Be a Godmother

Two women stand pressed close beneath a shared dark red mantle patterned with folk ornament, their bejeweled kokoshnik headdresses almost touching as one kisses the other's cheek. The woman in front cups a lit candle; below them a nest holds eggs and downy chicks, with a horned animal and wooden houses behind under an evening sky.

Thick, jewel-toned paint builds up the embroidered patterns, beading and floral motifs in reds, golds and greens, while the faces are modeled more smoothly and naturalistically in warm flesh tones. Candlelight glow and the sunset sky bathe the scene in amber warmth, and the dense ornamental detail against softly painted skin gives the image a rich, glowing, festive intimacy.