Palekh miniature. Folk craft in the village of Palekh

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the most beautiful types of folk arts and crafts is Russian lacquer miniature, the modern centers of which are located in Palekh, Fedoskino, Mstyora and Kholui.

The oldest center of this art is the village of Palekh, Ivanovo region, where artists for centuries not only painted icons, but also painted walls in Orthodox churches and restored ancient churches and cathedrals. The Palekh miniature, which arose as a result of the social and cultural changes that took place in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917, managed to preserve the centuries-old traditions of icon painting and transfer them to new forms and fill them with a different content demanded by society.

History of Russian lacquers

In Russia, lacquer painting has existed for more than two centuries. Its beginning is considered to be the end of the 18th century, when the Moscow merchant Korobov founded a factory for the production of lacquered visors intended for Russian army headdresses. The lacquer miniature appeared somewhat later, when the custom of sniffing came into fashion at the Russian imperial court.tobacco. Korobov managed to quickly organize the production of miniature lacquer boxes - snuff boxes. Over time, such gizmos began to be used to decorate rooms. Accordingly, the requirements for their artistic design have become higher. In the future, the works of Russian masters began to differ markedly from Western models both in terms of the technique of execution and in subjects that had a pronounced national character. So, in the Russian lacquer miniature, heroes and scenes from folk epics and legends of classical and ancient Russian literature appeared, showing Russian traditions and life, reproducing the beauty of the surrounding nature.

Centers of Russian lacquer miniatures

In modern Russia there are four centers where the preserved ancient traditions of Russian art of miniature lacquer painting are actively developed: Fedoskino, Palekh, Kholuy and Mstyora. Before the revolution of 1917, all villages, except for Fedoskino, were known in Russia as major centers of icon painting, in which not only icons were created, but also masters of restoration and wall painting of churches were trained. Each of these centers created icons in the same Orthodox tradition, but at the same time it had its own characteristic differences. Masters from Kholui, as far as it was possible in icon painting, were close to Russian traditional realism, the inhabitants of Mster followed the traditions of the Old Believer communities of different Russian regions, and Palekh artists made the most canonical Orthodox icons.

How icon painting began in Palekh

In the 16th centuryPalekh residents, under the influence of the earlier centers of icon painting in Shuya and Kholui, began to try their hand at painting icons. There were few attempts, and you can’t call them particularly successful.

In the middle of the 17th century, the fame of Palekh icon painters reached Moscow, and the masters began to be invited to perform works at the royal court. If in the 17th century in the Vladimir province icons were painted in almost every large village, then in the 18th century there were three main centers of icon painting: Kholuy, Mstera and Palekh. The Paleshans, unlike the inhabitants of the more industrialized Mstera and Kholuy, until the beginning of the 19th century combined traditional agriculture with painting icons in their free time from work in the field. Carefully drawn in a traditional way, the icons were slow and expensive.

The beginning of the 19th century is considered the heyday of Palekh icon painting. The icons created in Palekh were sold not only in the capital and large Russian cities, but also abroad.

By the middle of the 19th century, the first workshops belonging to Safonov, Korin, Nanykin and Udalov were organized in Palekh. By the beginning of the 20th century, the production of icons became mass, cheaper and of lower quality. The appearance of cheap typographically printed images led to the decline of icon painting and the liquidation of a number of well-known workshops. At the beginning of the twentieth century, in Kholui, Palekh and Mstyora, to preserve traditions, the Committee for the Guardianship of Russian Icon Painting created educational workshops that existed until 1917.

Soviet period

AfterThe October Revolution, until 1923, most of the craftsmen in Palekh were left without work. Someone left in search of work in the city, some tried to make toys, dishes or weave bast shoes. Until 1923, several attempts were made to adapt the former icon painters to painting caskets, children's toys and wooden utensils. However, things did not go well, as the need to produce large volumes at low prices, and the very nature of the products, led to the production of low quality products.

The date when the Palekh lacquer miniature was created, in the form in which we know it, should be considered the end of 1922, the beginning of 1923. It was then that theatrical artist Ivan Ivanovich Golikov created the composition "Adam in Paradise" on black papier-mâché blanks. This work interested the leadership of the Handicraft Museum (today - the Museum of Folk Art), which began to supply the artist with blanks and paid for his work. Later I. V. Markichev, A. V. Kotukhin and I. P. Vakurov joined the process. The works created by these masters were presented in 1923 at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow and were awarded a diploma of the 1st degree. In 1924, the works of artists were presented at an exhibition in Venice, and in 1925 - in Paris, where they made a splash and enjoyed great success. All this led to the fact that on December 5, 1924, in Palekh, V. V. and A. V. Kotukhins, A. I. and I. I. Zubkov, I. V. Markichev, I. M. Bakanov and I. I. Golikov created the Artel of Ancient Painting.

NewbornPalekh miniature faced a number of problems: first of all, a new material was needed - papier-mâché, the technology of which was not known to Palekh artists, in addition, it was necessary to move from painting a flat canvas of an icon to decorating things and objects with volume and shape.

And the assortment and forms of items painted by Palekh masters was quite large: brooches, beads, chests, caskets, cigarette cases and snuff boxes, eyeglass cases and powder boxes and much more. The Palekh miniature of that time has a strongly pronounced ornamental beginning, but it lacks vivid images and a developing storyline. The most successful and popular compositions of that time were battles, shepherdesses, hunting, parties and troikas.

We can safely say that it was in the 1920s that the lacquer miniature in Palekh was formed under the influence of both the ancient Russian icon painting tradition and the entire world art.

Post-war years

In the first decades of peace, many masters of Palekh miniatures in their works depict various battle scenes, both the recently ended World War II and other great battles that glorified the Russian army. In the fifties, according to many art historians, the lacquer miniature in Palekh is experiencing a clear crisis, which was due to the tendency of many artists to excessive realism, which forced out the romanticism and sublime sophistication characteristic of the works of previous years from the works. Palekh miniature, photo of whichpresented below, clearly shows the influence of the Soviet ideology of that time on artists.

Excessive realism, monumentality and pathos characterize most of the works created during these years, although there were some masters who preserved the romanticism and traditions of the old school.

The sixties are characterized by the fact that monumentality and excessive naturalism are leaving, and sublimity and romantic haze are returning to Palekh, lacquer miniature again becomes poetic and allegorical. During this period, Paleshian artists turned not only to folklore sources, but also to works of classical literature, as well as to modern songs. At the same time, socially significant events, such as, for example, the flight of a man into space, are also reflected in the works of masters.

The seventies and eighties of the XX century were the heyday of Palekh painting. Palekh artists are invited to design the scenery for various concert programs, decorative design for children's and cultural institutions.

Modernity

Having survived the difficult 90s, the Paleshians did not leave their traditional craft. The Palekh Art School annually graduates young masters who carefully preserve the traditions and features that make Palekh miniature so interesting. Today, there are several artels and family businesses that make traditional lacquer products in Palekh.

Distinguishing Features

Palekh painting, like anyother folk art, formed in a particular locality, has its own distinctive features and traditions. As already mentioned, icon painting has glorified Palekh for centuries. The lacquer miniature adopted many features from icon painting, such as, for example, the construction of the composition and the careful study of every detail. We can say that the Palekh miniature grew up on the centuries-old traditions of icon painting.

The Palekh style differs from other folk schools of lacquer painting in the following features:

• drawing whole compositions and plots;
• miniature painting;
• patterned and ornamental richness of the pattern;
• careful detailing of each element;
• elongation and fragility of human figures;
• delicacy of drawing parts of the body of people;
• various color transitions;
• use of dark backgrounds;
• using egg tempera;
• gold painting.

But in order for the artist to start creating a miniature, it is necessary first of all to create a product from papier-mâché, which will be signed.

How is papier-mâché made?

It is made from cardboard, which is pre-cut into strips, smeared with a paste made from wheat flour, and overlapped on a wooden mold (blank). After the desired thickness has been obtained, the blank, together with the cardboard, is fixed in a special press. Under the influence of pressure, they turn into tubes of various shapes andsize. The glues pressed in this way are dried at room temperature for about two weeks. Then the dried blanks are dipped for a day in warm linseed oil for impregnation, after which they are dried for four days in a special oven, the temperature of which is maintained at 120 0С. At the next stage, the workpiece is primed and polished. After grinding, several layers of black varnish are applied to its outer surface, and oil varnish with cinnabar is applied to the inner surface. At the end of the process, the entire surface is varnished with several layers of light varnish. After applying each layer, the workpiece is dried at a certain temperature in an oven. Only after all these manipulations the artist will be able to start painting.

Techniques and tricks

As already noted, one of the distinctive features that the lacquer miniature of Palekh painting has is writing with egg tempera paints.

In order to prevent paint from rolling off a smooth varnish surface, it is specially treated with pumice stone. The contour of the future drawing is applied to the product with a sharp pencil, and underpainting is done. It is for him that the master will apply many transparent and thin layers of painting. There are five main steps in creating an image:

1. Roskrysh - basting the main silhouettes and contours.

2. Registration - refinement of contours and shades of color.

3. Melt - applying liquid glazing paint in bold strokes.

4. Glare - a notch made with created gold.

5. Framing the painting with a gold pattern.

After that, the ornament made in gold is polished with agate in the form of a cone or with a wolf's tooth, and then the whole product is covered with 6-7 layers of varnish. After applying each of them, the work is dried, polished on a special polishing wheel, and then finished by hand polishing. The lacquer surface, polished to a mirror finish, gives the image extra depth and makes the colors "sound" more richly and softly.