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ARTISTIC LUCKS(English lacquer, French Laques, German Lackarbeiten), a technique for decorating wood, metal, papier-mâché products coated with a transparent or denser substance called lacquer. As a rule, these products, decorated with carving, painting, inlay, engraving, are distinguished by the brilliance of a mirror polished surface, the brightness (contrast) of color, and in carved varnishes - a rich play of chiaroscuro.

The natural lacquer used in China, Japan and Korea is obtained from the sap of sumac, a lacquer tree ( Rhus verniciflua), growing in the Far East. Work in the technique of varnish is quite simple; as a result, surfaces of various textures and shades are obtained, which can then be re-decorated. The varnish resists humidity well, withstands heat, acids and other strong solvents. Thanks to these characteristics, varnishing is equally suitable for both utilitarian and decorative purposes.

In India, Southeast Asia, Mexico and South America varnishes are extracted from the resinous secretions left by insects; the resulting product is reminiscent of hard printing wax and is not at all similar in quality to natural lacquer. In European art, they tried to imitate oriental varnishes, using a variety of compositions and techniques. None of the substitutes has the unique properties of natural lacquer, and no lacquer technique developed in other parts of the world is comparable to the quality of oriental lacquers.

NATURAL VARNISHES

The lacquer tree, native to China, was also widely cultivated in Japan. Sap was collected during the summer months, and from trees no less than ten years old. The juice was filtered and processed until a homogeneous consistency was obtained; then the excess moisture was removed and stored in a tightly closed container. The main component of this purified juice is the substance urushiol, from the Japanese urushi (varnish). The lacquer reaches its maximum hardening in conditions of humidity, so it is dried in a humid atmosphere at a temperature above 16 ° C; the hardening of the purified liquid lacquer juice occurs during the fermentation of the protein elements contained in it.

Varnishing.

Various materials can be varnished - wood, bamboo, paper, metal, porcelain, leather, rough fabric and some synthetic substances. However, most often they varnish a tree that has a beautiful wood pattern - cypress, cedar or pine. In the manufacture of caskets or trays, wood is treated with great care. After the surface of the product is given absolute smoothness, a thin layer of raw varnish is applied to it, which acts as a fixative. All cracks and cracks in the surface are filled with a mixture of wood dust, starch and varnish. Then, with the help of starch and varnish, a layer of hemp matter is fixed. Next, alternately apply several layers of burnt clay or volcanic ash mixed with varnish, which, after drying, are primed to smoothness. This process is repeated with some changes in the composition of the mixtures, then the surface is polished again. After that, the last preparatory layer is applied, dried and polished with a grindstone.

This intricate preparatory work is followed by additional coats of varnish of higher quality and hardness, each requiring at least one day to dry and polish. Since at least 35 layers, or even more, are applied to one object, the varnishing process is extremely slow. Dyes, most often including lead oxide and light yellow drying perilla oil, are added to the last layers. Polishing agents include pine ash and burnt deer antler powder.

Decoration.

Many methods of decorating lacquer products fall into two categories: carving and surface painting. In the field of carved lacquers (tiao ch "i), the Chinese have achieved superiority; especially remarkable are those works in which the pattern is carved in successive layers of alternating color (a method called by the Japanese guri). No less famous are red-lacquer Chinese products covered with complex patterned carvings; red lacquer gives cinnabar, mercury ore.In addition to relief multifaceted carving, the famous Chinese techniques include the finest polychrome and gold painting with varnishes on a black or colored background, inlay with mother-of-pearl, tin and silver (landscapes, flowers, domestic scenes). East Asia.

Japanese lacquers are famous for the applied decor technique.

The manufacturing process of these products is complex and consists of several stages, which may vary. One of the most common Japanese techniques is maki-e. This technique, known in several variations, basically involves sprinkling gold or silver (or both) powder over a lacquered surface to produce the desired pattern. Another type of Japanese decor is kirikane (cut metal), in which the surface of the lacquer is studded with numerous, individually superimposed thin small squares of gold, silver or tin. The third type, hyomon (metal plate inlay), uses thin metal sheets randomly cut and inserted into a lacquer surface. Another inlay technique, raden, uses mother-of-pearl as well as pearls and ivory. The raden technique was also known to the Chinese; their lacquers, inlaid with pieces of iridescent blue and green mother-of-pearl, belong to the variant that later came to be called the French term lac burgautée. The Chinese used for inlay set additional materials, including jade, coral, ivory, porcelain.

Story.

China.

In China, lacquer products have been known since the second millennium BC. By the 4th–3rd centuries BC, in the later period of the Zhou Dynasty, the art of making lacquerware reached a high degree of sophistication and technical skill.

During the reign of the Song Dynasty (10th-13th centuries), the main types of this technique were further developed. The art of lacquer reached its highest refinement during the next three centuries of the Ming Dynasty (14th-17th centuries).

The mass export of Chinese lacquers to Europe began in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, which influenced the Europeans' fascination with Chinese ornaments, the fashion for which continued for several generations. At the same time, the so-called. Coromandel lacquers, characterized by a brilliant black or colored finish with a carved pattern, tinted with paints and gold. Such lacquer objects, most often screens, were cut into panels upon arrival in Europe and inserted in separate fragments into European furniture. In the 18th century flourished a wide trade in lacquer products made especially for the European market. Everywhere, especially in Canton, Chinese craftsmen strove to please Western tastes, and often European trading companies supplied them with drawings. In general, Chinese lacquers destined for export were of poorer quality than those for the domestic market; of these products, the most common are black caskets, casually decorated with gold.

Japan.

The art of lacquer entered Japan from China via Korea c. 6th c. During the Heian period (8th-12th centuries), Japanese lacquers acquired their own style, and the Chinese influence was significantly weakened. The first mention of maki-e, a purely Japanese decorative technique, dates back to the 9th century, and since that time its development has not been interrupted. Further technical and artistic advances date back to the Kamakura (12th-14th centuries) and Ashikaga shogunate (14th-16th centuries) periods; of these, it should be noted kamakurabori - carved wood, covered with a thick layer of red or black lacquer. Gold lacquer from the Ashikaga period was the envy of China. The Momoyama period (late 16th - early 17th century) includes the works of the famous master Hon-Ami Koetsu, marked by a confident and simple pattern made in the technique of mother-of-pearl and metal inlay combined with maki-e.

During the era of the Tokugawa shogunate (17th-19th centuries), the techniques described above were developed in the work of such prominent artists as Ogata Korin, Ritsuo, and Shibata Zeshin. Japanese varnishes during this period were exported to Holland, but their first exhibition in Europe was organized in 1867 in Paris.

IMITATION OF ORIENTAL LACQUERS IN EUROPE

By the end of the 17th century. the huge popularity and ever-increasing demand for oriental varnishes led to the fact that attempts were made in European countries to manufacture such things. Lacquered furniture and decorative objects appeared in Europe, imitating one of the most expensive types of oriental imports.

In Europe, varnishing was the process of finishing the surface treatment of a product with varnishes or other materials that were dried under heat at sufficiently high temperatures, so most often this term referred to the decoration of metal products. In a broad sense, this concept includes techniques related to the varnishing of wooden products. Initially, only professional varnishers were engaged in this craft. As models, they took the most popular imported oriental samples, often copying the drawings of these models from reproductions.

Wood varnishing.

English technique.

The fashion for lacquerware soon led to the spread of lacquerwork as a fashionable hobby, especially in England, where it was called Japaning. IN Treatise on Japanization and Varnishing Stalker and Parker, published in 1688, described different kinds resins and solvents commonly used for lacquering, as well as instructions for preparing the base. The surface of wood - most often pine, spruce, oak, pear or olive - was treated with successive layers of a mixture of chalk and parchment dressing; each layer was thoroughly dried. The surface was carefully polished before varnishing. Then a layer was applied, which served as a general color background. After polishing, the relief parts of the decor, made with gold dressing or cinnabar, were removed with chalk, and sometimes with sawdust diluted in a solution of gum arabic. Then the drawing was colored and gilded with metal dust of one or more tones. For the most common "silver" decorations of red Japanese cabinets, tin was especially readily used. Having finished decorating, the master covered the product with a protective layer of pure shellac.

French technique.

In France, varnishing has been practiced since the middle of the 17th century. and was called ouvrage a la Chine ("Chinese work"). At the beginning of the 18th century French varnishing a la Chine reached its highest point of development thanks to the activities of the Martin brothers, who created the famous firm Vernis Martin. Varnishes were used to decorate a wide variety of objects, from fans to furnishings and interiors at Versailles. In 1772 Waten published a lengthy treatise The art of the painter, gilder, varnisher(L "art du peintre, doreur, vernisseur), in which he gave a complete and accurate list of varnishes suitable for all types of work. In this book, special attention was paid to the preparation of the main background, which, as in many authentic oriental products, was created by many layers on top of a layer of fabric. Lacquering, imitating Oriental products, was also practiced in other European centers, especially in Berlin and Venice.

With a decrease in interest in a genuine oriental style, Western features began to intensify in drawings on European lacquers; engravings by such artists as J. Pillement (c. 1727–1808) were widely used. Lacquers decorated with European motifs - flowers, pastorals and decorative patterns - constitute the most significant European contribution to this art form.

Metal varnishing.

This process was widespread in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. In many respects it is close to lacquering on wooden bases, however, metal products are distinguished by greater rigidity and sparkling brightness of lacquer backgrounds, which acquired a high degree of durability due to firing. Such backgrounds could be obtained using copper, brass and other metals as a base, but most often rolled iron was used. Painted lacquer backgrounds various patterns both Eastern and European origin; these products were the forerunners of the painted trays popular in Victorian England. The technique of painted tin was widespread until the advent of electroplating.

In the 18-19 centuries. oil painting on lacquer became popular. In Russia, at the beginning 19th century On the basis of oil painting on lacquer, such folk crafts as Fedoskino (caskets) and Zhostovo (trays) arose. In the 1920s-1930s, on the basis of the old icon-painting centers of Russia, the finest art of tempera painting of lacquer products was born - Palekh, Mstera, Kholuy.

Russian artistic varnishes are one of the remarkable phenomena of the art of artistic crafts in Russia.

On the territory of the RSFSR, six centers for the production of artistic varnishes are most famous: Fedoskino, Palekh, Mstyora, Kholuy - products with miniature painting; Zhostovo and Nizhny Tagil - varnished trays with paintings.

In Europe, oriental artistic varnishes have become known since the 16th century.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. in Italy, France, England and Germany, their own production of lacquer products is developing.

In Russia, the art of lacquer painting originated in the 18th century. So, all the work on the design of the "lacquer cabinet" in the country palace of Peter I was carried out by Russian "lacquer works" masters. From the 18th century Painted lacquered boxes and cabinets have come down to us. In the second half of the XVIII century. lacquer painting on metal appears in Russia (Nizhny Tagil).

PAINTING BY FEDOSKINO MASTERS

At the end of the XVIII century. there is a craft of artistic varnishes in the village. Danilkovo near Moscow, which later merged with the neighboring village of Fedoskino. The founder of the Fedoskino craft was the merchant P. I. Korobov, who, according to legend, in 1796 brought from Germany, from the city of Braunschweig, several craftsmen who knew the technology of making papier-mâché snuff boxes and how to paint them, and founded a small factory in Danilkovo for the production of products from papier-mâché. The experience of foreigners was soon mastered and developed by local craftsmen. In 1818-1819. the factory passed to Korobov's son-in-law P. V. Lukutin. Under him and his son A.P. Lukutin in the 30-60s of the 19th century, when the production of lacquer products ceased everywhere in Western Europe, Russian lacquers gained worldwide fame and were repeatedly awarded honorary diplomas and medals at international exhibitions and fairs.

There was a drawing school at the factory, the best craftsmen Lukutins were sent to the Moscow Stroganov Art School. The Lukutins treated their masters well, provided them with free apartments, firewood, and kerosene.

Under Alexander Lukutin, there was no store selling products, he kept the goods at home, retailed himself. Under the last Lukutin, Nikolai (1852-1902), a store was opened. Nikolai Lukutin married a very rich bride, and the question of the factory's income did not bother him. The Lukutin case was just a hobby for him. In 1904, two years after the death of N.A. Lukutin, the factory was closed. Some of the craftsmen went to work for V.O. Vishnyakov, who had a relatively large home workshop in the village of Ostashkovo, ten kilometers from Fedoskino. The daughter of the last Lukutin sold a unique long-term collection of the best Lukutin masters, which taught more than one generation of artists, and the remaining goods to unknown people abroad.

In 1910, part of the Lukutin and Vishnyakov masters decided to create their own artel. They turned to the Sergei Timofeevich Morozov Foundation, which issued working capital. A rural teacher from Fedoskino, Lyubov Dmitrievna Derzhavina, rendered great assistance in preparing the documentation. Georgy Petrovich Petrov, head of the provincial instructor department of the zemstvo, carefully examined the readiness and capabilities of the artists, and as a result, they were given 500,000 rubles. A plot was also allocated for the construction of a workshop in the village of Semenishchevo. On October 11, 1910, the masters began work in the new building. Artel was named "Fedoskino Labor Artel". It included excellent miniaturists: S.I. Borodkin, I.P. Lavrov, A.A. Kruglikov and others - about ten people. Artel continued its work after the revolution. In the 1920s and 1930s, the team grew, new stories appeared that reflected Soviet reality. Honored artists of the RSFSR V.D. Lipitsky, M.G. Pashinin, I.I. Strakhov, M.S. Chizhov worked in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 60-70s - G.I.Larishev, A.A.Tolstov and others.

The Fedoskino Factory of Miniature Painting produces caskets, caskets, powder boxes, needle cases, tea caddies, brooches, pendants and other items made of papier-mâché. Folk craftsmen of Fedoskino have preserved the best traditions of the Lukutin miniature; old subjects are still typical for Fedoskino people: round dances, tea parties, summer and winter troikas. Russian fairy tales, historical events are also used in painting landscapes of the Moscow region.

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Introduction

Russian lacquer painting is a unique phenomenon of world artistic culture. Having absorbed the achievements of the lacquer art of the West and East, accumulated over the centuries, she enriched it with a unique national experience and originality, expanded the scope of its figurative world.

The traditional centers of lacquer painting are Fedoskino, Palekh, Mstera and Kholuy. Composing a single family of "Russian artistic varnishes", influencing each other, enriching each other, each of them has an individual face, largely thanks to those masters who create their fabulously poetic works.

Products with lacquer miniature painting ceased to have a purely utilitarian purpose due to the high skill of Russian craftsmen, they became works of art, with a variety of themes, plots and images. Lacquer miniatures are not only a concentrated joy, a delight for the eyes, but also food for the mind, a consolation for the soul. It is convenient to have them with you, they do not burden the owner with their size and are delicate in the interior, do not destroy the style of large shapes, masses and colors.

The art of Russian lacquer miniatures (painting boxes, panels, trays) is known all over the world thanks to the activities of four ancient crafts: Fedoskin, where in the first half of the 19th century, developing the traditions of Eastern and Western European lacquer art, the workshops of the Vishnyakov family and the Lukutin factory widely developed work, and also the ancient icon-painting centers - Palekh, Mstera and Kholuy, in which lacquer miniature painting was formed as an art form, can be said under the pressure of circumstances, since in the 1920s master icon painters were forced to seek application for their talent, which, however, did not prevent them to achieve great heights in a new form of creativity - painting.

1. Fedoskino lacquer miniature

The village of Fedoskino is the birthplace of Russian varnishes.

At the end of the 18th century, the merchant Ivan Korobov organized a factory for the production of lacquer products in the village of Danilkovo (now Fedoskino) not far from Moscow. In the 19th century, the business passed to his nephew Peter Lukutin. Under Lukutin, the factory made significant progress in the quality of writing and increased production of products, and in 1828 it even received the right to put a stamp with the Royal coat of arms on the inside of the caskets. Since that time, Lukutinsky varnishes have become known abroad.

Lukutinskaya lacquer miniature became popular primarily due to its high artistic level. The painting was painted with oil paints, it combined “dense” writing and “through-through” transparent layers (glazes). For the substrate, gold leaf and metal powders were often used, which were then translucent through a layer of paints.

Russian realistic painting had a great influence on Lukutinskaya (later on Fedoskino) lacquer miniature. Favorite subjects of that time were tea parties, scenes from village life, round dances and troika riding.

The lacquer boxes of the owners of the Vishnyakovs were similar in form and content to the Lukutin ones. Every now and then mutually influencing each other, the enterprises of the Vishnyakovs and Lukutin existed side by side for almost 100 years. In 1904, the Lukutins' heirs closed the factory. A few years later, in 1910, the former Lukutin masters organized the Fedoskino Labor Artel, which helped to preserve the craft and pass on traditions to the next generation of craftsmen.

After the Great October Revolution of 1917, the Fedoskino artel was replenished with new young artists. In their works one can find a reflection of the life of those years - the construction of the Soviet state, the historical past of Russia. Threes, tea parties and round dances are still found on the caskets of those years, but the plots are beginning to change significantly. Fedoskino artists began to pay special attention to ornamental and decorative decoration, using filigree, tartan (parallel lines forming a pattern traditional for Scotland), gold ornaments and mother-of-pearl under lettering.

The modern art of the Fedoskino miniature develops an independent sound of all genres of this unique type. Caskets and panels, brooches and caskets of various shapes and sizes with miniature paintings and gold ornaments are extremely attractive.

In Fedoskino there is a continuity of generations, their skills are passed down from generation to generation in the families of the Pashinins, Aldoshkins, Monashovs and many others. The works of Fedoskino artists are kept in private collections all over the world, and are also presented in Museums of different countries.

2. Palekh lacquer miniature

The small town of Palekh is located 360 kilometers east of Moscow. This is about 60 kilometers from the city of Ivanovo, to which Palekh belongs.

Previously, Palekh was one of the centers of icon painting and as such is mentioned several times in documents of the 17th century. Icon painting was a family occupation, and the craft was passed down from one generation to the next.

The October Revolution of 1917 dealt a heavy blow to icon painting in Palekh and throughout Russia. Not only the holy images themselves, but also the artists who made them became enemies for the communist regime and were persecuted or arrested. Since icons and paintings were no longer in demand, some craftsmen returned to agriculture, others tried to go to other crafts, such as shoemakers, trade transportation, weaving bast shoes, making toys and dishes. Some Palekh craftsmen went to other cities to look for work.

In 1918, former icon painters created the first Palekh cooperative of arts and crafts, but it soon fell apart.

In 1922 I.I. Golikov, while in Moscow, saw a black papier-mâché box from Fedoskino in the Museum of Crafts. He painted the box using the techniques of icon painting and lacquer work, and was successful. In 1923, a master from Palekh won first place at the All-Union Exhibition of Agriculture and Industry in Moscow. Successful exhibitions of their first works in Moscow and Venice inspired the artists, and on December 5, 1924, the seven masters of Palekh I.I. Golikov, I.V. Markichev, I.M. Bakanov, I.I. Zubkov, A.I. Zubkov, A.V. Kotukhin, V.V. Kotukhin organized the Artel of Ancient Painting.

New times demanded new themes and plots. Indeed, their paintings abound with peasant and revolutionary themes. They depict the heroism of the people, harvesting, fishing, hunting, round dances, fun, horseback riding. From the very beginning, Palekh painters widely used folk motifs and the poetry of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gorky and others.

The most difficult task for Palekh artists was to draw on things that have shape and volume. The range of products was very wide: brooches, jars, caskets, cigarette cases, snuff boxes, shields and so on. In order to transfer the experience of old masters to young gifted people, the Palekh Art School was opened in 1933.

Several hundred delegates came to the 10th anniversary of the artel in March 1935. The great meeting was opened by the Minister of Education of the Russian Federation. The Palekh State Museum of Art was opened that day. Artel was renamed the Palekh Association.

Stalinist repressions of 1930-40 and the tragedy of the Great Patriotic War (World War II) did not pass by Palekh, Palekh lost a lot of his talents. In the 1960s, many talented artists arrived in Palekh, and among them were B. Ermolaev, N. Golikov, A. Kochupalov, A. Peskov, Valentin and Tatiana Khodov, A. Clipov, S. Butorin, G. Kochetov, I. Livanov, N. Bogacheva. In the 1970s, Vladimir and Natalya Buldakova, N. Gribov, Yuri and Ekaterina Shchanitsyn, V. Zotov, A. Kamanina, N. Lopatin, L. Nekrasova, O. Subbotina joined them. All of them accepted the traditions of Palekh and began to work. The 1980s can be called a period of revival of Palekh art. Currently, there are several different cooperatives and workshops successfully operating in Palekh.

miniature lacquer painting artistic

3. Msterskaya lacquer miniature

The village of Mstera is located on the hilly bank of the Klyazma River, 110 km from the city of Vladimir.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, Mstera was known for its icon-painting skills, which inherited the traditions of ancient Russian art of the Vladimir-Suzdal school. In the past, there was the Bogoyavlenskaya Sloboda, a lively trading and craft village. After the split in the Russian church under Patriarch Nikon, most of its inhabitants were Old Believers. They painted icons in ancient styles: Novgorod, Moscow and Stroganov. From here, the icons dispersed throughout Russia.

But at the beginning of the XX century. chromolithography appeared, and soon the factory production of printed icons was established. The icon-painting craft lost its significance, and after the 1917 revolution, the need for icons completely disappeared. However, the rich experience and skill of icon painters could not disappear without a trace. In 1920, the disunited handicraftsmen of Mstera united in the trade union of art workers - RABIS. They painted wooden objects and tin trays, but the results did not satisfy them. In 1923, the artel "Old Russian Art" was created; it included 11 masters. They painted salt shakers, boxes, caskets, nesting dolls and other semi-finished wooden products.

At the 1st All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft-Industrial Exhibition in 1923, the wooden objects of the Mstera craftsmen could not compete with the bright caskets of paleshans. Then in Mstera they decided to turn to the manufacture of lacquer miniatures and use the same material - papier-mâché. The first trial batch of papier-mache semi-finished products was taken in the Fedoskino artel of painters, and then they themselves mastered the new material.

Mstera also absorbed many features of the icon painting of the Novgorod and Stroganov schools of painting. These two directions, mutually enriching themselves, gradually formed the Mstera style of lacquer miniatures. Soon the works of the Mstera masters received recognition. At the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937, a group of artists from Mstera, like Palekh, received a Grand Prix diploma and gold medals. The collective of artists grew rapidly and jointly developed a new kind of folk art. They chose compositions, worked out silhouettes, improved decorative expressiveness - a lot of work was done in search of new expressive means. The creative discoveries of each miniaturist became the property of the entire industry and served as starting points for further development. So, the artist E.V. Yurin laid the foundation for the ornamental direction of miniature painting. It is based on an ancient handwritten ornament, patterns of jewelry enamels and patterned fabrics depicted on the icons. The master depicted flowers and fruits surrounded by complex floral and geometrized patterns that filled the surfaces of caskets, brooches, powder boxes and the like.

The main features of the style of Mstera varnishes were determined in the period from the 1930s to the 1950s. As in Palekh, many traditions of Russian icon painting have been preserved here. But the ancient motifs have changed their symbolic essence, filled with new content and merged with the images born of the modern era. The artists of Mstera preferred to depict real people in their real environment: peasant work, logging, fishing, quiet village everyday life, each time finding their own figurative structure of the miniature and conventional pictorial language. Along with the everyday genre, the art of Mstera embraced a fairy tale, an epic, a song, a literary work. As in other centers of lacquer miniatures, here they paid tribute to revolutionary and military themes, embodying them in painting by means inherited from the narrative of ancient Russian art.

In Mstera, the special role of the landscape in miniature and the originality of color have been preserved. The composition of a miniature is often built in a landscape, against a colored background. This is not even a landscape, but rather its poetic image, as if seen from a great distance, when many details are indistinguishable. The Mstera style is also associated with a special culture of color. Its essence lies in the unity of the color variety achieved by the gradation of tone transitions. Mstera's painting is distinguished by a special "carpet" and sonorous, cheerful coloring.

Unlike Palekh, the Mstera miniature is more independent in relation to the casket or other object and does not belong to everything, but only to the plane bounded by this object. Therefore, painters paint miniatures mostly on covers. rectangular shape. Among Paleshans, the painting of caskets is inextricably linked with their shape. Do not use in Mstera and black varnish as a background. They prime the surface of the lid with whitewash and write the chosen plots on it so that only the margins remain black; at the end of the work they are filled with an ornamental border. The Mstera masters are dominated by more realistic characters, without a touch of sentimentality; the color of the works is softer and warmer; its meaning lies in the color, tonal unity of the miniature. So Palekh and Mstera, despite the closeness of their technical means of tempera painting, each searched for their own artistic and imaginative structure of the miniature.

4. Kholuy lacquer miniature

The old Russian village of Kholui, Ivanovo region, is known for its unique beauty of picturesque nature. This unique corner of Russia seems to have been created to amaze the world with its charm. The clear waters of the Teza River reflect the silvery branches of the weeping willow and the domes of the white stone Trinity Church of the 17th century.

In the spring, rivers overflow their banks and flood the entire area, turning the streets into real canals. Boats are used to get around the village - in kindergarten, school or work. High waters remain throughout April. After that, the earth quickly puts on a green outfit and looks more attractive than ever. Nature inspires artists to new poetic landscapes. Kholui is also famous for its ancient history. First mentioned in 1546.

Icon painting has been a hereditary occupation since ancient times. The convenient location of the village gives close ties with many cities in the Moscow region, which contributed to high sales. These were mostly popular icons that did not require any special production. However, there were also things made at a high artistic level. The history of lacquer miniatures in the village of Kholui is very similar to Palekh and Mstera. In 1934, an artistic artel was created in Kholui, which was engaged in painting lacquer products. Thanks to such enthusiastic masters as S. Mokin, K. Kosterin, V. Puzanov-Molev and D. Dobrynin, the authority of lacquer miniatures grew steadily. In 1937, at the World Exhibition, the masters were awarded bronze medals.

In the post-war years, in the art of the Kholuy masters, originality and individual style began to emerge more and more clearly, visibly different from the art of masters from other places (such as Fedoskino, Palekh and Mstera). The main difference between Kholuy painting is the use of bluish-green and brown-orange tones. The Kholuy miniatures are not only more realistic than those of Palekh and Mstera, but also more decorative than those from Fedoskino. Their stylistic features were presented in the most favorable light in the landscape genre.

The art of the Kholuy miniature is the youngest of all Russian lacquer crafts. In 1947, the artel welcomed the first graduation from a professional art school. These are those who form the artistic core today: V. Belov, V. Fomina, N. Babrin, B. Tikhonravov, B. Kiselev, N. Denisov, A. Kosterin, A. Kamorin. The younger artists of Kholuy, such as V. Elkin, V. Sedov, A. Smirnov, P. Mityashin, A. Sotskov and N. Shevtsov work in the best traditions of the older generation, and some of them became teachers at the Kholuy art school.

Conclusion

In our time, Russian lacquer miniature continues to live, while in the West, lacquer art has died. In Holland, France, USA, China, Japan, artists are surprised how our craftsmen manage to create such beauty. In their work, contemporary artists reflect complex world man of the 21st century. Satirical works, unusual for Russian lacquers, also appeared (“Where should a peasant go?”, “Ryaba the Hen or the National Idea”).

Over the years of its existence, Russian lacquer miniatures have acquired a large international market. This was facilitated not only by the high quality of performance, orientation to various social strata, a variety of subjects, possession of ornamental delights drawn from Western European and Eastern varnishes, originality, but also the constant development of new forms - both products and artistic means of expression, a sensitive connection with time. , serious professional training of masters.

In Russian lacquer painting, there are still whole dynasties - children continue the work of their fathers. These include the Kozlov, Shapkin, Pashinin families.

A rich collection of lacquer miniatures from the collection of the Vologda Regional Art Gallery makes it possible to understand and feel the specific features of this unique art form. The works of Russian masters, united by the concept of "Russian artistic varnishes", have common properties, such as sincerity, emotionality and poetry, close and understandable to every human heart.

Literature

1. Krestovskaya N.O. Lacquer miniature. Fedoskino: Album. Moscow: Interbook-Business, 1995. 144 p. (Masterpieces of folk art of Russia).

2. Shelukhin M.V., Monashov V.S. Lacquer miniature. 2010.

3. Lacquer miniature Palekh - http://autotravel.ru/phalbum.php/town/1390

4. Lacquer miniature Kholui - http://bigpicture.ru/? p=35432

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Kholuy as a type of decorative art and the youngest of the papier-mâché lacquer arts. The origin of modern Kholuy from icon painting. Decorative techniques of Kholuy icon painting. Stylistic features of Kholuy's art, his artistic language.

Russian artistic varnishes are one of the remarkable phenomena of the art of artistic crafts in Russia.

On the territory of the RSFSR, six centers for the production of artistic varnishes are most famous: Fedoskino, Palekh, Mstera, Kholuy - products with miniature painting and Zhostovo, Nizhny Tagil - varnished trays with paintings.

In Europe, oriental artistic varnishes have become known since the 16th century. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. in Italy, France, England and Germany, their own production of lacquer products is developing. In Russia, the art of lacquer painting originated in the 18th century. So, all the work on the design of the "lacquer cabinet" in the country palace of Peter I was carried out by Russian "lacquer works" masters. From the 18th century Painted lacquered boxes and cabinets have come down to us. In the second half of the XVIII century. lacquer painting on metal appears in Russia (Nizhny Tagil).

At the end of the XVIII century. there is a craft of artistic varnishes in the village. Danilkovo near Moscow, which later merged with the neighboring village of Fedoskino. The founder of the Fedoskino trade was the merchant P.I. lkove a small factory for the production of products from papier-mâché. The experience of foreigners was soon mastered and developed by local craftsmen. In 1818-1819. the factory passed to Korobov's son-in-law P. V. Lukutin. Under him and his son A.P. Lukutin in the 30-60s of the 19th century, when the production of lacquer products ceased everywhere in Western Europe, Russian lacquers gained worldwide fame and were repeatedly awarded honorary diplomas and medals at international exhibitions and fairs.

For the manufacture of papier-mâché, ordinary cardboard is used, narrow strips of which are smeared with flour or starch paste, wound in several layers (from 8 or more) onto special blanks in the shape of a future box, pressed and dried for 2-3 days. Then the blanks are impregnated with linseed oil and hardened for 12 days in special drying cabinets. The finished papier-mâché takes on the characteristic dark brown color and strength of the wood. Products made from it are primed in 3 layers (primers of a special composition), and each layer is dried and polished separately, and covered with two layers of black varnish. The inner surface of the product is usually painted with red paint (cinnabar), on top of which two layers of light oil varnish are applied. The perfection of form and the technical quality of the finish of Lukutin's products were so high that things were beautiful and elegant even before the painter's hand touched them. The artist decorates the product with the finest colorful miniature painting (on a slightly brushed surface). The painting is covered with several layers of colorless varnish and polished to a mirror finish. Along with miniature painting, other, more simple ways decorations: "plaid" (imitation of a pattern of Scottish fabric), "tortoiseshell" (tortoiseshell pattern), filigree (type-setting pattern of metal elements on wet varnish). Another technique for decorating Fedoskino products is called “tsirovka”; it lies in the fact that the radial pattern is engraved on dry black varnish to the lining of a thin sheet of metal (silver, cupronickel or tin).

Fedoskin's miniaturists paint with oil paints. They have developed their own special techniques: "writing in dense" and "writing in a through way." They paint in dense oil on bleaching ground in three or four layers, and each layer of painting (“painting” ^ “repainting”, “glazing”, “glare”) is dried and covered with transparent varnish: such a multi-layered painting gives depth to Fedoskino painting and color saturation. By writing in a dense way, miniature portraits are mainly created.

The letter in a through way is done with transparent glazing paints on gold leaf, mother-of-pearl or aluminum powder. At the same time, the colors seem to light up from the inside with multi-colored lights. Particularly noble color effects are provided by the mother-of-pearl lining, painting on which creates delicate color shades that can convey the brilliance of a sunbeam, play of the color of the sea wave.

The range of products of the Lukutin factory was unusually wide - album plates, blotters, boxes for sweets, "drums for tea and tobacco", "barrels", mother-of-pearl and papier-mâché cufflinks, needle cases, piggy banks, napkin rings, eyeglass cases, cigarette cases, trays , powder boxes, pencil cases, cigarette boxes, snuff boxes, etc.

Fedoskino masters had their favorite subjects, mostly scenes from folk life. Using lithographed drawings and engravings as samples, and later works of modern easel painting, the Fedoskino workers significantly reworked the originals, subordinating the composition and color of the pictorial image to the artistic solution of the whole thing as a whole, taking into account its shape and design.

An example of a creative approach to the originals are the famous Fedoskino Troikas (see color incl. 18). They are based on lithographed drawings by the artist A. O. Orlovsky (“Tsar's Courier”, “Post Troika”) and other artists. Miniaturists, leaving the overall composition of lithographs or paintings, each time made changes to the images of the characters, to the interpretation of the landscape.

In the middle of the XIX century. the main characteristic features of the figurative language of Fedoskino art are formed. Fedoskino painting is realistic. Images of a person, animals, plants retain the real proportions of shapes, color, and have volume. Credibility in the depiction of nature was combined with the subordination of painting to the decorative tasks of the general artistic solution of the subject, requiring a certain convention.

In 1904, after the death of the last Lukutin, the factory was closed, but on its basis in 1910 a group of former Lukutin masters organized the Fedoskino artel of painters. Thus, the artistic tradition of Russian lacquer miniatures was not interrupted. After the victory of the October Revolution, the Fedoskino miniature

received further development. Many Fedoskino miniaturists stop relying on other people's originals and create their own works. The first attempts at such independent creativity were carried out in the 30s by A. A. Kruglikov, I. S. Semenov and other craftsmen.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, when young artists returned from the army, creative searches resumed.

Talented craftsmen worked in the field in the 1950s and 1970s. One of Fedoskin's leading miniature painters is the Honored Artist of the RSFSR, laureate of the State Prize of the RSFSR. I. E. Repina M. S. Chizhov, who creates original works of miniature art on the themes of collective farm life: “The Russian Winter Festival in Fedoskino” (6.1), “Collectivization”. Honored Artist of the RSFSR M. G. Pashinin is a master of miniature portraits, everyday and fairy-tale genres: “A. S. Pushkin on the Neva”, “Dance”, “Stone Flower”, “Snow Maiden” (6.2).

A great contribution to contemporary Fedoskino art was the landscape miniatures of the Honored Artist of the RSFSR, laureate of the State Prize of the RSFSR. I. E. Repina I. I. Strakhova. His works are devoted to the surrounding nature - rivers with soft grassy banks, wooden bridges, with figures of rural children. Masterfully mastering the technique of writing through, the artist skillfully combines the color of paints with the color of silver and gold. Strakhov's works are deeply lyrical. They have the beauty of golden autumn, the freshness of the morning forest, illuminated by the golden rays of the sun, the soft sadness of a foggy day. The artist kept the thing in mind as a whole, making sure that his compositions, in terms of the generality and silhouettedness of their main elements, were in harmony with the shape of the object and the main background - black lacquer. His most famous works are "Park in Boldino", "Fedoskino" (see color incl. 19), "Landscape with a bridge".

Among the leading artists of the craft, a place of honor belongs to the Honored Artist of the RSFSR B. D. Lipitsky. Many of his works have become classic examples of Fedoskino miniature art. He created portraits of V. I. Lenin and his associates. At the same time, the creative achievements of V. D. Lipitsky are the works: “Dance”, “Birch”, “Scarlet Flower” (6.3).

In the miniature "The Scarlet Flower", executed on a box, the artist managed to create the image of a Russian girl, full of charm and lyricism. Her gaze is turned to a golden, broad-leaved bush, from which a fabulous flower was plucked. A fabulous landscape is successfully solved, against which the action unfolds. Leaving black ducts between the trees, thus creating a beautiful silhouette of the drawing, Lipitsky simultaneously solves the problem of connecting the miniature with the box covered with black lacquer. Before us is a work of folk decorative art that combines miniature painting with the form of an object and its domestic purpose.

The traditions of Fedoskino are being developed by honored artists of the RSFSR G. I. Larishev, Yu. V. Karapaev, artists P. N. Puchkov, A. A. Tolstov, V. D. Antonov and others. figures and prominent representatives of Russian culture, create miniatures on historical and fairy tales. A large place in their work is occupied by the lyrical landscape of the Moscow region.

At the Fedoskino Order of the Badge of Honor, a factory of miniature painting, about two hundred painters work in bright workshops, there is an art vocational school and a museum of miniature painting attached to it.

During the years of Soviet power, three new centers of miniature painting on papier-mache arose and developed in the villages of Palekh, Ivanovo Region, Mstera, Vladimir Region. and Kholui, Ivanovo region. Before the revolution, icon painting existed in these villages. After the victory of October, former icon painters began to look for new ways to use their creative potential. It was necessary, relying on the original artistic traditions of ancient Russian painting, carried by local painters through the centuries, to keep up with the times, to create a fundamentally new art that would meet the interests of people building a new society. It was a very difficult task,

to encourage former icon painters to work together to create a new socialist culture. Art critics A. V. Bakushinsky, G. V. Zhidkov, V. M. Vasilenko took a great part in the fate of Palekh, Mstera, Kholuy at the beginning of the birth of crafts. G. V. Yalovenko, M. A. Nekrasova and others worked a lot with these crafts.

Palekh became the first center of the new art. The tradition of icon painting in this village dates back to the 16th-17th centuries. The best icon-painting works of the Paleshans were characterized by narrative, in most cases the characters of their works were depicted in action. The artists carefully painted individual specific details of the environment surrounding the saints, thereby showing interest in everyday life, in real life. On their icons we see images of bizarre fairy-tale palaces, towers, decorated with carvings of village huts, images of rich smart clothes, all kinds of village utensils, necessarily beautiful and solid - everything that expresses the peasant ideal of a prosperous and happy life. The works of the Paleshans were distinguished by the special plasticity of images, the beauty of the ornament, expressing the desire of the master to make the thing joyful, life-affirming in its inner mood.

The icon painters of Palekh remained peasants and farmers. They were engaged in their craft mainly in the winter, free from field work. This connection with the land, with the peasantry left a special imprint on their work, helped them find a new path in the development of their art.

In the early 1920s, the Paleshians undertook a series of experiments on the use of the ancient Russian painting tradition in painting wooden objects. The remarkable Palekh artist I. I. Golikov was the first to use tempe-

caskets made of papier-mâché, covered with black lacquer, made according to the model of Fedoskino products. Thus, a new, Palekh craft of lacquer miniature painting was born. In 1924, the Palekh artel of ancient painting was created, later transformed into the Art and Production Workshops of the Palekh branch of the Art Fund of the RSFSR.

Unlike the Fedoskino painters, who paint their miniatures with oil paints, the Paleshians work with tempera, paint ground on egg yolk. This paint is diluted with water, so painting with it, as a rule, is built on very thin layers, successively applied to each other. At the same time, with a thick consistency of the paint composition, tempera allows you to work using the method of strokes and pasty strokes (as in pastels or in oil painting).

Instead of a primer, the paleshans use tempera thick white, which they apply to the surface of lacquer products only in those places where painting is supposed to be done. In other places, black varnish is a surface free from painting. So, already during the priming, the initial study of the volumes of figures, landscape and architectural forms takes place. The background in Palekh painting always remains the surface of black varnish free from painting. The first stage of writing is "opening up". The artist, literally pouring paint from a brush, outlines the main forms of the image. Paints, flocking, form soft color transitions and nuances, which often remain until the end of the painting.

Next comes the registration. At this stage, the main color tones are specified and the forms of the image are concretized. With a thin brush of dark paint, the artist outlines the outlines of forms, the folds of clothing, the details of the landscape and architecture. Light and dark colors set the volumes of figures and objects.

Then there are “melts” or “splashes”, i.e., broad strokes of liquid pure paints that raise the color system of the miniature and give it a certain coloristic integrity.

The painting ends with a “glare”, which is produced by the created gold: golden lines, strokes and dots convey here the fabulous play of sunlight on objects.

Miniature painting, as a rule, is framed with gold ornaments. The sides of the boxes are also decorated with ornamental patterns.

The finished painting is covered with six layers of light oil varnish, after which the surface of the product is ground and polished using the methods already known to us.

Ringing purity bright colors emerging from the depths of the black background, the golden contours of highlights and ornaments, the virtuosity of miniature writing - all this makes the works of Palekh masters close to the works jewelry art. Palekh "village-academy" is located among fields and forests, far from the noise of the city, but the creative life here flows in a tense rhythm. Here, for the first time in Soviet art, the image of the “Red Plowman” (6.4) appeared, symbolizing a new life in the village. Palekh art is characterized by an excited romanticism in the depiction of revolutionary battles, in the interpretation of themes and plots from modern reality. At the same time, a fairy tale, an epic, the history of the Russian people occupy a large place in the work of the Paleshans. In their miniatures, the real and fantasy coexist whimsically, bizarrely: real people, houses, trees, grass coexist here with conditional "slides", "chambers", "trees" and fabulous flower trees.

The founders of the Palekh miniature were the Honored Artists of the RSFSR I. I. Golikov, I. M. Bakanov, the People’s Artists of the RSFSR I. V. Markichev, A. V. Kotukhin, I. P. Vakurov, the People’s Artist of the USSR N. M. Zinoviev, as well as artists A. A. Dydykin, I. I. Zubkov and others. The work of each of them is a bright page in the Palekh art of miniature painting. I. I. Golikov in his works "Battle", "Hunt", "Troika" developed a romantic line. “The artist must show in his picture a whirlwind that sweeps away the old,” he said. Characteristic in this regard is one of his first works - the miniature "Battle" (see color incl. 20). It seems that everything is mixed up in this fiery battle, but nevertheless the composition of the miniature is extremely clear, precise and logical. It is built in a circle: warriors in bright clothes and shiny armor on rearing multi-colored horses, located along the edges of the lacquer lid of the box, in a single impetuous impulse rush to the center. The rhythm of their movement is emphasized by crossed gilded spears, indicating two opposing forces. The black lacquer background, traditional for Palekh, which contrasts sharply with the bright color “riot” of colors, contributes a lot to the emotional tension of the work.

Also remarkable are his works dedicated to Stepan Razin, illustrations for The Tale of Igor's Campaign, etc. The romanticism of I. I. Golikov is opposed by the monumental epicness of A. V. Kotukhin, who created mainly works on fairy-tale and everyday themes. His works “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” (6.5), “The Firebird”, “Repair of a Tractor” and others are characterized by a special narrative, the artist, as it were, leads an entertaining story. For The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Kotukhin uses not only the top cover of the box, but also its sides. The central miniature on the lid consists of three parts. In the center is the finale of the tale: the meeting of Tsar Saltan with Prince Guidon. But right there, in the reduced images, what preceded this is shown: Prince Gvidon saw through a telescope the approaching ships of his father, bell ringing announces the arrival of Tsar Saltan on the island. A large number of the characters depicted in the miniature and the events of different times, the artist skillfully inscribes into the surface of the box. The spatial image in the foreground smoothly turns into a planar one towards the edges.

The epic structure of miniature painting is also inherent in I. M. Bakanov (“The Tale of the Golden Cockerel”, 6.6).

I. I. Zubkov is a master of the rural landscape, poetically draws the local nature with its birch groves and green fields. The works of IP Vakurov are full of symbolism. His Petrel (6.7) symbolizes the Great October Socialist Revolution. The artist depicted raging waves, bright golden lightning "strike" the ship of old Russia, which is opposed by a red worker breaking the chains of slavery. “I want to write like this,” the artist said, “so that the sea boils with the sky, so that the mountains throw a storm.” A great artistic event of the 1930s was the creation by the outstanding Palekh artist N. M. Zinoviev of a painting of a writing instrument from 11 objects on the theme “History of the Earth”. More than 400 artists currently work in Palekh. Many of them are members of the Union of Artists of the USSR. N. I. Golikov, B. M. Ermolaev, A. A. Kotukhina, G. M. Melnikov were awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR; R. L. Belousov, A. V. Borunov, A. V. Kovalev, A. D. Kochupalov, B. N. Kukuliev, K. V. Kukulieva, P. F. Chalunin are Honored Artists of the RSFSR. N. M. Zinoviev, T. I. Zubkova, N. I. Golikov, A. A. Kotukhina are laureates of the State Prize of the RSFSR. I. E. Repina. Palekh has an art museum.

In 1932, in Mstera, the ancient center of Russian script writing, a new artel of miniature painting "Proletar Art" was organized. Mstera in the past (since the 18th century) was famous for its “antique letters”, i.e., imitation of ancient icons, and for its restorers. There were also "Sebyakin" icons in Mstera, which were made without strict observance of the canons. In these icons, the saints were usually depicted against the backdrop of a landscape with herds, travelers and animals. It was "Sebyakin's letters" that greatly facilitated the creative searches of the Mstera masters after the Great October Socialist Revolution. Like the Paleshans, the Mstera people paint with tempera paints papier-mâché lacquer items: boxes, boxes, caskets, needle cases, beads, etc. done in soft tones. Modeling of forms and volumes with color is typical for the Mstera miniature. The action, as a rule, takes place against the background of the Central Russian (most often local) landscape, or against the background of fabulous mountains, or a conditional architectural ensemble. Miniatures are usually bordered with a strip of openwork ornament, filled with created gold.

The themes of Mstera paintings are diverse: plots of Russian fairy tales, as well as Russian classical literature, epics and songs, the heroic and revolutionary past of the Motherland, the new life of Soviet people, ornamental compositions: either fairy-tale horsemen are chasing deer in a mountainous fantastic landscape, or Russian soldiers in golden armor fight with foreign hordes at the walls of ancient Russian cities, then our contemporaries work in the fields and factories.

An inexhaustible source of inspiration for the Msterians is the surrounding nature. The sandy bends of the navigable Klyazma, floodplain meadows with countless streams and oxbows, century-old elms along the Msterka River, washing the hill on which Mstera is located, distant villages - all this is reflected in the Mstera miniature, but is reflected in a generalized form: the plans converge, rare mighty trees form backstage around the meadows, where the heroes of the miniatures act. The founder of the Mstera miniature was the old master N. P. Klykov. According to the memoirs of the art critic V. M. Vasilenko, Klykov once showed A. V. Bakushinsky a “Sebyakin’s” icon, which depicted a landscape with a herd with unusual vividness. It was a lubok, executed in an icon-painting manner. The landscape became the main thing in Klykov's miniatures. Oaks, pines, birches, streams, small lakes in the valleys between the hills form a special, attractive world. The sky near Klykov is always very high and clear, the patterned crowns of trees stand out clearly on it, which rarely stand without blocking each other. According to their composition, Klykov's miniatures are composed of several scenes that complement each other. He, as it were, conducts a direct and sincere conversation with the viewer (“Picking fruits”, “After the whistle”, “Thunderstorm” (6.8), “Logging”, etc.). The older generation of masters includes: A. F. Kotyagin (“The Parable of Two Men”, “Finn and Ruslan”), A. I. Bryagin (“Deer Hunting”, “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”), People's Artist of the RSFSR I. A. Fomichev (“Cossack Freemen”, “Mikula Selyaninovich”), Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR I. N. Morozov (“Battle”, “Tales of A. S. Pushkin”). The coloring of the works of these authors is light, pure and transparent. The picturesque solution is dominated by several leading tones: warm or cold. With special care and virtuosity, they work out the details - foliage, clothing patterns, etc. A special place among the Mstera miniaturists of the older generation is occupied by the People's Artist of the RSFSR E. V. Yurin - an unsurpassed master of ornamental compositions, the author of many bouquets and still lifes, cut with gold framed with fine gold ornaments (see color incl. 21).

In the 1960s, a new generation of craftsmen grew up in Mstera, relying on the best traditions of ancient Russian painting, ancient miniatures and popular popular prints. They create dozens of new works, which are characterized by increased decorativeness, originality of color solutions, and expressiveness of the silhouette. The leading masters of this generation are People's Artist of the RSFSR N. I. Shishakov and Honored Artist of the RSFSR L. A. Fomichev. Shishakov understands the surface of a lid intended for painting as a plane on which an image is composed of individual elements, like stamps on an icon. At the same time, he avoids clear boundaries between many parts of the image, achieving unity of impression from the painting. Thus, in the miniature “Mother”, the scene with the leaflets is moved outside the station building, which made it possible for the artist to simultaneously show both the strike and the gendarmes’ equestrian patrol.

L. A. Fomichev began to apply in his works some principles of the ancient Russian book miniature. This was reflected in the emphasized laconicism of artistic means: the depicted objects are given close-up, the figures of people acquire a pronounced plot, the story is supplemented by symbolic details and details. For example, in the miniature "Igor's Escape" (see color incl. 22), the sun is symbolic, illuminating Igor's path with its face, and sending the darkness of night onto the camp of the Polovtsy with its back side. The hot cinnabar of Konchak's tent emphasizes the unbridled anger of the khan, and the light tone of the landscape behind the blue streams of the river is perceived as greetings from the native land.

In the work of today's masters of Mstera painting, bold innovation in the transfer of the most diverse content is intertwined with the traditions of the artistic culture of the past. Currently, about 200 miniaturists work at the Mstera art factory "Proletarian Art". Many of them are members of the Union of Artists of the USSR. N. I. Shishakov, L. A. Fomichev - laureates of the State Prize of the RSFSR. I. E, Re

pina. The young members of the Union of Artists of the USSR are the talented masters P. I. Sosnin, V. F. Nekosov, V. K. Moshkovich, V. N. Molodkin, and others. There is an art museum and an art vocational school in Mstera.

Kholuy is the youngest of the lacquer crafts. In the past, Kholuy art differed from Palekh and Mstera art in its predominantly folk, almost cheap popular print icons, which were distributed among the peasantry. The Kholuy artists in their works pay great attention to the decoratively interpreted landscape, and unlike the Msterians, they solve all the details of the compositions more enlarged. The images of Kholuy's works are more material and concretely pictorial. The founders of the Kholuy miniature were three masters: S. A. Mokin, V. D. Puzanov-Molev and K. V. Kosterin. Mokin is characterized by an underlined pathos in the interpretation of selected themes and plots (“Prince Igor”, “The Call of Stepan Razin”, etc.), which was expressed in the dynamic structure of multi-figured compositions, in the active action of the depicted characters, in the temperamental manner of writing. Puzanov-Molev attracted attention with the special epicness of the images (“Prophetic Oleg”, “Boris Godunov and the Holy Fool”, 6.9) and folklore immediacy (“Sadko”, etc.); Kosterin - in a sharp semi-graphic manner in displaying modern topics ("The power of the defense of the USSR", "A holiday on a collective farm", etc.). These artists brought up a galaxy of talented students - Honored Artists of the RSFSR V. A. Belov, N. I. Baburin, B. I. Kiselev, N. N. Denisov, artists B. V. Tikhonravov, V. I. Fomin, etc. .

More than 100 painters are currently working at the Kholuy factory of artistic lacquer miniatures. V. A. Belov and N. N. Denisov were awarded the Order of Lenin, N. I. Baburin - the Order of the Badge of Honor, N. I. Baburin and B. I. Kiselev - laureates of the State Prize of the RSFSR. I. E. Repina.

The second line of lacquer art - painting on lacquered iron trays - first appeared in Russia in the middle of the 18th century. in Nizhny Tagil at the Ural factories of the Demidovs. In a number of related crafts of mining (locksmithing, bronze, tinning, tin, riveting, chest), varnishing and painting craft appeared, which cooperated with blacksmithing and riveting in the manufacture of various lacquer products, mainly trays.

The ancestor of the lacquer business in the Urals is called the serf A. S. Khudoyarov, who invented “crystal” lacquer, which “does not crack at all on iron, copper and wood.”

Lacquer art on Ural trays developed in two directions: picture painting, close to easel painting of that time (late 18th - first quarter of the 19th century), and flower painting, related to Siberian and Ural painting on chests, birch bark, arches, spinning wheels and other objects . This second type of Ural painting reached a special development in the middle of the 19th century.

In painting trays-pictures, Tagil artists used the technique of three-layer oil painting on a reddish-brown primer applied to a dense gray pad (the composition of the primer and pad is unknown). The themes of the images were historical plots, allegories, romantic landscapes. Picture images were framed with stripes of finely executed (with the help of stencils) gold ornament. The high sides of the trays were also decorated with ornaments (often a geometric pattern was cut through the sides).

The painting was covered with transparent, like glass, "crystal" varnish, which is believed to be based on hemp oil. Trays-pictures were bought mainly by small-scale nobles. Floral "conventional" trays made in the Urals were in great demand among merchants and urban bourgeoisie.

The manufacturing technology of such trays was as follows. The master forger (blacksmith) cut out the shapes of future trays from a sheet of iron, then picked them up in six pieces, fastened the stack with brackets and knocked out (“pulled out”) the working field of the trays on a cast-iron mold with a five-pound hammer. After that, he bent the "edge" (edge) of the tray and cut holes in the sides for the handles.

The varnisher covered the tray with linseed oil and put it in a hot oven to burn it. This process was repeated several times. The black color of the trays is the color of dried drying oil.

For the best varieties of trays, black lacquer (composition unknown to us) was used.

Then, a colored primer was applied to the working field of the trays: red (red lead, less often cinnabar), green (grated malachite) or blue (grated cabbage roll).

On the painted background, the Ural craftswomen-painters "painted" bouquets of flowers in one step. Its essence was that with a large soft squirrel brush saturated with some kind of paint (mixed with white), a rounded “quivering” stroke was made, giving the impression of a complete flower, but in a highly generalized form. Leaves were depicted in the same way. Then the flowers and leaves were refined with white strokes (“sliders”) and black strokes. The “binding” here was the elastically wriggling likeness of the tendrils of grapes or loaches, filled with black paint with calligraphic skill. The painting was fixed with a layer of "crystal varnish".

The figurative structure of flowers on the Ural products was somewhat conventional and fabulous. The increased decorativeness of the Ural painting was largely determined by bright colored backgrounds. The pictorial techniques of the Ural painting are characterized by a certain flatness and graphic character in the interpretation of flowers, leaves and grass-antennae and the contrast of color combinations: red, blue, green, black. The so-called "writing in half a brush" brings the Ural painting of trays closer to writing on porcelain. The compositional structure of the Ural painting is characterized by the subordination of the bouquet to the object in the scale ratio of the painting to the working field of the tray (the Ural masters left large areas of the lacquer background free from painting), the special delicacy of the bouquet, and its low workload with elements. Ural flower painting in the full sense of the word "cursive"; it is carried out in two or three doses.

In the 30s, the traditional Ural painting was replaced by "Moscow" bouquets, that is, an imitation of the art of Zhostov.

Currently, more than 50 painting artists are employed in the lacquer shop at the Nizhny Tagil plant "Emal Posuda".

IN last years work is underway to restore the artistic traditions of the Ural brush painting - a necessary condition for the further successful development of the craft (see color incl. 23).

The emergence of the Zhostovo tray craft is associated with the entrepreneurial activity of the Vishnyakov family, natives of the village. Zhostovo, Troitsk volost, Moscow province (now Mytishchi district of Moscow region). Here, in 1825, on the initiative of O. F. Vishnyakov, who came from Moscow to his homeland, a workshop was organized for the production of papier-mâché lacquerware with miniature painting, similar to the neighboring Lukutin enterprise. Along with snuffboxes, tea caddies and other things that almost exactly repeat the range of items from the Lukutin factory, the Vishnyakov workshop, as well as other workshops in the area, began to produce iron lacquered trays with plot and flower painting, which later determined the nature of the Zhostovo craft.

The main motifs depicted on the trays were bouquets, artistically similar to beadwork, paintings on porcelain from factories near Moscow, Ivanovo chintz, Pavlovsk shawls, and Kursk flower carpets. The folk Ural Siberian flower painting on chests, spinning wheels, tuesas, and trays also influenced the Zhostovo bouquet. The refined “aristocratic flowers” ​​of St. Petersburg lacquered trays of the mid-19th century also had an influence. All this was refracted in the minds of the Zhostovo masters and creatively transformed into floral motifs, original in their figurative structure, full of symbolism and inner strength.

The manufacturing technology of Zhostovo trays comes down to the following: iron sheets are “cut” into blanks of the required size, then various forms of trays are cut out of them: “Siberian” - by analogy with rectangular Ural trays; oval, round, “winged” (with scalloped, wavy edges), “gothic” (with sharp, arrow-shaped edges), etc. Further, the working field of the tray was knocked out in the sheets (now it is squeezed out with a press). The prepared tray is "boarded", i.e., its edges are bent into a roller, and goes into the hands of the primers. They first “coat” the tray on both sides with putty (chalk with drying oil) in two layers (with drying and grinding of each layer), then with black thick putty (a mixture of kaolin, Dutch soot and oil). Next come two more layers of putty of the same composition, but in a more liquid consistency. Each layer after drying is polished with pumice. The primed tray is painted black and only then covered with two layers of black oil varnish.

The tray falls into the hands of Zhostovo painters after priming and light polishing with a perfectly even, slightly matte surface.

In Zhostovo they paint with oil paints, richly diluted with linseed oil and turpentine. Such paints easily "drain" from a squirrel brush, allowing you to make a long, elastic stroke.

The first stage of painting is called "painting", the second - "dressing".

In painting, with a wide brush, the silhouette of a bouquet is sketched on the working field of the tray. The painting is usually carried out without a preliminary drawing with dense, somewhat whitened paints in parallel on several trays (the Zhostovo artist usually paints from five to ten trays a day, without repeating exactly in any of them). When working, the artist constantly rotates the tray on his knee, substituting the desired area of ​​​​the working surface of the tray under the brush.

At the same time, he follows the beauty and expressiveness of the emerging silhouettes of flowers (roses, double poppies, tulips, daisies, etc.) and plastically elastically attributes to them juicy stems, flexible branches with buds at the ends. On each tray, the artist, as it were, re-solves compositional and plastic problems in depicting bouquets, and in this fascinating inspired improvisation lies the creative thought of the Zhostovo masters, making their art alive and unique.

The dried painting, made in painting, is smeared (“refreshed”) with oil, after which the artist quickly and confidently makes a “dressing”, which breaks down into a number of independent techniques: “shade”, “laying”, “highlight”, “black tezhku”, “planting seeds” and “binding”.

Strong juicy strokes of the shade are produced with a wide flat brush with pure glazing paints: blue (Prussian blue or ultramarine), green (emerald green) and red (kraplak). Tenezhka enhances the brilliance of light places of flowers and leaves and at the same time obscures (in a thick layer of colors) some forms of the bouquet, almost merging them with a black lacquer background.

When performing the “laying”, the entire palette of dense body paints is used - here the volumes of flowers and leaves are determined; glare complements the lining with highlights - marks of light on the bouquet; the drawing completes the cutting of the main flower forms with thin lines, drawing the outlines of the petals on the flowers and the veins in the leaves. In cups of flowers, artists depict stamens and pistils - this is the planting of seeds. And finally, the binding, i.e. grass, created with neutral green or brown paint in the gaps between flowers and leaves, completes the painting.

Along with the traditional black background, other colors are used in Zhostovo - red, blue, green. In this case, the field of the tray, intended for painting, is covered with a thin layer of light varnish, on which aluminum or bronze powder is sprinkled. After drying the metallized background, the tray is painted with glazing paints of the desired color (the denser the paint, the deeper and more noble the background color is perceived, slightly flickering with an internal glow).

The color scheme, of course, dictates both the choice of floral motifs in bouquets and the color scheme of the painting. It also affects the nature of some writing techniques: the shadow in this case should be more thorough - the brush cannot be as active as in painting on a black background, since the colored background softens the contrasts of the painting; the glare becomes less sharp, as the value of local tones increases in the painting and the role of the silhouette of flower forms against a colored background increases.

In addition to the multi-layered writing in Zhostovo, the so-called "letter on the roofs" is also used. In this case, the painting is done with lacquer gulfarba (a mixture of white paint and lacquer). Then sweat leaves are applied to the slightly dried lacquer painting or aluminum or bronze powder is sprinkled. The brilliant silhouette of the bouquet is highlighted with a ringing shade and cut in detail (strokes or lines) with black and brown paints. Painting on ceilings is more conditional, graphic in nature than multi-layered, picturesque painting.

The sides of the tray are usually decorated with openwork ornaments - “grass”, “herringbone”, “herringbone with a panicle”, etc. The ornament is written with squirrel brushes of lacquer gulfarba and sprinkled with bronze powder.

The finished painting is covered with three layers of light oil varnish with drying and cleaning of each layer (with pumice stone using coarse woolen cloth). The trays are polished with a polishing paste applied to a soft cloth, “mirror polishing” on the lacquer is done manually with finely ground chalk.

The traditions of Zhostovo flower painting on trays in the Soviet era were developed by I. S. Leontiev, A. I. Leznov (colour incl. 24), D. S. and N. S. Kledovs, M. R. Honored Artist of the RSFSR A.P. Gogin (6.10) and other masters. Currently, more than 150 painters work in Zhostovo. Among them are P. I. Plakhov (an experienced artist who shares his experience and knowledge with young people at the Zhostovo department of the Fedoskino Art Vocational School), Honored Artists of the RSFSR N. P. Antipov, Z. A. Kledova (Leontieva), B. V. Grafov , N. N. Mazhaev, M. P. Savelyev, artists E. P. Lapshin

The classic Zhostovo bouquet is always perfectly assembled, its forms are harmoniously coordinated with each other in scale and color. The composition is closed and saturated with internal movement - flowers, stems, leaves seem to sway from a light wind. The painting is perfectly connected with the surface of the object. In their work, the Zhostovo people carefully write out every flower shape, every petal, every bud, but do not bring them to the point of illusion. The Zhostovo bouquet is embossed, but its forms only slightly protrude above the lacquer background and just as slightly sink into it.

Of great interest is the painting on mother-of-pearl inlay, as if fused into the dense ground of the trays - in this case, floral motifs acquire the most delicate, shimmering shades of colors.

Each. an individual creative find at the Zhostovo factory of decorative painting is worked out in the process of improvisation by the entire staff of the enterprise, and this is already the key to the successful development of Zhostovo art in the future.

Russian lacquer painting is a unique phenomenon of world artistic culture. Having absorbed the achievements of the lacquer art of the West and East, accumulated over the centuries, she enriched it with a unique national experience and originality, expanded the scope of its figurative world.

Russian lacquer painting is a unique phenomenon of world artistic culture. Having absorbed the achievements of the lacquer art of the West and East, accumulated over the centuries, she enriched it with a unique national experience and originality, expanded the scope of its figurative world. Products with lacquer miniature painting ceased to have a purely utilitarian purpose, thanks to the high skill of Russian craftsmen, they became works of art, with a variety of themes, plots and images. Lacquer miniatures are not only a concentrated joy, a delight for the eyes, but also food for the mind, a consolation for the soul. It is convenient to have them with you, they do not burden the owner with their size and are delicate in the interior, do not destroy the style of large shapes, masses and colors.

The art of lacquer painting originated several millennia ago in China. During the excavation of ancient graves, lacquer items dating back to the Shan Yin era (1766-1122 BC) were found. Lacquer was used to cover household utensils, dishes and ceremonial vessels, horse harness, bows and arrows, and decorate carriages. Lacquers were written like ink, used to protect the surface of products and for decorative purposes.

From China, lacquer art spread to Korea, Japan, the countries of Indochina, India and Persia. The methods of making lacquers were largely determined by the existence of lacquer trees in these regions (in China "chi-shu", in Japan "urushi-no-ki", in Vietnam "kei-shon"). Each country developed the lacquer technique in its own way, borrowing something from its neighbors, improving their experience and bringing in its own. The Japanese, having become acquainted with Chinese lacquers, surpassed them, especially in painting with the use of gold and silver powders using the makie and nashiji techniques.

In Iran, a special lacquer was used, the component of which was sandarak, a fragrant resin of a North African coniferous tree, inferior in quality to the lacquers of China and Japan. In India, where lacquer art has been known since the 15th-16th centuries, lacquer was made from linseed and gum.

Oriental lacquers are distinguished by the highest level and culture of technology. The lacquer remains hard and flexible after drying, does not react to hot water, odorless, resists biological degradation. Lacquer is cheap, hygienic, and can be painted, molded, molded, and cut. Varnish can be applied to any surface, flat and curly, wood, paper, fabric, leather, metal, stone.

Captivated by the beauty of unusual products, European craftsmen created workshops in the 17th century for the production of products with Chinese-style paintings. But the manufacturing technology of European lacquers is significantly different from the Eastern one, reflecting not only differences in the source materials, but also in climatic conditions, traditions, and lifestyle.

The Belgian Spa is considered the birthplace of European varnishes. The lacquer industry here quickly became the leading haberdashery industry. Boxes of sewing kits, bonbonnieres, snuff boxes, eyeglass cases, cigarette cases, boxes for tea and spices, powder boxes, jewelry boxes, toilet sets - all this was made of beech wood. Products were very popular among vacationers in the famous European resort - the waters of the Arden. Spassky lacquer art reached its peak in the 18th century, when local artists united in a special guild.

In 1726, the Count of Condé of Bourbon created a manufactory in Chantilly. It lasted until the revolution of 1789. The Martin brothers brought special fame to French varnishes. They invented a recipe that improved copal (the term "copal" refers to resins of tropical origin, characterized by special transparency and strength) varnish from Zanzibar, treating it with turpentine oil. They also had other secrets. All these craftsmen served the richest elite of the aristocracy, creating expensive pieces of furniture, tea trays, frames, glasses, cups, watch cases and other luxury items. Stylistically, these things were mostly imitations of oriental lacquers.

The heyday of German varnishes is associated with the name of Johann Heinrich Stobwasser (1740-1829). His manufactory in Braunschweig was aimed at customers from the broad bourgeois strata. It was preceded by the lacquer workshop of Johann Christoph Lezier (d. 1730), known since 1717. In addition to furniture, Lezier made trays, caskets, stationery, brushes, and small utensils. There was a great influence of English designs in his products. The Stobwasser manufactory produced furniture (tables, chests of drawers, writing cabinets), trays, decorative plates, caskets, caskets for various purposes, snuff boxes, sticks with knobs. Especially large items were also made to order - carriages for solemn departures of the Prussian court. Small objects were painted mainly with landscape paintings by Dutch masters, marine scenes, romantic portraits, ornamental motifs, and erotic scenes.

In Russia, a constant interest in varnishes began to appear from the time of Peter the Great. But even under Aleksey Mikhailovich (1629-1676), individual chambers of the Kolomna Palace near Moscow were decorated in the Chinese style. Thanks to trade contacts with China, lacquered wooden trays, screens, and fans appeared. In 1721, one of the offices of Peter I in the Peterhof Monplaisir Palace was decorated with 94 lacquer panels, executed by Russian masters Ivan Tikhonov and Perfily Fedorov with comrades in oriental style"under China" under the direction of the Dutch artist Hendrik van Brumkorst, who worked in Russia until 1744. Having familiarized himself with large European manufactories, Peter I bought a batch of furniture with lacquer painting and invited foreign masters of the "lacquer business" to work in Russia. Such well-known masters as Noel Mireal, Carl Andreas Tramblin, Francis and Schwartz Konrad, Torin and others worked in Russia at different times. Pupils were sent abroad to study lacquer work, and after the Academy of Arts was founded in 1757, lacquer work was taught in its classes. In the time of Peter the Great, there was a "Lakirny Yard", which was located in the so-called Italian House of Catherine I on the banks of the Fontanka. There were workshops and warehouses. In 1761, Fyodor Vlasov painted the palace of Peter III in Oranienbaum, which is a unique monument of art.

Later in Russia, many lacquer industries arose: in St. Petersburg and its environs - the enterprises of M. Bool (who invited French masters to establish production), I. Kin, Friedrich and John Pets, D. Orlovskaya, A. Ek, Volenschneider, J. Labutin, Tareva. Near St. Petersburg, at the factory of K. Tiepon, tin and paper lacquered products were produced. In Moscow and the Moscow region, the most famous were the factories of the Lukutins and A.I. Austen, the Vishnyakovs, N. Nazhevshchikov, and the Sorokin brothers. There were many small provincial workshops: Shimer, Danilevich, in Berdichev - Gubarev (his hired worker Christian Flach later opened a factory in Moscow and produced 1450 snuff boxes a year), O.E. Burbyshev and others. All of them, as a rule, were similar to similar European enterprises and soon closed, with the exception of Lukutinskiy and Vishnyakovskiy.

The Lukutinsk manufactory, founded at the end of the 18th century by the merchant P.I. Korobov (died in 1819) in the village of Danilkovo near Moscow (adjacent to Fedoskino and subsequently merged with it), and the Vishnyakov workshops had a special fate. P.I. Korobov produced lacquered visors for headdresses of the Russian army. Snuffboxes are also being produced at his factory. Initially, they were not signed, engravings were pasted on them and varnished. In 1818 the factory passed to Korobov's daughter, and in 1824 to his son-in-law P.V. Lukutin (1784-1863). Pyotr Lukutin changed the forms and subjects of the lacquer miniature, focusing on the taste of the Russian consumer. However, the Lukutin masters continued to study the subtleties of miniature writing on Western models.

Under Pyotr Lukutin and his son Alexander (1819-1888), Lukutin's varnishes won wide recognition and fame. Russian troikas so beloved by the public, scenes of tea drinking, Ukrainian plots, and a historical theme appeared. Improved the lacquering process. Lukutin's lacquers were of high quality, exceptionally clear and perfectly polished. This was achieved by the fact that the varnishes underwent a long-term, for 7-8 years, "review" in the sun. The semi-finished product was made of rag cardboard, which gave it even greater strength. The hinges on the products were gilded. There are two methods of writing: "through" and "case". "In a through" - this is a glazing letter in transparent layers on metal linings, mother-of-pearl. "Corpus" writing was executed with dense strokes, the subtlety of writing and drawing was brought to virtuosity. As a rule, both methods were used in miniature. Particular attention was paid to artistic and decorative design. The craftsmen paint the surface of the caskets, imitating tortoise-like, ivory-like, malachite-like, birch-bark-like materials, varying the motifs of tartans. The ornaments use the technique of inlay with mother-of-pearl and metal. A special method of decorating caskets with filigree is created - a pattern made from the smallest gold and silver plates. A thin engraving was used on metal linings coated with varnish, the so-called "tsirovka".

There was a drawing school at the factory, the best masters of Lukutin were sent to the Moscow Stroganov Art School. The Lukutins treated their masters well, provided them with free apartments, firewood, kerosene, plots of land for a garden, which were cultivated by Lukutin laborers on Lukutin horses. In the Lukutin barns, it was possible to take on credit, if desired, cereals, tea, sugar, butter of a higher quality than from local merchants. Old infirm masters, at their request, were placed in the Khludov almshouse, and the students used the dining room for free during the entire period of study, they were provided with clothes and shoes, paints and brushes.

Under Alexander Lukutin, there was no store selling products, he kept the goods at home, retailed himself. Under the last Lukutin, Nikolai (1852-1902), a store was opened. Nikolai Lukutin married a very rich bride, and the question of the factory's income did not bother him. The Lukutin case was just a hobby for him. Two years after the death of Nikolai Lukutin, in 1904, the factory was closed. The daughter of the last Lukutin sold a unique long-term collection of the best Lukutin masters, which taught more than one generation of artists, and the remaining goods to unknown people abroad. Many craftsmen changed their profession after the factory closed, some of them went to the Vishnyakovs.

The Vishnyakov clan, serfs of Count Sheremetev, active and enterprising peasants, created several workshops in villages near Moscow. In 1780, in the village of Zhostovo, Philip Nikitich Vishnyakov opened a workshop for the production of lacquerware, and then moved to Moscow. His factory lasted until 1840. His workshop was subsequently successfully led by his son Osip (1825-1888), and then by his uncles Peter and Vasily. Philip's brother, Taras, remained in Zhostovo. In the village of Sorokino, a workshop was opened by Alexei Vishnyakov together with Zakhar Petrov and E.F. Belyaev (1830-1885), and Yegor and Vasily Vishnyakov with Kirila Pansky in the village of Ostashkovo. Stepan Filishkov's workshop was organized in the village of Novoseltsevo. In 1830, there were 8 workshops in this area, in 1876 - 20. In 1876-1888, peasants of ten villages of the Moscow province were engaged in lacquer business.

Lukutinsky and Vishnyakovsky varnishes developed in close connection with Russian realistic painting. The masters widely used the plots of Russian, however, and Western European artists, boldly processing them. Many commissioned works were carried out. The range of products was inexhaustible: from popular matchboxes of various shapes, salt shakers, tea caddies - to blotters, travel cellars and individual household items, such as umbrella and walking stick handles, folders for restaurant menus, covers for photographic albums, boxes for storing cigars and boxes for documents and other products. All of them were decorated with paintings - from those executed at the highest level by leading masters to mass production intended for the general public.

In 1910, part of the Lukutin and Vishnyakov masters decided to create their own artel. They turned to the Sergei Timofeevich Morozov Foundation, which issued working capital. A rural teacher from Fedoskino, Lyubov Dmitrievna Derzhavina, rendered great assistance in preparing the documentation. Georgy Petrovich Petrov, head of the provincial instructor department of the zemstvo, carefully examined the readiness and capabilities of the artists, and as a result, they were given 500,000 rubles. A plot was also allocated for the construction of a workshop in the village of Semenishchevo. On October 11, 1910, the masters began work in the new building. The artel was called the Fedoskino Labor Artel, it consisted of 10 people: Sergey Nikolayevich Kuznetsov, Alexei Fedorovich Mishaninov, Vasily Petrovich Mitusov, Sergey Matveevich Borodkin, Vasily Sergeevich Borodkin, Semyon Matveevich Matveev, Alexei Alekseevich Kruglikov, Alexei Afanasyevich Golovchenkov, Alexei Spiridonovich and Cainova and Ivan Petrovich Lavrov. S.N. Kuznetsov was elected headman. The purchase of the remnants of the Lukutinsk semi-finished product and inventory opened up the possibility for artel workers in the very first months to produce products that are not inferior in quality to Lukutinskaya. The handicraft museum gave excellent recommendations for the products of the artel to trading companies. Orders started coming in. S.T.Morozov, seeing the good arrangement of the case in the artel, gave her 2 shares of 500 rubles each in the people's bank, where they could always get a loan of 1000 rubles, in addition, the artel workers created a mutual assistance fund. Yes, and the Zemstvo supported, highly appreciating the results and quality of work of artel workers. In 1912, the artel building burned down, but thanks to insurance, it was quickly rebuilt. The trouble did not break the artists, they set to work with even greater enthusiasm. Orders came from all over Russia, especially from St. Petersburg and from abroad.

During the civil war of 1918-1920, the artel continued to work, although only 5 people remained there, the rest were at the front. Under the conditions of the war, it was impossible to sell products either in the country or abroad. Only selfless love for one's art helped the artel to survive. In 1923, at the first All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft-Industrial Exhibition, the Fedoskino artel was awarded a diploma of the first degree, and for maintaining its production during the years of the revolution and civil war, a diploma of gratitude. The great success at this exhibition inspired the artists. True, with the sale there were still great difficulties. Fedoskino varnishes were not inferior to Japanese ones, but the latter were three to five times cheaper. In 1925-1926, the cost of the product consisted of 93% of the cost of labor and 7% of the cost of materials, 60% went to the salary of the painter. This clearly shows how expensive labor was valued. In order to reduce the cost of it, the artel began to accept not only mediocre Lukutin masters, but also masters from other workshops - more low level. New samples for miniatures were created by the artists of the Handicraft Museum based on the processing of works by already Soviet artists. Not mastering the technique of Fedoskino writing, the artists of the Handicraft Museum failed to use the rich decorative possibilities lurking in it. Executed rather primitively, these miniatures are flat and reminiscent of lubok icons pasted on boxes. If it were not for the inscriptions, it would be impossible to guess who and what they depict, the art form in which the author clothed his works was so archaic. Other samples created by these artists without knowledge and observance of the technical methods of Fedoskino painting were even less suited to their decorative purpose. Rough writing, random compositions did not fit with the chamber form. Banal miniatures with mannered awnings, pierrots and arapchats, stylizations for various types of artistic painting did not correspond to the tradition of Fedoskino miniatures. And the saddest thing is that the age-old experience of Russian miniatures was ignored, imposing themes hastily invented and somehow recruited from various sources. But there were also acceptable experiments, for example, the use of motifs from porcelain painting, similar in nature to miniature painting, or various variations of the famous popular popular image of the spinner.

At the same time, Eastern and Western methods of using mother-of-pearl in inlays were widely mastered in Fedoskino varnishes. Mother-of-pearl is cut in various places of the object, obeying the intended composition, and the painting, executed with light glazes, makes it sound according to the general plan: a light glare on melted snow, the play of sunlight in the clouds and on the water surface, on the roofs of houses and domes of churches will emphasize the richness of the dress - brocade, silk, velvet. With the help of mother-of-pearl, an object is modeled, and, as a material of special decorative qualities, it is included in the overall pictorial structure of the image.

In addition to Fedoskino, there are currently three centers for the art of miniature lacquer painting in Russia: Palekh, Mstera and Kholuy. They went through a different path of development. Before the revolution of 1917, these were large icon-painting crafts, the masters of which created icon-painting workshops throughout the country: in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov. They painted churches in Russia and embassy churches abroad. Before the revolution, Mstyora, Palekh, Kholuy were part of the Vladimir province, in Soviet times, according to the new administrative division, Palekh and Kholuy ended up in the Ivanovo region, and Mstyora - in the Vladimir region. All these centers are known as ancient centers of icon painting. They were engaged not only in the art of small forms, but also in murals, in the restoration of old churches.

The occupation of icon painting, most likely, came from the monasteries. The most ancient center of the craft was Kholui, as the patrimony of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery. The mention of Kholui occurs in 1543 in connection with a letter to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery on the exemption from duties of the Starodub and Kirzhach salt pans. The first settlement was called "New Salts of Kholuy"2. The Kholuy saltworks belonged to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. This connection with the largest cultural center had a beneficial effect on Kholui. The most intelligent children were selected here for training in icon painting and sent to the monastery. So, in 1735, by order of Archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra Athanasius, 10 peasant children aged 12 to 15 years old were recruited in the Troitsko-Kholuyskaya Sloboda, "... sharp and reliable for the concept of icon-painting art, trained to read and write and, give them in the Lavra, rest, food and clothing, to teach painting to Hieromonk Pavel"3.

In 1882, the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood, founded in Vladimir, opened drawing classes in Kholui, later transformed into an icon painting and drawing school. A graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts N.N. Kharlamov (1863-1935) was sent there to guide and teach. The activities of the school proved to be fruitful. Its graduates were engaged in church painting and icon painting. Since 1902, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, E.A. Zarin, has also been the head and teacher of the school. The school teaches not only icon painting, but also widely introduces academic painting, expands acquaintance with world art.

The first mention of Mstyora in the scribe books of the Epiphany Pogost dates back to 1628. This is an ancient patrimony of the Romodanovsky princes, who later came close to the court of Tsar Peter I. Icon painting in the 17th century in the Epiphany Monastery spread to the entire male population of the settlement, becoming its main business.

Palekh is also an old village. The local church chronicle mentions that Palekh originally belonged to the Paletsky princes from the family of the Starodubsky princes. The Palets princes played a prominent role in the history of the Russian state. The daughter of Dmitry Paletsky was married to Ivan the Terrible's brother Yuri, and after her death, Palekh went to the son of Ivan IV, and then to the treasury. In the 17th century, Palekh was assigned to Ivan Buturlin, who came from an ancient family, whose ancestor was in the service of Alexander Nevsky.

All centers followed a single Orthodox tradition in icon painting, but at the same time each had its own characteristics: the Msteryaks were guided mainly by the Old Believer layers of different regions of Russia, the kholuyans, who were inclined towards greater freedom, were close to the realistic Russian tradition - to the extent that it was allowed in an icon; paleshans are more canonical.

A decisive role in the future fate of these three centers was played by Ivan Golikov (1886/87-1937). Without Golikov, there would be no new art not only in Palekh, but also in Kholuy and Mstyora. A sensitive perception of art, dissatisfaction with the routine that dominated the icon at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, persistent search for the application of his talent, study in various workshops and in the famous St. revolution stood before all icon painters. At that time, Golikov successfully worked in various cities of Russia as a theater decorator. His scenery was a great success, after the performance the artist was called to bow. Golikov's brother-in-law, the former Moscow icon painter A.A. Glazunov, invited him to the Handicraft Museum, where Lukutin's caskets were exhibited, and persuaded him to try his hand at miniature painting. And it was in this field that Golikov's remarkable talent was revealed.

Already the first miniatures of Golikov stunned specialists with their unusualness. It became clear to many that a new art was being born. The genius of the master helped the ancient art to be revived in a new look. Gorgeous miniatures by Golikov encouraged other former icon painters to try their hand at lacquer painting. They were joined by A.V. Kotukhin (1886-1961), I.P. Vakurov (1885-1968), I.V. Markichev (1883-1955). In 1923, they participated in the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow and received a diploma of the 1st degree. This gave confidence in new beginnings to Palekh painters. But there were too many problems. One of them was the creation of its own production of papier-mâché.

At this time, I.I. Golikov was offered a teaching position at the Stieglitz School, but at the request of his comrades, he returned to Palekh, where on December 5, 1924 they organized the Artel of Ancient Painting. Its founders were: I.I. Golikov, I.M. Bakanov (1870-1936), I.I. Zubkov (1883-1938) and A.I. Zubkov (1885-1938), I.V. Markichev, A.V. and V.V. Kotukhina (1897-1957). The first chairman of the artel was A.V. Kotukhin, who played a huge role in creating their own papier-mâché for the Paleshans. In 1925 A.I.Vatagin (1881-1947), G.M.Bakanov (1881-1928), D.N.Butorin (1891-1960), and in 1926 - P.I.Vakurov joined the artel. All of them were painters of the highest class, which determined the success of the whole business.

From the very beginning, the artel took care of teaching the artists the basics of the new art. The first student of the artel in 1926 was P.D. Bazhenov (1904-1941), endowed with a brilliant talent. Officially, apprenticeship was introduced into artels in 1928 with the great support of Ya.S. Ganetsky, known for his risky financial enterprises. Ganetsky, a member of the collegium of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Trade, rendered great assistance in the sale of Palekh works, in the construction of new workshops, and helped free artists from participating in agricultural work. Moreover, agricultural machinery was bought for the collective farm with the money received from the sale of their products.

The range of products painted in Palekh was very wide: brooches, barrels, jars, trunks, beads, notebooks, stampers, paper knives, cigarette boxes, snuff boxes, cigarette cases, powder boxes, records, eyeglass cases, tea caddies, glove boxes, writing instruments, Easter eggs, boxes.

On the initiative and advice of A.M. Gorky, a room was created at the Artel of Ancient Painting to store the best works, which were to form the basis of the future museum. The museum was opened to visitors on March 13, 1935. Its first exposition occupied four rooms. With the help of A.M. Gorky, an excellent library was created and opened.

The participation of Palekh artists at international exhibitions in Venice in 1924 and in Paris in 1925 caused a sensation. They receive high appeals and awards, tempting offers come - to open a school of lacquer miniatures in Italy. The greatest art historian A.V. Bakushinsky wrote at that time that Palekh was the only place in the world where the marvelous fairy tale of that time of Russian culture was still alive, when its art was of world importance. Palekh received great support from A.M. Gorky, who, as a teenager, worked in the workshop of Palekh artists in Nizhny Novgorod. The help of a prominent writer saved the Paleshan people from many troubles and helped them to receive orders. The position of the masters was difficult. Former colleagues in the craft considered them apostates, traitors to the faith. The new government could not forgive them for their past occupation with icon painting. But since the sale of their products gave the young state the currency that was so necessary, they were openly told, they say, while you live. I.I. Golikov said that Paleshans are scolded with words worse than obscene ones. But after the death of M. Gorky, persecution began on the Paleshans. The chairman of the artel, A.I. Zubkov, was arrested, who died in the camps, charged under an article on espionage. The successes of the Paleshians at international exhibitions aroused great interest among major world cultural figures, and they were brought to Palekh, which later turned out to be dangerous contacts for which they were punished.

In the 1920s, the formation of the Palekh style of lacquer miniature was based not only on the centuries-old artistic system of ancient Russian painting, but also on the experience of all world art.

In the lacquer miniature, the Paleshians used tempera paint, preserved thanks to Russian icon painting, "this is the main wealth of Palekh and its artistic capital, which was carefully guarded as a living tradition from generation to generation, from the roots of Byzantium and ancient culture"4. In Western Europe, tempera paints were painted until the 16th century. The reception of Palekh writing consists in strictly sequential application of paint on a lacquer surface. First, the artists write with whitewash, performing the entire composition with them. Already at this stage, the basis for the color scheme of the miniature is laid. In those places where there will be light colors, the white is put thicker, in several layers. Then proceed to the disclosure of color. This stage is called unfolding. The next step is painting. Draw on the roof dark tone all the contours and details, and then reveal the shadow and light parts of the composition, this process is called fusion among the Paleshans. The last stage is the final finishing with paints of the volumes of the depicted objects. The painting ends with writing (space) in gold, concentrating light. Emotional expressiveness is achieved not only by means of composition and color, but also by a certain way of applying colors. Painting with floats (glazing) consists in multi-layer writing with transparent strokes, when the lower layers of painting shine through the upper ones, giving airiness and luminosity to the composition. This is a complex technique that takes years to master, sometimes up to 10 years, and it is not given to everyone. A special role in the Palekh miniature is played by the writing in gold of all volumes at the last stage. Gold is not only a key element, but also part of the artistic worldview in Palekh art. It is inextricably linked with the symbol of light, which has great historical traditions, coming from medieval ideas about the two principles of life - light and dark. In Christian symbolism, light acquires a special aesthetic meaning, becoming a prototype of Divine grace. The material carrier of this light is gold, which symbolizes it, is the materialized Divine clarity.

The example of Palekh helped the former icon painters of Mstyora and Kholuy try their hand at the new art. Even earlier than the Paleshians, the Msterians were looking for ways to apply their craft in new conditions. The disunited handicraftsmen of Mstera united in the trade union of art workers - RABIS. The first samples were the painting of wooden products and tin trays. On July 23, 1923, the artel "Old Russian Painting" was created in Mstyora. It consisted of eleven people. They worked on wooden "linen" brought from the city of Semyonov. They painted boxes, caskets, caskets, salt shakers, matryoshka dolls and more. In 1924, they began to master painting with oil paints on wall rugs on canvas. In 1925, there were already thirty people in the artel, in 1928 - 60. But the low quality of the products made it difficult to exist. Some of the former icon painters worked at the local oilcloth factory and the Metalloshtamp plant. It was hard to find your way. The leading art critics A.V.Bakushinsky and V.M.Vasilenko rendered great assistance in developing their own style. They suggested that it is necessary to go from the features of the Mstyora icon painting, with its unusual landscape backgrounds. Western European painting, in particular Dutch, with its fading distances, Persian miniature with its carpet ornamentation, influenced the Mstyora lacquer miniature. The peculiarity of the Mstyora style in lacquer painting and its content were influenced by the Russian popular print. Before the revolution, there was a center in Mstyora for the production of popular prints, the production of which was undertaken by the famous archaeologist I.A. Golyshev (1838-1896) - an ardent collector of everything related to folk life, a connoisseur of antiquity. He was a serf of Count Panin, who owned Mstera. N.A. Nekrasov specially came to him in Mstera about the release of his works in the series "Red Books" and their distribution among the people through the ofenei. Lubok pictures published by Golyshev were an expanded booklet with illustrations, accompanied by lengthy texts of a moralizing nature and with humor. Pictures were printed on a printing stone and painted by women and teenagers of Mstera. The brilliant experience of Palekh encouraged the Msterians to stubbornly go towards the intended goal. On June 22, 1931, the artel "Proletarian Art" was created in Mstera to master miniature lacquer painting. Its founders were five masters: N.P. Klykov (1861-1944), A.I. Bryagin (1888-1948), E.V. Yurin (1898-1983), I.A. Serebryakov (1888-1967), V.I.Savin (1880-1957). Serebryakov and Yurin were sent to Moscow for courses to learn papier-mâché painting techniques.

After the revolution, the lackeys painfully searched for the use of their craft, and later than Palekh and Mstyora, they created an artel of miniature lacquer painting. It took place in 1934, and its founders were S.A. Mokin (1891-1945), K.V. Kosterin (1899-1985), D.M. Dobrynin (?) and V.D. Puzanov-Molev (1892 -1961). All of them graduated from the icon painting and drawing school, they were talented and educated artists with vast experience. And VD Puzanov-Molev graduated in 1912 from the Stroganov Art School in Moscow. The path to the lacquer miniature was more difficult for the kholuyans. The brilliant debut of Palekh, and then the success of Mstera, pushed them to imitate them. In addition, such prominent art historians as A.V. Bakushinsky and V.M. Vasilenko were soon repressed and the kholuyans were deprived of the professional assistance that they had provided to their colleagues in Palekh and Mstyora. The style of the Kholuy miniature developed gradually over several decades. The landscape of Central Russian nature serves as a backdrop against which historical events unfold, folklore and genre scenes of their miniatures. An interesting trend in the architectural landscape was formed in Kholui, represented by the work of N.N. Denisov (born in 1929), B.I. Kiselev (born in 1928), V.N. Sedov (born in 1952 ), V. Teplov (born in 1955), in a variety of creative interpretations.

The artists of Palekh, Mstyora and Kholuy painted and now paint not only miniatures, but also large panels for the decoration of secular buildings and institutions, they were and are engaged in book design and theater decoration, painting furniture and porcelain, decorating premium metal cups, collaborating with jewelers, creating original works of art.

Now in these three former icon-painting centers - Palekh, Kholui and Mstyora - artists are increasingly turning to icon painting.

At the same time, after the changes of the 1990s, when the old political and economic system collapsed, numerous artists of the four major crafts, who, under the conditions of the socialist structure of society, were guaranteed a certain stable income, a stable domestic market, free education and professional growth, found themselves in a dramatic situation. Having received complete freedom to write what and how you want, they completely lost the opportunity to sell their products on the domestic market. Not only are there no state orders, which were used by museums and art funds in Russia and the USSR, today it is difficult to sell inexpensive works that were previously successfully sold through shops. The state abstained from any participation in the fate of the unique centers of Russian art, and the total impoverishment of the population made the works of lacquer miniature artists inaccessible to it.

To some extent, the situation is saved only by the fact that over the years of its existence, Russian lacquer miniatures have acquired a large international market. This was facilitated not only by the high quality of performance, orientation to various social strata, a variety of subjects, possession of ornamental delights drawn from Western European and Eastern varnishes, originality, but also the constant development of new forms - both products and artistic means of expression, a sensitive connection with time. , serious professional training of masters. This allows us to hope that the domestic lacquer miniature will be able to withstand the difficult trials that have fallen to its lot.