Support The Moscow Times!

Artist Pays Queen a Pearl Tribute

Pastyrev, right, with his painting with 1,360 pearls for Britain’s queen. Ilya Naymushin

KRASNOYARSK — A Siberian artist has spent a small personal fortune on more than 1,000 pearls for a religious painting he has made for Britain's Queen Elizabeth.

Clad in embroidered robes, Adam and Eve sit in thrones on a suspended Garden of Eden in Anatoly Pastyrev's painting, which is crowned by a Russian Orthodox icon and pearl-encrusted throughout.

"The British monarchy in particular has been the bastion of modern civilization, which has centuries-old traditions coming from Christianity," Pastyrev said Sunday at his home in the taiga forest encircling Krasnoyarsk.

Pastyrev now wants to give the painting, called "Glorification of the Lord," to the British monarch as a tribute to her title as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

The bulldozer operator-turned-artist spent months working on the painting, which has 1,360 natural pearls he bought in Moscow for the handsome sum of 500,000 rubles ($17,700).

"The British royal court is the oldest, most powerful and most influential," said Pastyrev, 57, who was a fervent communist in Soviet days.

He is now looking for a way to give the painting — which measures one meter by 1.4 meters long and is pearl-encrusted along its outline, throughout the garden and on the bubble-like clouds — to Buckingham Palace as a gift.

But Pastyrev wants to wait while the "heat" surrounding Prince William's marriage to Kate Middleton on April 29 dies down before attempting to get his artwork to the British monarch.

"I am thrilled by this event. … I have nothing but respect for the young Prince William," he said.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more