-------- Original Message --------
Many thanks to Brian and Jeff for the
magnificent gallery of images! I
spotted one curious misprint. The painting "Magic carpet" is not by
"Victor Varentsov," but by Victor Vasnetsov, who is also the author of
the most famous depiction of the legendary Sirin ("Sirin and
Alconost, the Bird of Joy and the Bird of Grief"). This painting (that
has inspired Blok to one of his first poems) can be seen at varvar.ru/arhiv/gallery/russian/
vasnetsov_v_m/vasnetsov18.html.
Interestingly,
Victor Varentsov also existed (1825-1867), but he was teacher and
writer, not painter.
Alexey