Valeriy Georgievich Kokurin (1930-2019), the people’s artist of RF, an acknowledged master of Russian landscape is considered to be one of the founders of Vladimir Painting School with Vladimir Yukin and Kim Britov. Valeriy Kokurin started his career of a painter in the latter half of the 1950s.

Valeriy Kokurin started his career of a painter in the latter half of the 1950s. His career was very successful, after quick period of development he became a keen and original painter.

Cheerful, bright and rich colors are typical for the artist’s works as for works of all the maitres of Vladimir Painting School. However, he enriched native land art with his personal outlook on the world, individual color schemes and expressive plots of the people life.

Landscape of Russian towns with their old streets and motley bazars, merry folk holidays and monuments of ancient architecture has a special place in the artist’s creativity.

Valeriy Kokurin imbued his pictures devoted to everyday life of Russian province with the rhythm of modern life and at the same time with the powerful layer of folk culture. The picture “Bolshaya Moskovskaya” gives an idea of that kind of series of works.

The author depicted a familiar crowded place of Vladimir: the high street with one of the most famous masterpieces of white-stonearchitecture — the Golden gates. The Trinity Church, a former Old Believer church built in the early 19th century is in the background.

Valeriy Kokurin depicted ordinary life of people against the background of the architectural monuments: somebody is crossing the street in the wrong place, somebody is having a lively dialogue hiding from the rain under the umbrella, a crowd of people is waiting for a bus at the bus stop. 

The picture draws attention with its individual brushwork, its wide variety of colors. Bright color scheme of all Valeriy Kokurin’s canvases creates a sense of celebration, and, in this particular case, even the dreary rainy day is immensely optimistic.