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Article: The lay of the land; A rare show of Russian paintings from the Tolstoy era.("Russian Landscape in the Age of Tolstoy" at London's National Gallery )
- Article from:
- Newsweek International
- Article date:
- July 5, 2004
- Author:
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Byline: Ginanne Brownell
A spirited orange fox scampers up a lush hill, past healthy pines and scarred birch trees. At the summit, against the backdrop of a vast glimmering lake, sit three old men with long white beards, looking like they belong in an Old World folk tale. So serene and at peace are these "God's folk," as Leo Tolstoy referred to Russian peasants in "War and Peace," that the fox seems almost drawn to them. There is no tension in this painted landscape--just an equal balance between man and nature. Done by Mikhail Nesterov in 1914, the painting, "The Little Fox," is a calming image of a time long since destroyed by revolutions, collectivization and ...