Watercolor on paper
Circular view representing "Farmer riding on the devil in the sky", subject of a popular tale, monogram "E" of Nikolai Ludwigowitch Ellert on January 12th, 1873. The famous composer Tchaikovsky created in Moscow (supervisor Nicolas Rubinstein) symphony no. 2 "Little Russia" on January 26th, 1873, based on Ukrainian folk tales. Ellert was stage draftsman in charge of decorations of Imperial Opera in Moscow and likely produced this preparatory watercolor for this occasion. Sheet in good condition, dimensions 44.5x41.5 cm.