Mosaic - "Andriesh" - Frasinesti

This mosaic stands at the front entrance of a school in Frăsinești, Moldova depicting the Moldovan fairy talk ”Andriesh” by the Soviet Moldovan writer and poet Emilian Bukov. The 1954 Soviet film Андриеш was also based on this poem. The story goes that the evil wizard Black Whirlwind kidnaps the flock of the shepherd boy Andriesh, along with his beloved and talking sheep Miora and his faithful dog Lupar. Deep in grief, Andriesh sets out on a quest to defeat the Black Whirlwind. He receives a magical flute from the hero Vaynovan to help him on his way to the wizard’s castle. Throughout his journey, Andriesh meets people suffering from the Black Whirlwind – the wizard hates all living beings – and helps them all. This path is difficult and dangerous; enemies lurk everywhere, but friends are also found everywhere. At the film's end, the Black Whirlwind is defeated and turned into black stone. The mosaic shows four rolling hills segmented by color and texture. In the foreground, Andriesh, the shepherd, sits against a tree, playing his flute. To his left, three sheep graze near sunflowers. On the far left, a windmill rises over a red field; spiral motifs appear to suggest wind movement, rendered with concentric lines radiating outward. A yellow sun rises behind the hills at the center: dawn. Above the scene, red Cyrillic letters spell out “андриеш” (Andriesh), spaced evenly across a pale blue sky. The color palette combines muted reds, greens, yellows, and whites with darker outlines and patterning. The four-hill motif visually echoes the “Hospitable Moldova” mosaic at Chișinău’s central station, which also centers its composition on allegedly four (I spot just three) hills. Tile loss and wear are visible, particularly along the edges, in the upper section, and behind one of the sheep, but the central imagery remains largely intact.