Nikolai Petrovich Krymov
Moscow Landscape, A Rainbow
1908
oil on canvas
59 x 69 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Nicolai Krymov studied at the Moscow school of painting, sculpture and architecture. Moscow, unlike the starchy city of St. Petersburg, was always fond of noisy celebrations, fairs, bazaars, happy signs and Épinal prints. In this painting, the artist follows the methods of naïve art. He seems to be looking at the city through the eyes of a child, perhaps a child walking along a lane after a recent rain shower. The wet rooftops can be seen glistening above the small multicoloured houses and smoke can be seen rising from a chimney on the horizon. The whole happy image is topped by a brilliant rainbow in the dark blue sky linking the two uppermost rooftops in the painting.