...Once upon a time, in a land far away there lived a prosperous merchant with his three lovely daughters. One day, before setting off on a long sea voyage, he gathered round his dear daughters and asked what gifts their hearts desired. The eldest longed for a golden tiara shinning with brilliant gemstones, the second craved a crystal mirror endowed with an everlasting reflection of youth and loveliness. The youngest, most beloved Nastenka, wished for the most beautiful scarlet flower, just like the one she saw in her dream ...
An original creative composition, “The Scarlet Flower” by Elena Vladimir Baranoff is the first in the Black & Red Series of genuine egg tempera paintings.
The creation of the artwork was inspired by Sergey Aksakov’s Russian folk tale “The Scarlet Flower”, a unique retelling of the traditional French fairy tale La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and The Beast) by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.