Artists from Fedoskino, the birthplace of Russian lacquer miniatures, use
a more realistic style of painting than the other villages. They also use oil
paints for their drawings instead of the egg-based temperas. Three to four
layers of the oil paints, along with seven coats of lacquer, are applied to
each box before it is completed. This layering brings out a radiant quality
in the drawings and the colors seem to emanate from within. Sometimes, an underlay
of gold leaf or mother of pearl enhances this radiance and adds a lovely iridescence
of its own.
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