'Still-life with Crimean Apples, 'Kandil’
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'Still-life with Crimean Apples, 'Kandil’
Oil on canvas 40x50 cm. unframed , 2015 Crimea
$NZ 1050.00
I have painted this kind of apples quite a few times in my still-life . And as I found out they are not just usual apples. First time I heard the word “Kandil “ from our new neighbor when we bought the house in Crimea in 2007 . She said we have got a wonderful and very rare apple –tree in our garden . Kandil is a Tatar word and Crimea used to be famous because of these apples .
Well the apple-tree doesn’t look too impressive to me ,so tall with many dry branches ,locals do not know how old is it ,even old ladies always remember it was there and looked the same .
When I tried the first apple from this tree in the and of the summer I wasn’t really impressed. Rather small , green and strange long shape , nothing special about the taste . We used to have a wonderful apple-tree garden in Siverskaya ,near St. Petersburg, so I could compare .
But in a few weeks these apples changed completely – become bright yellow with red side ,like hand painted ,juicy and really tasty.
But many kinds of apples are like that what was so special about Kandil ? I made my research on Internet : These apples could stay fresh and tasty up to over two years in cool place ,like no other apples. Nobody knows how these apple-trees appear in Crimea , they have been growing here for many centuries.
Kandil was so popular in St.Petersburg before the revolution of 1917 and it was a luxurious fruit . These apples were brought to St.Petersburg from Crimea on the carts by horses ,it was a really long way took two weeks to reach the capital ,about 3000 km . The price of one of such apples was 1 rub at the popular restaurants .To explain how much was it –it was possible to have a really good big meal at a café for 10-15 kopeks -1/10 of ruble .
But these days Kandil apple-trees are very rear ,haven’t seen any other in our village . And it is a pity ,as this apples are connected with ancient history of Crimea.
Well the apple-tree doesn’t look too impressive to me ,so tall with many dry branches ,locals do not know how old is it ,even old ladies always remember it was there and looked the same .
When I tried the first apple from this tree in the and of the summer I wasn’t really impressed. Rather small , green and strange long shape , nothing special about the taste . We used to have a wonderful apple-tree garden in Siverskaya ,near St. Petersburg, so I could compare .
But in a few weeks these apples changed completely – become bright yellow with red side ,like hand painted ,juicy and really tasty.
But many kinds of apples are like that what was so special about Kandil ? I made my research on Internet : These apples could stay fresh and tasty up to over two years in cool place ,like no other apples. Nobody knows how these apple-trees appear in Crimea , they have been growing here for many centuries.
Kandil was so popular in St.Petersburg before the revolution of 1917 and it was a luxurious fruit . These apples were brought to St.Petersburg from Crimea on the carts by horses ,it was a really long way took two weeks to reach the capital ,about 3000 km . The price of one of such apples was 1 rub at the popular restaurants .To explain how much was it –it was possible to have a really good big meal at a café for 10-15 kopeks -1/10 of ruble .
But these days Kandil apple-trees are very rear ,haven’t seen any other in our village . And it is a pity ,as this apples are connected with ancient history of Crimea.
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BIO
Tanya Balaeva I was born on June the 10th , 1975 in St. Petersburg . At age of 13 y.o . I was introduced to art at the studio of my first and main teacher St.Petersburg artist M.K. Zhernosek . His teacher was a famous Russian artist E.E. Moiseenko . In 1993-1998 I studied painting at the Art Department of St. Petersburg Pedagogical University. Graduated from the university in 1998 , diploma painting "Nika". For a number of years I painted and taught art at chidren art studio in St.Petersburg . Now I live and work in Crimea . My paintings are in private collections in Russia and abroad . |
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Contact : tanyabalaeva@gmail.com
Website: http://tanyabalaeva.wix.com/tanyabalaeva
