It is the first time in the history of philately that special transparent ink, which glows in the UV radiation, has been used when manufacturing a souvenir sheet dedicated to the 175th birth anniversary of Arkhip Kuindzhi, a Russian painter.
The souvenir sheet consists of a postage stamp bearing an image of
Night on the Dnepr painting (1882), and the margins feature a painting by Ivan Kramskoi called
Portrait of Painter Arkhip Kuindzhi. Thanks to the technologies used, a glow in the UV radiation can be seen on the stamp.
Kuindzhi was called “a painter of light”. The stamp truly represents the painter’s artistic intention to create real moonlight and space depth. In the artist’s opinion,
Night on the Dnepr became the main painting of his life.
The painting demonstrates harmonicity and tranquility, as well as simplicity of patterns. The moon shines in the night sky, painting the clouds in a cold light. The moonlight can be seen fluctuate in the waters of Dnepr below. The slow current of the river, its curves, the coastline and peasants’ huts can also be seen. The whole nature has become silent fascinated by the marvelous shining of the sky and the Dnepr waters.
The souvenir sheet is issued by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Marka Publishing and Trading Center supervised by the Federal Communications Agency. Additionally, an illustrated cover with the souvenir sheet and a first day cover with cancellation (Moscow) inside have been manufactured.
Design: M. Zhuravleva.
Face value: 50 RUB.
Size of stamp: 50×37 mm, size of sheet: 120×94 mm.
Circulation: 70,000 sheets.
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