How did ‘Chicken Ryaba’ from Russian fairy tales appear in the Paris Metro?
At Paris Metro’s ‘Madeleine’ station, you can see an unusual full-wall stained glass panel.
It’s called ‘Kurochka Ryaba’, a character from a Russian folk tale about a hen who lays a golden egg, but it was broken by a mouse. The moral of the story is that we need to cherish our fragile happiness. This is one of the first fairy tales to be read to children in Russia.
The stained glass window with an area of about 40 square meters is a gift from the Moscow Metro to the Paris Metro. It was made by Russian artist Ivan Lubennikov, who also decorated Moscow Metro stations. The work consists of 20 different panels and symbolizes the whole of Russian culture.
The “chicken” depicts a samovar, the first satellite, church domes with crosses, Soviet symbols and Malevich's ‘Black Square’ painting. And, in the center, is an egg that weigh more than 80 kg. The panels were made by masters at the glass factory in the city of Gus-Khrustalny.
Station Madeleine.
The stained glass window was installed in Paris in 2009. And earlier, in 2006, a new Art Nouveau vestibule opened at the ‘Kievskaya’ station in Moscow, made on the motives of the old stations of the Parisian subway. Twisted fence, tiles and curbstone were specially delivered from France. It was a gift in kind from the Parisians to the Muscovites.
Kievskaya station in Moscow.
