Wender·Vista
Kursk
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileRussia
in central Russia, southwest of Moscow

Kursk

— — the gold of an onion dome above winter fields.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A regional capital in Russia's black-earth belt, set where the Tuskar meets the Seym, about 500 kilometres south of Moscow. The Cathedral of the Sign rises in pale walls and gold cupolas over the old town, and Korennaya Pustyn monastery holds a river bend to the east. From the studio the place reads as a city that keeps its silhouette against a long, flat sky.

from the studio
Kursk
— bring it home

Kursk, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Kursk

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Kursk sits in the black-earth belt of western Russia, at the confluence of the Tuskar and Seym rivers, about 500 kilometres south of Moscow and 100 kilometres north of the Ukrainian border. The city holds roughly 440,000 people. First mentioned in 1032 and named in The Tale of Igor's Campaign, it was a frontier outpost of Kievan Rus, destroyed by the Mongols in 1240, and refounded as a Muscovite fortress in 1597. The modern oblast covers about 30,000 square kilometres of farmland and forest.

— informed by Wikipedia: Kursk
— the stone

The Znamensky Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Sign, stands at the centre of the old town, rebuilt between 1816 and 1826 to mark Russia's victory over Napoleon. Its pale walls and central gold cupola sit on the site of an earlier monastery destroyed by fire. The cathedral houses, in copy, the icon of Our Lady of Kursk, the original a twelfth-century image reportedly found in the forest at Korennaya Pustyn east of the city. The monastery itself, founded in 1597, holds an annual procession to the cathedral each summer.

— the season

Winter in Kursk is long and grey, with January averages near minus seven Celsius and the rivers usually freezing by mid-December. The black-earth soil under the snow is among the richest in Europe, the chernozem belt that drew settlement here a thousand years ago. Spring comes slowly, with the rivers running into May; summer is warm and short, with July highs near twenty-five Celsius. The wheat and sugar-beet harvest of late August and September is the working season that has defined the oblast for centuries.

— informed by Wikipedia: Kursk Oblast
— where
Russia · Kursk, Kursk Oblast
— elevation
250 m · 820 ft
— position
51.7373° N · 36.1873° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
30 km E
Korennaya Pustyn monastery
Orthodox monastery
5 km N
Kursk Bulge memorial
WWII memorial complex
1 km S
Sergiev-Kazan Cathedral
Baroque cathedral
2 km W
Seym River
river
N
Kursk
Korennaya Pustyn monastery
Kursk Bulge memorial
Sergiev-Kazan Cathedral
Seym River
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Kursk — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In western Russia, about 500 kilometres south of Moscow and 100 kilometres north of the Ukrainian border, at the confluence of the Tuskar and Seym rivers. The city holds roughly 440,000 people.

The Znamensky Cathedral, rebuilt 1816 to 1826 to mark Russia's victory over Napoleon. It stands on the old monastery site and houses a copy of the Kursk Root icon of Our Lady, dated to the twelfth century.

The Soviet-German tank engagement of July and August 1943, the largest armoured battle in history. It ended German offensive capacity on the Eastern Front and is commemorated at the Kursk Bulge memorial north of the city.

A monastery on the Tuskar river about 30 kilometres east of Kursk, founded in 1597 at the spot where the icon was reportedly found at the root of a tree. An annual procession runs from there to the city each summer.

First mentioned in 1032 and named in The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the city was destroyed by the Mongols in 1240, refounded as a Muscovite fortress in 1597, and rebuilt repeatedly through the centuries.

Continental: cold winters near minus seven Celsius in January, with rivers usually frozen by mid-December, and warm short summers near twenty-five in July. The black-earth soil drives the local agriculture.

— about the piece in your home

For a family with ties to Kursk or the black-earth oblast, the gold-cupola silhouette over the cathedral reads as a piece of home. A Medium framed for a hallway or a Keepsake both carry well.

The cool blue-and-gold palette suits classical European, jewel-tone Maximalist and warm-traditional rooms. It also reads well in a pale-walled Minimalist room as a single point of colour.

Yes. The current return to colour and pattern, away from flat neutrals, makes the gold-and-snow palette feel current in traditional and layered eclectic rooms.

A single Large covers most sofas; a 4-tile Mural reads as a window above a long console; a 9-tile Mural carries above a dining table or king-size bed.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. The colour lives in the surface and is unaffected by steam, splash, or daily wiping.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water. No abrasive pads, no bleach. The thin glossy finish wipes clean without polish.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our Knoxville, Tennessee studio, painted by Reid Wender and hand-finished in-house. Nothing is licensed from outside.

— if this one stayed with you

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