Alexander Vladimirovich Baranov, lacquer miniature artist and son of a Palekh painter, was born in 1952 in the village of Palekh, the very birthplace of Russian icon painting. He became a member of the Artists' Union in 1980. Alexander Vladimirovich studied lacquer art at the Palekh Art School from 1968 to 1973.
The themes of his artwork are traditional Palekh school's subjects, literature and genre scenes. The artist works at the Palekh Art Works but usually he works at home, as the saying goes: "At home the walls help". How do they help? First of all, no doubt, in the way he has himself set up.
Whatever he does, he does thoroughly, either in the organization of his household or in his painting. In conversations he is calm, does not hurry to state his own opinions and lets the interlocutor have his say. Secondly, the walls hold the spirit of his ancestors whose memory lives on in the icons they painted. Thirdly, one may presume, by his wife's support who is an artist, too. In the latter case assistance is certainly mutual. Of course, country labor is present
in Baranov's works, which can be seen in museums and at exhibitions.
Works by this painter can be currently seen in the State Museum of Palekh Art, Russian Museum of Arts and Crafts and Folk Arts. They have been widely exhibited since 1975. Among his best-known miniatures are "Kiribeevich", "Take us for a Drive, Petrusha, in your Tractor", "Seven Simeons", and "At the River".
Reference: page 190 of  Pirogova L., 1994, "PALEKH HISTORY AND MODERN TIME", ISKUSSTVO, ROSKNIGA, Moscow, ISBN 5-210-01301-4
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