Russian businessman Ivan Panteleev has painted a gigantic mural of his wife on the facade of a 12-storey building in Moscow.
The businessman – whose art graffiti company Novatek Art was awarded the right to decorate the streets of Moscow ahead of the World Cup – used the opportunity to have his wife Daria painted on the building in Moscow’s dormitory district of Zhulebino.
The blonde woman is depicted in a gym suit holding a football in her hands to “welcome all foreign fans to Russia,” as described by the project author Panteleev. She is surrounded by three cartoon birds which are shown painting the mural.
“This is the mural with which we are welcoming all foreigners to Russia and inviting them to the football games!” Panteleev was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“It’s true that the model for this painting was my wife,” he said, adding that the mural was partly sponsored by the city of Moscow.
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Commenting on the experience of serving as a model, Daria said that people shouldn’t be bothered by the fact that the director’s wife was chosen among other women.
“When a painter or a company has been tasked with painting a blonde woman with a ball, or to draw a kid, who cares whether he will paint someone he already knows or an absolutely unfamiliar person?” she said.