This miniature painting depicts the famous biblical story about Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at the well. The image was painted on a small metal plate. The painting lacks precise brushstrokes, finely detailed elements, and chiaroscuro.
The painting is characterized by a primitive style typical of folk artists, which is exemplified in the static position of the Samaritan woman. Judging by the composition and placement of the figures, the miniature was likely based on a reproduction of a print by the German Romantic artist Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld.
It is well-known that copying famous artworks was a common practice among Nizhny Tagil artists who engaged in lacquer painting on metal. This can be proven by the fact that the local artists Sidor and Vasily Dubasnikov owned a collection of prints. This is why, it is not surprising that Anna Pavlovna Solovyova could have been inspired by a print by a German artist.
Religious artworks were frequently reproduced by popular publications. Perhaps, Anna Solovyova saw an illustration in an issue of the Niva magazine. Reproductions of famous artworks were often published in this magazine that was popular in the Russian Empire. Craftsmen from Nizhny Tagil used images from Niva as references for tray painting.
However, this is not an exact replica of the original print by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Anna Solovyova did not include the images of disciples and women. The figure of the Samaritan woman is more static. She leans on a stand with a water jar with her right hand instead of holding it with both hands as in the original.
The woman’s clothing is also depicted in a simpler manner: there are no complicated details, and the number of folds has been reduced. “Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well” is interesting mostly due to the fact that it is associated with the famous Khudoyarov family of Nizhny Tagil artists. It reflects the popularity of metal painting.
In 1949, the painting was donated to the museum by Leonid Konstantinovich Andronov, an employee of the Nizhny Tagil Metallurgical Plant and the grandson of Anna Pavlovna Khudoyarova. His daughter Yuliya Leonidovna later donated many items that had been in her family since the early 20th century.
