadko had to have “a great bet” with the merchants that a wonderful fish with golden feathers lived in the lake. Some merchants accepted the bet and were ready to give away their shops with all the goods in case they lost, and Sadko bet his life. The Sea King helped Sadko — the musician caught fish with golden feathers three times and became the richest man in Novgorod moving from one social class to another.
After the artist’s death, her heirs donated her works to the museum. Nowadays the collection includes different sets and services, decorative dishes, sculptural compositions created by Tamara Gavrilova.
One of the most recurring themes of her work were folk motifs — characters from bylinas and fairy-tales, gusli and balalaika players, girls in “sarafans” (traditional sundresses) and “kokoshniks” (traditional headdresses). In 1973, Tamara Gavrilova created a table sculpture “Sadko”.
The painter chose the technique of underglaze gold and cobalt painting. With the help of the dark blue pigment, she created a variety of color shades to highlight the details of clothes: high hollow out boots, a pointy cap — a type of Old Russian headdress — and a “kosovorotka” (Russian national shirt) with an ornament at the neck and on the sleeves. The painter used thin brush strokes to render the character’s facial lines: the mustache, the thick beard, the eyes, and the raised eyebrows.
Sadko is a character of Novgorod bylinas. He lived in medieval Novgorod — a republic ruled by “boyars” (noblemen), merchants, and craftsmen. Their primary occupation was trading, in particular overseas trading. Although Sadko is a fictional character, the researchers suppose that his image contains characteristic features of a Novgorod citizen of the 12th — 15th centuries. It is possible that Sadko is based on the story of a Novgorod merchant Sotko Sytinich, who lived in the 12th century.
At the beginning of the bylina, Sadko was a poor musician, who played the gusli at the feasts of the rich merchants who ruled the town. One day he was made to leave a feast and went to the bank of Lake Ilmen, where he met the Sea King, “the lord” of the lake, who decided to award a singer. Sadko had to have “a great bet” with the merchants that a wonderful fish with golden feathers lived in the lake. Some merchants accepted the bet and were ready to give away their shops with all the goods in case they lost, and Sadko bet his life. The Sea King helped Sadko — the musician caught fish with golden feathers three times and became the richest man in Novgorod moving from one social class to another.
