Banya.Tempera on board. 9"x12"
2007.
Private collection.
"Even though "Banya" (synonymous of the Finnish word "Sauna") itself has existed in Russia for centuries, the word itself is of Italian origin ("Bagno", It.). It came into Russian language in the second half of the 19th century together with "westernization" of banya's design. Today, most Russian "saunas" are very similar to what is called Sauna in the West. Yet one still can find the real, "Russian saunas" in villages and in central, "authentic", non-Western Russia. However, even up till now the Banya etiquette has not been substituted by the Western sauna style."
www.saunahistory.com
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