Fedoskino is a village only about 40 kilometers from Moscow, and is the first official Russian school of lacquer miniature painting The village is totally devoted for over 200 years to the art of lacquer miniatures. In addition to the art school, there is a museum in the village totally devoted to these painted Russian lacquer boxes that was founded in 1795! Up until the fall of the USSR, the Fedoskino school was basically a cooperative controlled by the government with graduating artists required to live and paint in the village "factory" setting which also housed the art school and the box-makers guild that created the paper-mache blanks for the artists.
Fedoskino is unique among the 4 schools of lacquer miniature art that train the artists, in that they are taught to paint exclusively in oils. The other schools evolved from Russian orthodox icon painting, so they traditionally used egg tempera paints. In addition, Fedoskino artists are considered the most "realistic" of the lacquer box Russian folk art painters, as they commonly produce works that look like a true to life oil painting, such as landscapes, portraits, or architectural scenes. They also are the only school that uses inlaid mother of pearl to highlight their art, and often use burnished gold leaf in layers to brighten their scenes. Fedoskino art seems to be a favorite of American collectors of Russian art because of their realistic style and their depictions of Russian nature and outdoor scenes. In a Fedoskino lacquer miniature, the miniaturization and fine detail in a small space sets, using mother-of-pearl and gold highlights, sets the art apart from any other. For a museum-quality original Russian art form, choose a Fedoskino lacquer box for yourself or as a gift for any discriminating Russian art collector.