Wood-Carved Paintings

Kronid Gogolev is a master wood-carver who creates incredibly detailed artworks inspired by the rural and provincial life of Russia’s northern regions. 

For our artist of the day we chose to showcase Russian veteran wood-carver Kronid Gogolev, a man’s whose intricate wooden paintings are nothing short of awe-inspiring. Using simple tools, he is able to turn rough pieces of wood into masterpiece depicting the way of life and the traditions of the Russian northern village, capturing its original beauty. Each of his creations has its own unique features and characteristics, but they all manage to capture the attention of the viewer, transporting him to the real-life picturesque settings of the north.

Kronid Gogolev was born in 1926. His father, a former priest, gave him the rather unusual name of Kronid, which means “Zeus”, a name many would say he eventually lived up to as the god of Russian wood-carving. When he was 16 years old he fought in World War II and participated in the liberation of the Leningrad region, Estonia and Poland. In 1953 Kronid Gogolev entered Leningrad Art and Graphic pedagogical school, and upon graduation moved to the town of Sortavale, in Karelia. He became famous in 1984, after he had two exhibitions in Moscow, and in the year that followed he became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR, and showcased his art both in Russia and abroad. Important figures like Vladimir Putin, Boris Yeltsin or Patriarch Alexy II owned some of Kronid Gogolev’s wood carvings.