The split of the Russian church in the middle of the 17th century, caused by the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, deeply shook all of Russia. Each person was faced with the most difficult choice, and not everyone agreed to show the required conformity and loyalty to the authorities. Stronger concern for worldly well-being turned out to be devotion to the "faith of fathers and grandfathers" - a national church tradition sanctified by centuries. Opponents of the reform began to be severely persecuted: adherence to the Old Believers entailed the betrayal of a civil court and public execution - burning in a log house. The persecution for the faith forced many to leave their homes, to flee from the center of Russia to the outskirts. Enormous spiritual strength, reinforced by the awareness of their responsibility as the last guardians and defenders of "ancient church piety," is the only thing that helped the Old Believers not only survive the times of persecution, but also make a very noticeable contribution to the economic and cultural life of Russia in the 18th - 20th centuries. (let us recall at least the names of the Morozovs, the Guchkovs, the Prokhorovs, the Shchukins, the Ryabushinskys, and others). The history of the Vygo-Leksinsky Old Believer community is also one of the most striking examples of this kind.

Vygovskaya hermitage, which lies to the northeast of Lake Onega and got its name from the Vyg River flowing here, was ideally suited for the refuge of the persecuted Old Believers: deaf, impenetrable forests and swamps, lack of settlements, remoteness from administrative centers. Already in the 80s of the XVII century. Old Believer monks, immigrants from northern monasteries (mainly from Solovetsky) began to flock here and found sketes here; later, the migration of the surrounding peasants, which gradually acquired an increasingly massive character, began, who founded Old Believer settlements in new places, cleared land for arable land and sowed bread. From the combination of two such settlements - Tovuyan Zakhary Drovnin and another, founded by the former church deacon from Shunga Daniil Vikulin and the townsman of the city of Povenets Andrey Denisov - in October 1694, the Vygov community arose.

FROM the burning of Archpriest Avvakum, Deacon Fyodor, Lazar and Epiphanius.

Miniature from an obverse manuscript of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. GIM.

At first it was very small. In the late autumn of 1694, a canteen was built where prayers took place, a bakery, a barn, and two cells. The first Vygov residents (their number did not exceed 40), as the historian of the desert Ivan Filippov testifies, lived "a necessary and meager desert life, with a torch in the chapel, sending services and icons and books in the chapel, scarcely and little grandiose. And there was no bell then, in ringing the board, and there was no road from the volosts to them in the desert then, on skis with kerezhs I walk. But the desire to build in a hostile world their "refuge of the faithful" and the well-known Old Believer industriousness performed a real miracle. Four years later, Vyg had a well-established diversified economy - large areas were plowed under arable land, vegetable gardens were planted, cattle were bred, trade, marine animal trades and various handicraft industries were organized. As it turns out from the newly found documentary sources, in 1698 the number of Vygov inhabitants already reached two thousand people.

Miniature from an obverse manuscript of the late 19th - early 20th centuries.

Daniil Vikulov and Pyotr Prokopyev depicting "The Beautiful Desert".

Wall sheet. 1810s. GIM.

The first period in the history of Vyg, which lasted until the early 1810s, was one of the most difficult. The position of the ever-growing dormitory remained uncertain, any denunciation and decision of the authorities could destroy the undertaking that required such efforts. When, in 1702, Peter the Great was traveling with his army along the famous "Sovereign's Road", laid through the age-old forest and swamps from Nyukhcha to Povenets, the entire Old Believer district was seized with fear: some were preparing to suffer for their faith, others - to leave the already inhabited places. The tsar was informed that Old Believers-hermits live here nearby, but Peter, more busy with the upcoming siege of Noteburg, answered: "Let them live," and "drove quietly," the chronicler notes with joy. In 1705, the settlement on the Vyg River was assigned to the Povenets iron factories, and simultaneously with gaining official status, it received freedom of religion and worship. Since that time, the influx of Old Believers to Vyg has increased significantly, not only from the surrounding areas, but from all over Russia. Fleeing from persecution, immigrants from Moscow, the Volga region, Novgorod, Arkhangelsk, Ustyug the Great flocked here.

Andrey and Semyon Denisov with the image

Vygovsky hostel. Wall sheet. 1810s.

Gradually, the life of the desert began to be organized according to the monastic order. Following the principle of separate residence of men and women laid down from the very beginning of the community, the settlement was surrounded by a fence and divided by a wall into two halves - male and female (later the female was called the Cow's Yard). In 1706, 20 versts from the men's Epiphany Monastery, which stood on the Vyg River, a women's one, the Exaltation of the Cross, was built on the Leksa River. The first abbess was Andrei Denisov's sister Solomonia. The dormitories were surrounded by numerous sketes (where families were allowed to live), administratively subordinate to the Vygov Cathedral. Mid 1810s. - a turning point in the history of the desert.

Collection of Lives of Russian Saints. Vyg, 20-40s. 18th century. GIM.

It was then that the residents, realizing Vyg as their spiritual homeland and fatherland, acquired a "cultural settled way of life". Briefly, the events were as follows. Since 1705, the Vygovites have been plagued by crop failures and famine for seven years in a row. The question arose of moving to other, more fertile lands. For this purpose, they bought land in the Kargopol district on the Chazheng River. To complete the purchase and resettlement in Novgorod with a petition was sent younger brother rector Semyon Denisov. But in Novgorod, he was caught on a denunciation and imprisoned, where he had to spend four years. The fate of the entire community depended on the outcome of this case, in which the highest spiritual and state authorities were involved, namely, Metropolitan Job of Novgorod and Tsar Peter I.

Numerous literary monuments relating to these events reveal the spiritual upheaval that the Vygovtsy experienced during this difficult four years. They realized themselves as a single whole, their continuity in relation to the early Old Believers, the significance of community life as the last stronghold of ancient piety, and, abandoning the planned resettlement plan, finally connected their fate with Vyg. The twenty-odd years that followed were the period of the highest prosperity, when during the presidency of Andrei, and after his death in 1730 - Semyon Denisov, the main traditions of the spiritual life of the desert were laid, a common historical concept, literary, icon- and book-writing schools were created, charters were developed hostels. Numerous economic achievements of Vyg date back to the same time: the complete arrangement of male and female cloisters, the organization of a wide grain trade, the construction of a pier in Pigmatka, on the shores of Lake Onega. Thanks to the skillful and subtle policy of the leaders, the community managed to strengthen its official position and, having found sympathizers in the highest spheres of power, secure itself from the negative consequences of the nationwide policy towards the Old Believers.

Panorama of the Vygovsky hostel. Fragment of a wall sheet

"Family tree of Andrei and Semyon Denisov". Vyg, first half of the 19th century.

Thus, already in the first half of the XVIII century. Vygovskaya Hermitage has become the largest economic, religious and cultural center of the Old Believers in the country - a kind of Old Believer capital in the North of Russia. The rise in economic activity continued in subsequent years. In the 40s - 70s of the XVIII century. a ship building was opened on Pigmatskaya quay, two saw mills were built, two hospitals and a canteen were built on Vygu, and a new chapel was built on Leksa. Perhaps because the disciples of the Denisov brothers, who were in charge of the desert during these years, paid more attention to economic well-being, the spiritual potential of the community decreased to some extent, and writings appeared that denounced the decline in morals and the unprincipled behavior of the skits. Since the 80s of the XVIII century. the revival of Vyg begins, a period of renewal of traditions and the flourishing of arts. Andrei Borisov, a native of a Moscow merchant family, familiar with the writings of the French enlighteners (in 1780 - 1791 - the teacher of the desert), wanted to organize a real Old Believer Academy here. But the implementation of his plan was prevented by three strong fires in 1787, when in half a month the Vygovsky and Leksinsky hostels and the Cow's yard burned down almost to the ground. Within a year they rebuilt; and if an academy was not established, the arts continued to flourish. This period, which lasted until the 20s of the 19th century, includes the vast majority of the cultural heritage of Vyg - luxurious manuscripts striking with the richness of design and an abundance of gold, various plots of popular prints and icons.

Council verdict of the Solovetsky monks on the rejection of newly printed books.

From the end of the 17th century the desert lived under the constant threat of ruin, and it had to happen that it was precisely on this rise of culture and art that a violent end would come. The policy of "completely eradicating the schism" pursued under Emperor Nicholas I turned into a whole series of measures for the Vygovskaya hermitage, first aimed at equalizing the Vygovtsy with other state peasants and limiting the economic foundations of community life (1835 - 1839), and then, in 1854 - 1856 ., ended with the closure of chapels, the removal of books and icons, the barbaric destruction of cemeteries and the demolition of supposedly dilapidated buildings. The people called these events "Mamaev's ruin."

Signatures of the Solovki monks under the conciliar agreement. GIM.

P.N. Rybnikov, who visited the Vygov places only ten years later, wrote in travel notes: “Danilov’s buildings: a bell tower, a huge chapel, many houses, high gates (the rest of the fence) are visible for half a verst or more and encourage one to assume something monumental; but the approach quickly destroys Danilov is now a heap of ruins, depressing with its desolation and miserable dilapidation and involuntarily transferring thoughts over decades to that period of time when the Vygoretsky "hostels" were not a memory, but the center of a lively ... activity.

Ivan Filippov. The story of the beginning of the Vygovskaya desert.

Vygovsky list of the 60s. 18th century GIM.

Vygovskaya Pustyn was a unique phenomenon in Russian history. Being in a hostile environment, by force of circumstances pushed to the periphery of public life and stigmatized by the official definition of "thieves and church schismatics" (later this naming became milder, but no less humiliating; it was supplemented by: double taxation, "beard sign" and "Russian dress "according to the established pattern), the Old Believers, in order to survive and keep the ancient church piety "intact", had to create their own, Old Believer world. Unjustly persecuted and united by the rejection of the world affected by Nikon's reform, they were distinguished by a sense of spiritual unity, and this feeling, as the numerous material revealed recently, has a deep creative potential. The traditions of ancient Russian spirituality continued to develop in the Vygovskaya hermitage. The Old Believers made up for their forced isolation from the outside world with historical memory, awareness of their uninterrupted connection with the former, pre-Nikon Russia. Every day in the Vygov chapels, according to the old printed books, services were performed for the saints, whom the Orthodox Church remembered that day.

Council act on the heretic Martin. 1717 Parchment. GIM.

Vygovtsy traveled all over Russia in search of ancient books and icons; the works of the first mentors of the desert collected the richest library, in which the entire written heritage of Ancient Russia was presented (there were even manuscripts on parchment). Vygovtsy compiled their book collection not only with complete knowledge of the matter, but also very carefully; this is confirmed by the fact that many rare monuments of Russian hagiography, in particular, the lives of Martiry Zelenetsky, Philip of Irapsky and others, were preserved mainly in the Vyg lists. The spiritual needs of the occupants extended much deeper than was typical for the majority of the peasantry of their day. Vyg not only used the spiritual heritage of Ancient Russia - he multiplied it.

Extracts of a statutory nature by the hand of the first Vygov usher Peter Prokopyev.

Collection of extracts and Vygov essays. Vyg, first half of the 18th century. GIM.

Through the efforts of the first Vygov scribe Peter Prokopiev, the Menaia of the Chet were compiled, and it is known that the Vygovites even referred to the Sophia list of the Great Menaia of the Chet of Metropolitan Macarius, which was stored at that time in Novgorod. On the twelfth and other church holidays, Vygov mentors uttered not only words from the All-Russian Solemn, but also their own compositions, written in full accordance with the ancient Russian genre canons. As throughout the Russian land, Russian saints were especially revered on Vygu. Semyon Denisov, one of the talented Vygov writers, wrote "A Word of Remembrance about the holy miracle workers who shone in Russia", in which the Russian land was glorified, adorned with the exploits of numerous ascetics. This word opened with itself composed in the monastery in the first third of the 18th century. an extensive selection of the lives of Russian saints; it also often corresponded to Vygu as part of various hagiographic collections.

Life of Andrey Denisov. Vyg, . Pomeranian semi-status. 4° (20.5x16.2), II + 238 + I l.

Miniature depicting Andrey Denisov. Screensaver-frame, field decoration,

Headband (on a gold background), initials (with gold and cinnabar) of the Pomeranian ornament.

Vygovsky binding of the 19th century. - boards in leather with blind embossing (clasps are lost).

Entered the State Historical Museum in 1917 as part of the collection of A.S. Uvarov.

The tradition of veneration of Russian saints and shrines was also reflected in the iconostasis of the cathedral chapel of Vygov: here, in addition to the general image of Russian miracle workers, there were separate icons - Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky, Alexander Svirsky, Our Lady of Tikhvin, Metropolitan Philip, Alexander Oshevensky. Judging by the manuscripts and icons, the northern ascetics enjoyed special reverence on Vygu; Vygov scribes dedicated praiseworthy words of their own composition to many of them. Solemnly, with a large gathering of people and with the utterance of words of praise written on this occasion, the patronal holidays of the Vygov churches (including in sketes) were celebrated.

Early Pomeranian semi-ustav, print. 1° (31.8 x 20.0), III + 363 l.

The genre of sermon, which was part of the church service, was widely distributed in Vygu. Following the model of the ancient Russian monasteries, the inner life of the desert was built. It was based on the cenobitic (coenobitic) Jerusalem statute, which was established in the Russian church from the end of the 14th century. The creation of the Vygov charter was preceded by the work of desert mentors with the charters of the largest Russian monasteries - the Solovetsky, Trinity-Sergius, Kirillo-Belozersky, as evidenced by the author's extracts preserved in the early manuscript collections. In addition, the tradition was also transmitted directly, through people who came to Vyg from monasteries.

Collection of sensible Apocalypses, compiled in Vyge.

Convolute XVII-XVIII centuries. (one of the parts: Vyg, 1708 - 60s of the 18th century).

Early Pomeranian semi-ustav, print. 1° (31.8x20.0), III+363 hp

Miniatures, headpieces-frames, headpieces, initials of the Pomeranian ornament (early type).

Vygovsky binding of the 18th century. - boards in leather with blind embossing,

2 copper eye ornament clasps. In the 19th century belonged to the Kolomna prayer house.

Entered the State Historical Museum in 1917 as part of the collection of A.I. Khludov.

A great merit in the organization of the inner life of the Vygovskaya hermitage belongs to the holy monk Pafnutiy, who lived for many years in the Solovetsky monastery and knew its charter well. Under his leadership, the Vygovtsy, according to Ivan Filippov, began "to organize the general life and church service according to the order and charter." The Vygovsky charter was formed mainly in the 10-30s of the 18th century, when the brothers Andrey and Semyon Denisov wrote the rules for male and female hostels, for sketes and laborers, when they received a written fixation of the duties of officials of the cenobia - cellar, mayor, worker . Both dormitories and outwardly resembled monasteries: in the center stood a cathedral chapel, connected to a refectory, from which covered passages led to the dining room; along the perimeter there were residential cells, hospitals, numerous outbuildings. Later the bell towers were built.

S. Lihud. Rhetoric. F. Prokopovich. Rhetoric. Vyg, 1712

Belonged to A. Irodionov. Pomeranian runaway semi-ustav,

Editing 1754-1756 by A. Irodionov. 4° (18.4x11.6), III + 205 + III ll.

Vygovsky binding of the 18th century. - boards in leather with blind embossing

(the spine was glued in the 19th century), 2 copper clasps with an eye ornament.

Pomeranian headpieces (early type). 18 watercolor drawings

"rhetorical trees". Received in 1917 as part of the collection of A.S. Uvarova,

To which I got from the Sakharov library.

All buildings on Vygu and on Lex were surrounded by a high wooden fence. Images of the architectural ensembles of the monasteries have been preserved on some popular prints ("The Genealogical Tree of the Brothers Andrei and Semyon Denisov" and "Adoration of the Icon of the Mother of God"), as well as on plans-diagrams dating back to the 18th century. and supplemented by a lengthy explication, which has an independent meaning - a detailed "Description of the Vygo-Leksinsky community". V.N. Mainov, who visited the Vygovskaya Hermitage in the mid-1870s, after its ruin, and saw only the miserable remnants of its former greatness, nevertheless noted in his travel notes: "The buildings in Danilov are all wooden, 2- and 3-story and could decorate with success not only Povenets, but even Petrozavodsk." The Vygovtsy considered it their duty to preserve the ancient Russian traditions, but they were well aware and deeply appreciated their own Old Believer roots.

Months with Paschalia. Vyg, 1774. Pomeranian semi-status.

16° (9.5x5.8), II+202+III l. Miniature depicting Semyon Denisov.

Screensaver-frame (on a gold background) and ligature of the Pomeranian ornament.

Vygovsky binding of the 18th century. - boards in leather with blind embossing,

2 copper headpieces with an eye ornament. Received in 1905

As part of the collection of P.I. Schukin.

The line of spiritual connection went back to such well-known leaders of the early Old Believers as Archpriest Avvakum, deacon Fedor, monks Epiphany and Abraham, priest Lazar. In defending the old faith, Vyg considered himself the direct successor of the Solovetsky Monastery, which openly opposed the church reform of Patriarch Nikon and for eight years (1668-1676) withstood the siege of the tsarist troops. Vygov sources and documentary evidence indicate a special role in the organization of the desert of the Solovetsky monks who left the monastery during the siege. The dormitories were connected with the wave of self-immolations of the Old Believers that swept across the North. The variety of spiritual ties, direct contacts, relations of spiritual and blood kinship with famous figures of the Old Believers, as well as the blessing ascending to the Old Believer first teachers, singled out the Vygovskoe community among the contemporary Old Believer communities.

Collection of Vygov polemical and dogmatic writings. Vyg, 60s of the XVIII century.

Pomeranian semi-status. 4° (19.8 x 16.1), III+500+IV l.

Headband-frame and 2 headpieces of Pomeranian ornament, cinnabar initials.

Vygovsky binding of the 18th century. - boards in leather with blind embossing, clasps are missing.

Entered the State Historical Museum in 1917. as part of the collection of A.I. Khludov.

No other settlement, no other Old Believer settlement had such a rich background and spiritual heritage. And the Vygovtsy turned out to be worthy of the inheritance they received. Grateful historical memory inspired the Vygovtsy to collect both written monuments of the early Old Believers and oral traditions about those who suffered for their faith. Such activity was fraught with great difficulties, however, a significant amount of material received allowed the Vygov scribes to create a whole historical cycle about the Old Believer movement in the second half of the 17th - first half of the 18th centuries. First, in the 1810s, Semyon Denisov wrote The History of the Solovetsky Fathers and Sufferers, dedicated to the siege of the Solovetsky Monastery. In 1719, Andrei Denisov, an eyewitness and one of the main participants in the events, outlined the history of the creation of the desert in the "Funeral Word to Peter Prokopiev".

Vygovsky "foreman" F.P. Babushkin to the Vvedensky chapel of the female part

Church singing.

Later, in the 30s of the 18th century, two major works were written: the Old Believer martyrology "Russian Grapes" by Semyon Denisov and "The History of the Vygovskaya Desert" by Ivan Filippov. Additions to these central works were individual lives written in Vygu of especially revered fathers - the monk Cornelius, the elders Epiphanius and Cyril, Memnon. It should be noted that no other Old Believer agreement, either at that time or later, created such an extensive and permeated cycle with a single historiographic concept. Developing the Old Russian traditions, Vyg filled them with his own content. Such is the tradition of honoring the abbots of the desert, who for the Vygovtsy were primarily spiritual mentors of the flock, whose authority was based more on personal qualities and merit than on a high position in the cenobitic hierarchy.

Months with Paschalia. Lexa, 1820. Pomeranian semi-statute.

16° (10.0x8.4), II+161 pp. Miniature depicting Prince Vladimir.

Frontispiece, screensaver-frame, screensavers, endings, plant initials

Ornament, semi-tired of gold. 19th century binding - boards in red leather

Gold embossed, 2 copper clasps. From old collections of the museum.

This tradition, preserved throughout the existence of the Vygovskaya hermitage, also brought to life a large number of literary works, which include congratulatory words on the days of the namesake of mentors, funerary and memorial words. The love of the hosts for their spiritual teachers was also expressed in the way their autographs and lists of their compositions were carefully preserved at Vygu. For subsequent generations of the Vygov inhabitants, the founders of the desert themselves were the link connecting them with the early Old Believer history. Biographies of dormitories of the second half of the 18th century. they bribe with touching details concerning the facts of communication with the first film directors. Thus, the author of the funeral oration to Simeon Titovich, rector of Lexa, who died in 1791, especially emphasizes how in his younger years Simeon Titovich used every opportunity to learn from Semyon Denisov a virtuous life and book wisdom: he not only did not miss a single church teaching of the film director, but on occasion he got a job with him both as a driver and as a cell attendant.

Song holidays (on hook notes). Vyg, early 19th century.

Pomeranian semi-status. 1° (31.0х21.0), VI+190+VI l. On l. 1-72 insert entry

Vygovsky "foreman" F.P. Babushkin to the Vvedensky chapel of the female part

Vyhovsky Epiphany hostel for his mother

Headpieces (on a gold background), initials (with gold and cinnabar),

Field decorations, endings, ligature of the Pomeranian ornament.

Vygovsky binding of the 19th century. - boards in red leather with blind embossing,

2 copper eye ornament clasps, embossed edge, gilded.

In 1856, after the ruin of the hostel, she was taken out of Vyg,

until 1858 was in the Petrozavodsk Cathedral,

From where it was transferred to the co-religious Semchezersk church

Povenets district. Entered the State Historical Museum in 1922 from the Synodal School

Church singing.

In the second half of the XVIII century. On the basis of written sources and oral traditions, the lives of Andrei and Semyon Denisov were written, services were compiled for the first Vygov fathers. In their prayers, the Vygovtsy turned to the same saints as the entire Orthodox world, but the actual Vygov host of heavenly intercessors gradually took shape. New martyrs for the faith and dead spiritual mentors of the desert were added to the all-Russian saints. It was their intercession before God that the Vygovtsy hoped for when they asked to protect the community from troubles and misfortunes, slanderers and "false brothers". In the powerful spiritual potential of the desert, which was the common homeland for its inhabitants and the last stronghold of the old faith, lies the key to all its cultural achievements. The creative development of ancient Russian traditions, the development of one's own style in all types of art and the highest professionalism make it possible to speak of the Vygov heritage as a unique phenomenon in Russian culture of the 18th - 19th centuries. Like most ancient Russian monasteries, Vygovskaya Hermitage became the center of bookishness. Here the richest library was collected, schools were opened where children were taught to read and write, a book-writing workshop was created in which they corresponded as Old Russian works, and the writings of Old Believer writers, including Vygovsky.

Pomeranian answers. Vyg, . Pomeranian semi-status. 1° (32.0х19.7), II+401+I l.

Screensaver-frame and 4 screensavers (on a golden background), large and small cinnabar

The initials of the Pomeranian ornament. Hand drawings. Vygov binding

19th century - boards in leather with blind embossing, 2 copper clasps

Eye ornament. Entered the State Historical Museum in 1917 as part of the collection of A.I. Khludov.

Its products, which brought considerable income to the community, were distributed throughout Russia, securing Vyg's fame as the cultural capital of the Old Believers. Vygovtsy were not limited only to the correspondence of books. They created a real literary school, the only one in the Old Believers. The works of this circle were designed for a high level of literacy of readers, they are characterized by a special style dating back to the Old Russian style of "weaving words", a variety of rhetorical devices, a complex and sometimes archaic language. In the Vygov literary school, almost all genres that existed in Ancient Russia were continued: hagiography, historical narrative, legends, visions, various types of words (solemn, commemorative, tomb, etc.), sermons, messages, teachings, polemical works, services, syllabic poetry. The founders of the school, talented and prolific writers themselves, brothers Andrey and Semyon Denisov, brought up a whole galaxy of students, including Trifon Petrov, Daniil Matveev, Gavriil and Nikifor Semenov, Manuil Petrov, Ivan Filippov, Vasily Danilov Shaposhnikov, Alexei Irodionov and many others.

S. Denisov. Russian grapes. The story of the fathers and sufferers of the Solovetsky.

Life of Memnon. Vyg, . Pomeranian semi-status. 4° (25.2 x 19.4), V+412+V l.

Headband-frame, field decoration, large initial of the Pomeranian ornament

(with gold), small cinnabar initials. Vygov binding, late 10s

19th century - boards in red leather with gold embossing, in the middle - image

Calvary against the background of the Jerusalem wall, 2 copper perforated clasps

Eye ornament with a notch; embossed edge, gilded. Belonged to

T.F. Sidorov, who bought the manuscript from T.F. Bolshakov in 1854

Entered the State Historical Museum in 1917 as part of the collection of A.I. Khludov.

While representatives of the official church contemptuously called the champions of ancient piety "muzhiks and ignoramuses," Old Believer writers created works that were in no way inferior to the works of recognized literary authorities of the time of Peter the Great, such as Dimitri Rostovsky and Feofan Prokopovich. Moreover, there was a case that allowed the Vygov scribes to brilliantly demonstrate their deep philological and source knowledge. At the beginning of the XVIII century. to combat the schism, the "Cathedral act on the heretic Martin" and Theognostov's breviary were written, posing as ancient manuscripts, allegedly denouncing the Old Believers. Vygovtsy managed to prove their forgery.

Bindings of Vygovskaya work. Late 1810s - 1820s.

Having carefully studied the manuscripts, Andrey Denisov and Manuil Petrov discovered that the text was written according to scraping, the lettering did not correspond to the ancient ones, and the sheets of parchment were rebound. For this subtle analysis, Pitirim called Andrey Denisov a "sorcerer", but even a non-Old Believer, who talked with the Nizhny Novgorod bishop, objected that the Vygovian dogmatist did not act by magic, but by "his natural sharp insight." Even more accurate was the definition of the famous historian of the Old Believers V.G. Druzhinin, who with good reason saw the first paleographers and source experts in the Vygovtsy. In addition to teaching book literacy, a school of Znamenny singing was organized on Vygu. Among the first settlers, there were very few knowledgeable singers: only Daniil Vikulov, Pyotr Prokopiev and Leonty Fedoseev - the rest sang after them "by hearsay". When Ivan Ivanov, an expert in znamenny chant, came to Vyg from Moscow, Andrey Denisov gathered the "best literates" and began to learn hook singing together with them, then they taught the Leksin literate women. Thus, the exceptional beauty of worship in the Vygov churches was achieved; the high level of musical culture allowed the Vygovtsy to translate even poems, odes and psalms of their own composition into Znamenny chant.

Months with Paschalia. (Music 2283) Lexa, 1836 Pomeranian semi-statute.

16° (8.0x6.5), VI+254+XIII l. 12 miniatures depicting the signs of the Zodiac.

Frontispiece, headband-frame (on a gold background), initials (with gold),

Elm of the Pomeranian ornament, endings in the form of flowers. 19th century binding - boards

In leather with gold embossing, 2 copper perforated clasps,

The edge is gilded. Purchased in 1901 in P.I. Silina.

The artistic heritage of the desert is exceptionally extensive and diverse. Virtually no such industry artistic creativity, which would not have received development on Vygu. It created paintings (icons, popular prints, book miniatures, oil paintings), small plastic items (carved wooden and cast metal icons and crosses, church and household items) and applied arts (facial and ornamental sewing, painting and carving on furniture and household utensils made of wood, birch bark weaving). It cannot be said that the Vygovtsy in their art developed some specific model borrowed by them.

Months with Paschalia and the Life of St. Pulcheria. Lexa, 1836

Pomeranian semi-status. 16° (12.2 x 8.8), 111+194+111 hp 13 miniatures,

Depicting the signs of the Zodiac and St. Pulcheria. Frontispiece,

2 screensavers-frames, field decoration, screensavers (on a gold background),

Initials (vermilion and gold), frames, endings of the Pomeranian ornament.

19th century binding - cardboard in the skin. Purchased in 1920 from N.N. Bolshakova.

On the contrary, having creatively reworked the best achievements of ancient Russian and modern art, Vyg developed his own school, the stylistic unity of which is obvious: the same motifs and techniques can be found in the decoration of handwritten books, and in wall sheets, and in icons, pictorial and copper-cast, and in free brush paintings. The achievements of the Vygov masters had a solid economic foundation. From the very beginning, the founders of the desert relied on the fullest possible self-sufficiency, therefore, already at the end of the 17th century, along with residential cells, numerous workshops were built - a tailor's shop, a smithy, a coppersmith's shop. The production of many items, in particular icons, crosses, ladders, soon became massive; nevertheless, all Vygov products were distinguished by high artistic merit and professionalism.

Simeon of Thessalonica. Creations (translated by Euthymius Chudovsky.

From the printed edition: Iasi, 1683). Vyg, . Pomeranian semi-status.

1° (34.0 x 21.5), II + 29 + 464 + I l. 1 miniature ("Church militant"),

Screensaver Pomeranian ornament (on a gold background),

Small gold and cinnabar initials, ligature.

19th century binding - boards in leather with blind embossing,

1 copper clasp with eye ornament (the other is lost).

Entered the State Historical Museum in 1917 as part of the collection of A.I. Khludov.

In this regard, the glory of Vyg was so great that even representatives of the official church had to turn to the Old Believer community with orders. From documentary sources it is known, for example, that in 1735, with the blessing of the Solovki archimandrite Varsonofy, "according to the general verdict" of the inhabitants of the Kemsky town and surrounding villages, Ivan Gorlov was sent to Vyg "to find a silver craftsman" who would make a riza to the image of John Forerunners in the Kemsk Assumption Church. The development of Vygov art was closely connected with the spiritual life of the desert. In Vygov traditions, one should look for the reasons for the spread of certain themes and plots. So, the appearance of images of Vygov fathers on popular prints, oil paintings and book miniatures is closely connected with the tradition of honoring mentors, and these seemingly conditional images, no doubt, bear the features of portrait resemblance. Since the Vygov saints could not be officially canonized and, therefore, depicted on icons, icons appeared, painted and cast, depicting the heavenly patrons of the first Vygov mentors - the prophet Daniel, the apostle Peter, Andrei Stratilat. The dormitory, arranged according to the monastic model, left a certain imprint on the themes of a number of works and the development of certain types of applied art. The main provisions of the Vygov charter, which require a virtuous and chaste life from the inhabitants of the desert, explain many moralizing plots of the Vygov luboks and wood paintings. A strict "desert rank" prevented excessively secular motifs and "worldly embellishments" from penetrating Vygov products. For this reason, for example, the manufacture of birch bark tuesks with a mica substrate and basmen was banned. Nevertheless, on Vygu it was allowed to manufacture products intended only for the laity, in particular, Lexinsky craftswomen embroidered wallets, pouches for money, garters, gloves. The history of the Vygovskaya Hermitage once again shows what a powerful spiritual force was at the heart of the entire Old Believer movement.

Gospel Tetr. Vyg, 30s of the XIX century. Pomeranian semi-status. 4° (20.1 x 16.2), IV + 342 + IV l.

4 miniatures depicting the Evangelists. 4 screensavers-frames, screensavers,

Field decorations (on a gold background), initials (with gold and small cinnabar),

endings of the Pomeranian ornament. 19th century binding - boards in green velvet,

2 copper eye ornament clasps, embossed edge, gilded.

Entered the State Historical Museum in 1917 as part of the collection of A.I. Khludov.

She helped the Vygovites to endure in a difficult struggle with the harsh northern nature and overcome many other trials that befell the desert - from protracted crop failures and famine to devastating fires and brutal government repressions. The Vygov community, which was a spiritual unity of brothers in faith, supported its inhabitants in their opposition to the hostile world, nourished their talents and creativity. In a certain sense, Vp;, which, despite extremely unfavorable external conditions, turned from a small peasant settlement among deserted forests into the largest economic, religious and cultural center of the Old Believers-bespopovtsy in Russia, defeated this hostile world moral victory. Over a century and a half of its existence, the Vygovsky community has reached exceptional heights in various areas of material and spiritual life and, having created excellent examples in all types of art, thereby had a great influence on the Old Believer and, more broadly, Russian culture of the 18th-19th centuries. The book and literary heritage of Vyg is extremely large.

Binding of Vygovskaya work. 30s of the XIX century.

Gospel Tetr. Vyg, 30s of the XIX century. Pomeranian semi-status.

4° (20.1 x 16.2), IV + 342 + IV l. 4 miniatures depicting the Evangelists.

4 screensavers-frames, screensavers, field decorations (on a gold background),

Initials (with gold and small cinnabar), endings of the Pomeranian ornament.

19th century binding - boards in green velvet, 2 copper clasps

Eye ornament, embossed edge, gilded.

Entered the State Historical Museum in 1917 as part of the collection of A.I. Khludov.

Until now, previously unknown Vygov compositions, autographs of Vygov writers and early author's collections have been found in handwritten collections. In the first years of the existence of the community, the work of a scribe and teacher had not yet emerged as an independent professional field of activity. Correspondence of books and compilation of extracts were done in their free time from other labors. From Vygov sources, we know that Ivan Vnifantiev did this, "in his free time from the services commanded to him, he writes out what he needs from books"; Piotr Oshmara, a big baker; someone Vasily, who worked at a brick factory, in a cookery and other services. An interesting story about the initial years of community life, when the Vygov culture was just taking shape, was preserved in the Life of John Vnifantievich. Although "writing ... his hands are not very cunning", Ivan Vnifantiev "is very zealous to write." Since at that time there was great poverty in the hostel and there was not enough clean paper, cursive books had to be used for writing "worldly affairs", which were used to make ladders. Analyzing these books, Ivan Vnifantiev wrote even where he found a clean space between the lines. The abbots, seeing such zeal, appointed Ivan Vnifantiev as a teacher to the young inhabitants of the desert, in order to teach them, "as it befits a desert and communal character and book teaching." Soon a separate cell was built for this school. From Ivan Filippov's "History of the Vygov Desert" we know many who taught literacy and who studied it at Vygu. First of all, the founders of the desert Andrey Denisov, Daniil Vikulin, Peter Prokopiev were teachers. Some of the students (for example, the younger brother of Andrei Denisov - Ivan and the sister of Peter Prokopiev - Fevronia) achieved such significant success that they themselves soon rewrote books. The tasks of school education, the dispensation of kinovia, the upbringing of the flock and the propaganda of the old faith required the wide distribution of the book (the Old Believers were deprived of the possibility of its typographic replication). Therefore, from the best students began to train scribes, "so that the right to write." By the 60s of the XVIII century. a peculiar type of writing finally took shape - the so-called Pomeranian semi-ustav, thanks to which the Vygov manuscripts unmistakably stand out from the manuscript heritage of the 18th - 19th centuries. The high professionalism of the scribes is confirmed not only by the closeness of the handwriting within the same school, but also by the exceptional quality of the correspondence: textual analysis of the handwritten lists of individual monuments shows that all Vygov lists are distinguished by an accurate reproduction of the original and a minimal number of errors and slips compared to non-Vygov lists. The Vygov mentors showed constant concern for the schools and the book-writing workshop. "Literate" cells, which, apparently, combined literacy training and the correspondence of books, were in the male and female monasteries (at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries there were even two such cells on Lex), as well as at the Cow's Yard. There was also a kind of "literary workshop" where, under the guidance of mentors, students comprehended the secrets of literary mastery, the necessary condition of which was knowledge of grammar and rhetoric. For this purpose, all the rhetoric textbooks that were then in circulation in Russia were collected on Vyga, including Raymond Lull's Great Science, Sophrony Likhud's and Feofan Prokopovich's Rhetorics. Early Vygov lists of these rhetoricians were preserved in the collection of the State Historical Museum, and one of them belonged to a student of Semyon Denisov, Alexei Irodionov. The creative period in the development of the Vygov literary school is rightfully considered the first half of the 18th century, when such talented writers as Andrey and Semyon Denisov, Trifon Petrov and many others worked in the literary field. Most of the works that made up the glory of Vyg also belong to this period. End of the 18th century revealed whole line writers' names - Andrei Borisov, Timofey Andreev, Grigory Kornaev and even women writers, for example, Fevronia Semenova and Fedosya Gerasimova. The special merit of Vyg to the Old Believers is that it was here that the fundamental dogmatic works were created, proving the truth of the old faith. Careful collection of all evidence - church-archaeological, iconographic, written - in favor of pre-Nikonian rites, numerous collections of extracts (both unsystematic and selected according to thematic principle) prepared the appearance of the famous "Pomor Answers" compiled by Andrei Denisov in collaboration with Semyon Denisov, Trifon Petrov and Manuil Petrov in 1722 - 1723. in response to 106 questions of the Synodal missionary Hieromonk Neophyte. "Pomor Answers", despite the internal divisions of the Old Believers, became the reference book of the entire Old Believers. Fundamental dogmatic-polemical writings were created on Vyga and later, they developed both general and separate, topical questions for their time, for example, about praying for the tsar ("books" by Manuil Petrov and Daniil Matveev), about the Antichrist (work by G .I. Kornaeva). literary heritage Vyga fully confirms the validity of the words that open the extensive collection of Vygov's dogmatic and polemical writings, compiled in the 60s of the 18th century: "Do not imagine, prudent reader, that our condition is wordless and, according to the censure of the current new teachers, we are in extreme ignorance and unreason about the true Orthodox faith! It’s not like that, it’s not like that, as they write and speak ... ". Vyg achieved special art in the design of a manuscript book. Its appearance is distinguished by a rare stylistic unity, a special refinement and certainty of artistic forms.

Life of Prince Vladimir. Vygo-Leksinsky Danilov Monastery. First third of the 19th century.

Paper. 8° (17.3x10.0), 195 l. Artificial semi-tire. Received in 1907. GIM.

The most ancient life of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir Svyatoslavich (died in 1015),

the baptist of Russia, "an apostle in princes", based on an ancient chronicle story,

is believed to have been compiled in the second half of the 11th century by the monk Jacob.

A lengthy version of the "Life" took shape in the 40-50s of the 16th century and was included

in the "Power Book of the Royal Genealogy" by its compiler, the Metropolitan of All Russia

Athanasius (died after 1568). In this manuscript, the text is a list

"The Life of Vladimir", placed in the first facet of the "Power Book".

The manuscript was made in the Old Believer Vygo-Leksinsky Danilov Monastery;

according to the features of writing and ornamentation, it belongs to the Pomeranian school.

The origins of the magnificent Pomor ornament go back, as established, to the art of the capital in the last quarter of the 17th century, which flourished at the royal court. A particularly important role was played by the penetration to the North of remarkable ornamental sheets, engraved on copper, specially intended for the titles of handwritten books, for the most part the work of the famous master of the Armory Leonty Bunin. In the compositional schemes and details of the ornamentation of the Pomor manuscripts, it is precisely these samples of the highest mastery that are creatively reworked, and engravings themselves are used in a number of monuments. For example, in the collection of the middle of the XVIII century. there is a rare version of the print - blue, and not traditionally black, which gives additional sophistication to the title page. Screensavers-frames of the initial pages of manuscripts, with magnificent "entablature", decorated with an infinitely varied set of characteristic floral and architectural-geometric ("patterned") forms, in the most ceremonial books are often combined in a spread with equally magnificent frontispieces, where in a round or oval cartouche either a saying written in gold, or an image of one of the "fathers" of the Vygovskaya monastery is placed. Thus, in the Life of Andrei Denisov of the 1810s, a cartouche contains his idealized bust portrait, which is extremely close to similar images on painted wall sheets; same; a conventional portrait of Semyon Denisov is also placed in the miniature Monthly Book of 1774 (although in other Monthly Books in the cartouche of the frontispiece, the traditional saying is more often placed: "Just as the sky is adorned with countless stars, so this book is filled with holy names." The title of the book, especially if it is inscribed in luxurious headband-frame, often executed in calligraphic Pomeranian script, very tall and slender.But also extremely characteristic are titles from large cinnabar letters, as a rule, with a black initial letter.They have emphasized wide vertical elements, while loops and crossbars as if they dissolve in the winding bizarre light grasses surrounding the "masts". This makes it difficult to read, but turns the title lines into an essential element of the decor of the sheet. The text itself begins with a large, sometimes occupying almost the entire height of the sheet, an ornamented initial. It can be composed of engravings plant-geometric elements or be purely cinnabar, but also with climbing stems, herbs and a complex silhouette with fantastic flowers. The beginnings of individual chapters and significant divisions of the text, in turn, are marked by a whole hierarchy of large, medium and small initials. The combination of various initials with a clear and slender Pomeranian semi-status creates a very special decorative rhythm throughout the manuscript. Despite the amazing constancy of the appearance of the Vygov book, which was carefully preserved for more than a century and a half of its existence, observations on manuscripts of different times allow us to note a certain evolution of style - from more heavy, large and plastic forms in the early - first half of the 18th century. (for example, "Rhetorics" and "Pomor Answers" of the 20s of the 18th century and a collection of extracts and Vygov writings of the first half of the 18th century to an airy light, dry and sophisticated drawing in manuscripts of the second quarter - the middle of the 19th century. A unique example of luxurious The earliest Pomor manuscript is the well-known obverse Explanatory Apocalypse, dated by the scribe in the preface to 1708. According to the classification of F.I. Buslaev, who devoted an entire chapter to this manuscript in his study, iconographically it belongs to the so-called Chudovskaya edition (repeating the original of the early 17th century from Chudov Monastery), but it is interesting that a number of details speak of the artist’s acquaintance with the engravings of the early printed Apocalypse of 1646, created in Kyiv by Priest Procopius. Considering that this manuscript is supplemented as a convoy with two printed editions of the Kyiv Apocalypses, we can mention Andrey Denisov’s trips to Kyiv and his studies at the Kiev-Mohyla Academy. Numerous decorations of the Khludov Apocalypse are and three types: the first is traditional and well known from the capital's manuscripts of the last quarter of the 17th century. a variant of an early printed ornament with baroque elements (it also served as the basis for L. Bunin's engraving sheets); the second - also a floral ornament, but of larger, sculptural-plastic forms, in its schemes close to the main array of the subsequent Pomeranian ornamentation, which became its "classic"; and, finally, the third, which is presented in abundance only in this manuscript and is very rarely found in other monuments, and only in the 18th century, with a predominance of purely architectural, linear and "patterned" elements over plant ones. Its main difference is in the original coloring with dense bright colors. Contrasting colors prevail here - red and blue, with the addition of dark crimson and an abundance of gold, which makes these screensavers solemn and even majestic. Particularly effective is the variety, where instead of a rectangular "entablature", the headband-frame is crowned with a "pediment" of two symmetrical very large "volutes" topped with a flower or crown, complemented on the sides by curly branches with gold carnations (in the catalog this type of ornament is designated as "early type "). The miniatures of this Apocalypse are notable for their beautiful fine drawing, slender proportionate figures, complex but harmoniously constructed compositions. Clothes, clouds, "slides" are colored with a rich, but not dense tempera, with rich gradations of shades. The coloring is multicolored, but not variegated; any leading tone dominates in each miniature: calm reddish ocher "hills", pink-purple tone of clouds, turquoise tone of the sea - and all other colors harmoniously complement it. Carefully gilded wings of angels, halos, thrones and crowns give the miniatures a special luxury. As noted by F.I. Buslaev, in some places "realistic" elements of the landscape are introduced into the conditional "iconic" space of the miniature. We encounter the same combination of "realism" and conventionality in yet another early manuscript, "Rhetoric" of 1712. suppose here almost the same hand. Lush crowns of "rhetorical trees" look like trees in the "landscapes" of the Apocalypse, from the trunks of which grow, like flowers, conditional cartouche frames, and the "sepulcher tree" is entirely made up of fantastic plant patterns. A special genre of miniature, where pictorial motifs are organically intertwined with ornamental motifs, is the "signs of the Zodiac" from a series of miniature, in the 16th part of the sheet, Monthly Books, written in the Leksinsky convent in the 20s - 30s of the 19th century. We meet here "Virgo" - a reaper in a red sundress, with a sickle and ears of corn in her hands, surrounded by a wreath of forget-me-nots and rosehip buds, "Capricorn" - a goat grazing on a grassy hillock, "Fish" - an oval blue lake with a flock of roaches. Various large endings coexist with the signs of the Zodiac on the spreads - in the form of lush bouquets of roses and tulips tied with scarlet and blue bows, Christmas trees, apple trees strewn with pink-green large apples. These motifs of Pomeranian art, which have also become traditional, are found both in purely book ornaments, and in painted wall prints and on items of Pomeranian life. The artistic flair, taste and talent of the inhabitants of "Northern Athens" were fully reflected in the Vygov art of the handwritten book.

Bird of paradise Sirin. Vyg, 1750-1760s. Paper, ink, tempera, gold. 44x39.5.

Record 1929 in the Main Inventory Book: "From previous receipts". GIM.

Russian Lubok and Old Believers. First of all, these are wall pictures, or drawn popular prints. Drawn popular print is one of the varieties of folk pictorial primitive. Its emergence and distribution took place in the middle of the 18th and 19th centuries, when such types of folk art as wood painting, book miniatures, printed graphic popular prints had already passed a certain path of development. And it is not surprising that the art of hand-drawn wall pictures has absorbed some ready-made forms and already found techniques. The painted lubok owes its appearance to the Vygo-Leksinsky community. Feeling an urgent need to substantiate the truth of their faith, the Old Believers, along with the correspondence of the writings of their apologists, used visual methods of transmitting information, including drawing wall pictures. The works of Old Believer artists were intended for a circle of like-minded people and were at first "hidden" art.

Spiritual pharmacy. Vyg, end of XVIII- early 19th century Paper, ink, tempera.

59.5x48.2. Acquired in 1902 from P.S. Kuznetsova. GIM

However, in terms of its moral and educational meaning, the art of drawn lubok turned out to be much wider, filled with high spirituality of universal values, and became a special page in the history of folk art. The earliest of the sheets that have come down to us, made in the Vygo-Leksinsky community, date back to the 1750s - 1760s. The draftsmen, as a rule, were formed from among the Vygov icon painters, miniaturists, and book copyists. Mastering a new art for themselves, these masters introduced into it traditional, well-known techniques. The artists worked with liquid tempera on a pre-applied light drawing.

Death of the righteous and the sinner. Vyg, late 18th- early 19th century GIM.

Paper, ink, tempera. 40.9x52.4. Acquired in 1902 from P.S. Kuznetsova.

They used vegetable and mineral paints, manually diluted with egg emulsion or gum. (A strongly diluted tempera allows one to work in the technique of transparent painting, like watercolor, and at the same time gives an even covering tone.) The drawn popular print did not know either circulation or printing - it was entirely done by hand. Drawing a picture, coloring it, writing titles and explanatory texts - everything was done by the artist himself. The subject matter of the drawings is very diverse.

Mind tree. Lexa, 1816 Paper, ink, tempera, whitewash, gold.

71x57. Entered in 1905 as part of the collection of A.P. Bakhrushin. GIM.

Among them there are sheets devoted to some events of the historical past of Russia, portraits of figures of the Old Believers, images of monasteries (especially Pomeranian bespriest consent), illustrations for stories and parables from literary collections, pictures intended for reading and chants, wall calendars-saints. Many multi-plot compositions were built on the principle of a consistent story about events: these are sheets illustrating the Book of Genesis, which tells the story of Adam and Eve, as well as the picture "The Ruin of the Solovetsky Monastery" - about the massacre of the monks who spoke out in defense of the pre-Nikon liturgical books (1668 - 1676). ). great place in the art of hand-drawn lubok, pictures with instructive stories and parables from various literary collections occupy.

Praise to the virgins. Lexa. 1836 Paper. ink, tempera. gold.

45.5x36.5. Entered in 1905 as part of the collection of A.P. Bakhrushin. GIM.

They interpret the themes of virtuous and vicious deeds of people, moral behavior, the meaning of human life, denounce sins, tell about the death torments of sinners. In this regard, the plot "Spiritual Pharmacy" is interesting, the artists addressed it more than once. The meaning of the parable, borrowed from the essay "Spiritual Medicine", is a cure for sins with the help of good deeds. The most common were plots with edifying sayings, useful advice - the so-called "good friends" of a person. All the maxims of this group of pictures ("About the Good Friends of the Twelve", "The Tree of Reason") are enclosed in ornamented circles and placed on the image of the tree. Spiritual verses and chants were also often placed in ovals, framed by a garland of flowers rising from a flowerpot or basket placed on the ground.

Genealogical tree of Andrey and Semyon Denisov. Vyg, first half of the 19th century.

Paper, ink, tempera. 75.4x53.2. Entered in 1905

As part of the collection of A.P. Bakhrushin. GIM.

The spiritual verse based on the plot of the parable of the prodigal son enjoyed special love among artists: an oval with the text of the verse placed in the center of the sheet was framed by scenes illustrating the events of the parable. Artistic manner the design of drawn pictures and the techniques for decorating manuscripts produced in the Vygov book-writing workshop reveal stylistic similarity in the handwriting of text parts, in the design of titles, capital initials, in the color scheme of certain groups of sheets, in ornamentation. However, it is important to pay attention to the differences that exist in the work of miniaturists and masters of wall pictures.

Ages of human life. Vyg, mid-19th century. Paper, ink, tempera. 58.5x71.

Entered in 1905 as part of the collection of P.I. Schukin. GIM.

The artist's palette of hand-drawn sheets is much more diverse, the color in the pictures, as a rule, is made more open, the combinations are more contrasting. The masters perfectly took into account the decorative purpose of the pictures, their connection with the plane of the wall. In contrast to the fragmentation and fragmentation of illustrations, designed for individual communication with a book at close range, which is usual for manuscripts, lubok artists operated with balanced and complete constructions of large sheets, perceived as a single whole.

Semyon Denisov, Ivan Filippov, Daniil Vikulin. Pechora region, mid-19th century

Paper, ink, tempera. 35 x 74.5. Bought at the auction in 1898. State Historical Museum.

But in the manner of writing, in certain techniques, the creators of drawn pictures also depended on the high art of icon painting, which flourished on Vygu. The masters of popular prints borrowed from the icon painters the festive sound of color, the penchant for pure transparent colors, the love for fine miniature painting, as well as individual characteristic techniques for drawing soil, vegetation, and architectural details. Drawn lubok, as noted above, is a special page in the history of folk art. visual arts. It is, as it were, a synthesis of the traditions of folk pictures, ancient Russian culture and peasant art.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son. Lexa, first half of the 19th century.

Paper, ink, tempera, whitewash, gold. 84.5x62. Bought at the auction in 1900. State Historical Museum.

Relying on the high culture of ancient Russian painting and especially handwritten books, which for them was not a dead archaic, but a living, full-blooded art, the soil that constantly nourished their work, the artists of drawn pictures "melted" the form of printed popular prints, which served as their starting point, sample, in a different quality. It was the synthesis of ancient Russian traditions and popular popular print that resulted in the appearance of works of a new artistic form. The Old Russian component in the painted lubok seems to be perhaps the strongest. There is no stylization or mechanical borrowing in it.

Birds of the Sirin. Vyg, second half of the 19th century. paper, ink,

Tempera, gold. 49.5x39. Bought at the auction in 1903. State Historical Museum.

The Old Believer artists, who did not accept innovations, relied on familiar images cherished from time immemorial, built their works on the principle of illustrative expression of abstract ideas and concepts. The language of symbols and parables was familiar and understandable to them. Warmed by popular inspiration, the ancient Russian tradition, even at a later time, did not become isolated in a conventional world. In her works, she embodied the bright world of humanity for the audience, spoke to them in the sublime language of art. Along with this, the drawn sheets were based on the same pictorial system as folk popular prints.

Seven deadly sins. Vyg, second half of the 19th century. paper, ink,

Tempera, white. 102.1x70.3. Acquired in 1921 from A.A. Bakhrushin. GIM.

They were based on the understanding of the plane as a two-dimensional space, highlighting the main characters by magnification, frontal placement of figures, decorative filling of the background, in a patterned and ornamental manner of constructing the whole. The hand-drawn lubok fully fits into an integral aesthetic system based on the principles of the artistic primitive. Developing among the peasant artists of the Old Believer community, the painted lubok relied on an extensive branched root system. The peasant environment added folklore tradition to his artistic nature, folklore poetic images that have always lived in the collective consciousness of the people.

Panorama of the Vygovsky and Leksinsky hostels and worship of the icon of the Mother of God.

Artist V. Tarasov. 1838 Paper, ink, tempera, gold. 65.5x98.5. Entered the State Historical Museum in 1891.

Enjoyment of the beauty of the world, a poetic, integral attitude to nature, optimism, folklore generalization - these are the features that the painted popular print from peasant art absorbed. Confirmation of this is the entire figurative and color structure of the drawn pictures. Old Believer wall sheets are an art in which, as it were, the self-consciousness of pre-Petrine Russia, the religious idea of ​​beauty, and special spirituality continued to live. And despite the fact that it served the traditional way of life, not completely dissolved in the ideas of the New Age, this art was alive: it was based on a deep religious feeling, nourished by the wisdom of ancient books and monastic culture. Through it, as it were, a thread of continuity passed from the old forms to the new forms of folk art.

City on the river Sozh in the Gomel region. (Belarus), the center of the Old Believers in the con. XVII-XIX centuries, created by Russian. settlers from Starodubye and Center. Russia. The Old Believer settlement of V. arose outside the Russian border, in the possessions of the Halecki and other representatives of the Polish. gentry. V. and Starodubye, as Old Believer centers, developed almost simultaneously - starting from the 70s. 17th century The settlement of V. was most active after 1685, when 12 articles by Princess Sofya Alekseevna were published, aimed at combating the followers of the "old faith". The settlement of V. appeared first on the island of the same name on the river. Sozh, in con. XVII - beginning. 18th century around the island within a radius of approx. 50 km, 16 more settlements arose: first Kosetskaya, Romanovo, Leontyevo, then Oak Log, Popsuevka, Maryino, Milici, Krasnaya, Kostyukovichi, Buda, Krupets, Grodnya, Nivki, Grabovka, Tarasovka, Spasovka. In 1720-1721. In the Vetka settlements, there were more than 400 households.

The first leaders of the Vetka Old Believers were priest Kuzma, who moved from Moscow to Starodubye, and then to the Vetka settlement Kosetskaya, and priest Stefan from the Tula lands, who lived after Starodubye in V., but then went to the Karpovka settlement. The beginning of the construction of the first temple in V. is associated with the Don Hierarch. Joasaph, a cell-attendant and disciple of Job of Lgovsky, who, after wandering through the deserts, came to the settlement of Vylevskaya not far from V. Vetkovtsy, at first they were wary of him, since he was ordained by the New Rite Bishop of Tver, but, having a need for a priest, they asked Joasaph to serve with them. Joasaph agreed, in 1689-1690. finally settled in V., began the construction of the Intercession Church, but could not complete it due to his death in 1695. Ioasaph managed to gather many people around him in a short time. monks and nuns; Melania, a nun from Belevo, a student of the leader of the Old Believers, Avvakum Petrov, brought an ancient antimension to V.

Ioasaph's successor was one of the well-known fugitives, the Rylsky priest. Theodosius (Vorypin). Under him, V. reached its highest peak. In 1695, Theodosius secretly served a liturgy according to the old rite in an abandoned c. Protection of the Holy Mother of God in Kaluga and consecrated many Spare Gifts. From the same church, he managed to take the ancient iconostasis (according to the Old Believer legends, from the time of Tsar Ivan the Terrible) and bring it to V. Theodosius managed for several. days to significantly expand on V. the temple, built under hierom. Joasaph. To the consecration of the temple, which took place in the autumn of 1695, and the service in it, Theodosius attracted 2 priests, ordained by the bishops of the Orthodox. Churches: the seatless Moscow priest. Gregory and his brother Alexander from Rylsk. According to some sources, he accepted them into the Old Believers with the 3rd rank - through renunciation of heresies, without Chrismation (see: Lileev. From history. S. 211); other sources claim that Theodosius received all the priests who came to V., including Gregory and Alexander, in the 2nd rank - through Chrismation (Nifont, p. 78). Since the old world was not enough, Theodosius, in violation of the canons, brewed "miro" (according to church rules, this can only be done by a bishop).

"Mentor and vain". Engraving from the book: Ioannov A. (Zhuravlev). "The news about the strigolniks and new schismatics". St. Petersburg, 1795. Part 2, incl. after 84 (RGB)

"Mentor and vain." Engraving from the book: Ioannov A. (Zhuravlev). "The news about the strigolniks and new schismatics". St. Petersburg, 1795. Part 2, incl. after 84 (RGB)

The Vetka temple had 2 chapels, over time it was richly decorated with icons and utensils. Soon, under him, 2 mon-rya arose - a husband. and women, the relics were discovered, first of all, “quiet blessed Joasaph”. V., where the only church in the entire Old Believer world operated and the relics of the leaders of the Old Believers were found, became one of the main centers of fugitive priesthood. Theodosius and the fugitive priests accepted by him into the "old faith" "corrected" the priests who came to them and sent them to the Old Believer communities in all parts of the country. Under the guise of merchants, the inhabitants of the Vetka monastery dispersed throughout Russia, carried prosphora and water consecrated in the Vetka church, made rites, and collected donations. The economic activities of the Vetka settlements were also diversified: the Old Believers cut down forests, cultivated arable land, raised cattle, built mills, and conducted extensive trade. The inhabitants of sketes and mon-ray were engaged in traditions. monastic needlework - book writing, book binding, icon painting; Vetka mon-ri were centers of literacy, repositories of ancient books and manuscripts.

Under the influence of V. in the 1st floor. 18th century there were priests of Moscow, the Volga region, the Don, Yaik, and others. Weakened by the persecution of the Nizhny Novgorod bishop. Pitirim (Potemkin) and the growing internal disputes between the Sofontievsky, Onufrievsky and Dyakonov consents, Kerzhenets submitted to V. and her active elder Theodosius. The latter energetically participated in the controversy, especially with the Dyakonovites, who began to actively move from the Volga to the East and to Starodubye. One of the opponents of Theodosius was the deaconite T. M. Lysenin. Their dispute is reflected in the “Description of the Debate of the Elder Theodosius with a certain Timofey Matveev Lysenin, and with his disciple Vasily Vlasov, and with their adherents about the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of Christ”, which took place on V. in June 1709 (Lileev. Materials. S. 3-9). The subject of the dispute was as follows: Lysenin, like all the deacons, venerated the 4-pointed and 8-pointed crosses equally, while Theodosius called only the 8-pointed cross "true". Theodosius was also strict with Sofontiy, the organizer of the skete on Kerzhenets, who did not obey V., as well as with the elder Onufry of Kerzhenets, an admirer of the dogmatic letters of Archpriest Avvakum.

About the successors of Theodosius in the management of the Vetka Intercession Mon-rem to the middle. 30s 18th century the following is known: Alexander (brother Theodosius) “also received the second rank [into the Old Believers. - E. A .] the holy monk Anthony and so on. Anthony received the monk Job, and so on. (Nifont. S. 78). Job, adding to the Old Believers several. hieromonks, in 1734 he "received for correction" the false bishop Epiphanius of Revutsky (2nd or 3rd rank, according to various Old Believer sources). Mn. The Vetkovites did not recognize the bishopric of Epiphanius, who nonetheless “ordained” 14 “priests” for the Old Believers. Previously, the Vetka Old Believers undertook several. trying to get their own bishop. In 1730, the Vetka abbot. Blasius handed over to Yassky Metropolitan. Anthony "petition sheet" for his own bishop, signed by the Vetka priests and the Starodub deacons, the petition was supported by the owner V. Pan Khaletsky and Moldavians. sovereign. Having received no answer, the following year the Vetkovites sent a new petition, which was considered by the then K-Polish Patriarch Paisios II, who was then in Iasi, who agreed to satisfy the request, but with the condition to follow the teachings of the Orthodox Church in everything. Churches, which did not suit the Vetkovites.

In 1733 and 1734 imp. Anna Ioannovna issued 2 decrees, by which the Vetkovites were invited to return to the places of their former settlements. Since there was no response to the decrees, in 1735, at the behest of the Empress, 5 regiments under the command of Colonel Ya. Hierom, who was then in charge of V. Job was exiled to Valdai in honor of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God Mon-ry and died there; Epiphanius was sent to Kyiv, where he died in communion with the Orthodox. Church. Pokrovskaya c. they dismantled it, made rafts of logs and tried to deliver it to Starodubye with water, but the logs sank at the mouth of the Sozh. 682 books were taken from the Vetka monks, “and especially various small books and commemorations, one and a half bags.”

A year later, the Old Believers began to gather again in the V., a majestic chapel was built, and bells were arranged. In 1758 a new temple was erected, consecrated with the antimension left from the old temple. The Intercession Monastery was also revived, where up to 1200 inhabitants lived. However, V.'s rise was short-lived this time as well. In 1764, at the behest of the imp. Catherine II Alekseevna, striving for the return of the Russians to their homeland, Major General Maslov with 2 regiments suddenly surrounded V. and after 2 months. more than 20 thousand of its inhabitants brought to Russia, mostly to Siberia, some - to Irgiz, which turned into the main center of the Old Believers-priests. In present For a time, immigrants from V. live in Buryatia (they are called Semey Transbaikalia) and in Altai, where they are called Poles.

According to the testimonies of the Old Believers, V. was finally empty in 1772. But the debate continued for a long time about what rite “to receive priests and laity coming from the Great Russian Church” (Melnikov-Pechersky, p. 337). On V., they adhered to the reception of the 2nd rank, with “smearing” with the world, which gave the name to the Vetkovites - the Peremazants, in contrast to the deacon's consent, which received the 3rd rank. From the Vetkovites, Mikhail Kalmyk finally switched to the deacon's practice, in 1772 he moved to Starodubye.

In the 2nd floor. XVIII-XIX centuries The Old Believers lived in the East, but this center had no former significance. The most famous was the Lavrentiev Monastery (after 1735-1844; not preserved, at the present time the recreation area of ​​Gomel), where Pavel (Velikodvorsky) began his monastic journey in 1834. In 1832-1839. the rector of the monastery was Arkady (Shaposhnikov, later an Old Believer bishop), many others are associated with this monastery. prominent figures of the Belokrinitskaya hierarchy: Arkady (Dorofeev, later Bishop Slavsky), Onufry (Sails, later Bishop Brailovsky), Alimpiy (Veprintsev), I. G. Kabanov (Xenos) - the author of "The History and Customs of the Vetka Church" and District message. Other Old Believer monasteries also acted in V.: Makariev Terlovsky, founded ca. 1750, 32 versts from the Lavrentiev Monastery, monk Macarius from Vereya, Pahomiev, created ca. 1760 another native of Russia - monk Pakhomiy, Asakhov (Cholnsky or Chonsky) skete, arranged at the same time near Gomel in the tract Cholnsky precipice by the elder Joasaph from Gzhatsk, wives. monastery in Spasovaya Sloboda on the territory of modern. Gomel. These monks, especially Lavrentiev, in con. XVIII - beginning. 19th century patronized by Field Marshal P. A. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky and his son gr. N. P. Rumyantsev, on the lands of which the cloisters were located. In the beginning. nineteenth century in Makariev Mon-re, a council was held by agreement of the “Peremazants” with the deacons, at which representatives of the Rogozhsky cemetery, V., Starodubye, Orel and Moldavia were present. The “Pemazants” prevailed at the cathedral, but no agreement was reached, the Vetka elders evaded the dispute ( Melnikov-Pechersky. S. 346).

In con. 20s 20th century the Vetka Old Believer settlements were quite crowded: in 1929, 434 parishioners were registered in the Kosetskaya community, 342 in Popsuevskaya, and 521 parishioners in the parish of the Leontief Prayer House. In 1988, the territories of the Vetka settlements were in the zone of infection after an accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which led to the disappearance of many historically significant settlements, the death of a large number of monuments of the Old Believer culture. In present while a small population of Old Believers lives in Tarasovka, Maryina, St. Krupze, Bude.

In 1897, through the efforts of F. G. Shklyarov (opened to the public in 1987), the Museum of Folk Art was created, more than 400 exhibits from Shklyarov's collection laid the foundation for museum funds. The museum presents icons, products of local masters of weaving, beadwork, there is also a collection of ancient books and manuscripts; Most of the exhibits are monuments of the material and spiritual culture of the Old Believers. Feb 27-28 In 2003, an international conference “Old Believers as a historical and cultural phenomenon” was held in Gomel, the main topic of which was the preservation and study of the unique historical heritage of V.

Source: [Xenos I. G.] History and customs of the Vetka church. B. m., b. G.; The same // Old Believer Church. calendar for 1994. M., 1993. S. 66-104; O. Nifont: Genealogy // Spiritual literature of the Old Believers of the East of Russia in the 18th-20th centuries. Novosib., 1999. S. 65-91.

Lit.: Lileev M . AND . Materials for the history of the split on Vetka and Starodubye in the 17th-18th centuries. K., 1893; he is. From the history of the split on Vetka and Starodubye in the 17th-18th centuries. K., 1895. Issue. one; Melnikov P . AND . (Andrey Pechersky). Essays on priesthood // Collection. op. M., 1976. T. 7. S. 243-275, 343-345, 510-555; Vorontsova A . AT . On the controversy between the “Vetkovites” and the Dyakonovites: Little-studied polemics. op. representatives of the "Vetka" consent // World of the Old Believers. M.; SPb., 1992. Issue. 1: Personality. Book. Traditions. pp. 117-126; Garbacki A . BUT . Staraabradnitsva in Belarus ў cantsy XVII - patchwork XX cent. Brest, 1999; Zelenkova A . AND . Old Believers of the village of Krupets, Dobrush district, Gomel region. (on materials of oral history) // Old Believers as an historical and cultural phenomenon: Materials of the Intern. scientific-practical. conf. Feb 27-28 2003, Gomel, 2003. S. 85-87; Kishtymov A . L . Rumyantsev and the Old Believers of the Gomel estate // Ibid. pp. 111-118; Kuzmich A . AT . From the history of the Lavrentiev Monastery // Ibid. pp. 139-142; Savinskaya M . P ., Aleinikova, M . BUT . The attitude of the authorities to the Old Believer communities in the Gomel region in the 20s. 20th century // There. pp. 250-254.

E. A. Ageeva

Vetka chant

In V., which is the spiritual adm. the center of the Old Believers-priests, for the first time their singers began to take shape. traditions. In the manuscripts, to-rye corresponded here, it was laid down that in the last. became a feature of the Old Believer priestly singers. books - true speech edition of texts, znamenny notation with notes and signs.

The Vetka craftsmen created a peculiar style of manuscript design, which was formed under the influence of Moscow manuscripts of the 17th century. (Vetkauska Museum of Folk Art. Minsk, 2001. P. 119; Guseva K. Old Believer Art in the Bryansk and Gomel Regions // From the History of the Funds of the National Library of Moscow State University. M., 1978. P. 130-135). The most famous place where manuscripts were copied was the Vetka Intercession Monastery; the inhabitants of the settlements were also engaged in this (Lileev. S. 221; Sat. Nizhny Novgorod Academician. Arch. Commission. N. Novg., 1910. T. 9. Part 2. S. 313; Pozdeeva S. 56-58). In the Vetka Center, ancient books were collected not only from Central Russian. areas, but also from adjacent orthodox. lands (Smilyanskaya. S. 205-210).

Vetka craftsmen created own style writing and editing manuscripts. Ornament of Vetka singers. manuscripts are original and strict, do not contain gold. It contains features of grass style, baroque elements, shades of red, green, blue, yellow colors predominate. The initials are multi-coloured, cinnabar or similar in tone paint is used. There are highly artistic adaptations of early printed ornaments. A number of manuscripts indicate the names of the masters who created them (Bobkov E ., Bobkov A . S. 451). The Vetka ornamentation reached its peak in the manuscripts of Elder Evdokim Nosov (1777). The tradition of copying manuscripts was preserved in V. until the 1960s. 20th century The Vetka ornament and handwriting of the hooks served as the basis, on which the style of the Guslitsky manuscripts was formed (it is especially difficult to distinguish the Guslitsky manuscripts of the late 18th century from the Vetka ones - see: Manuscripts of the Old Believers of Bessarabia and Belaya Krinitsa: From the collection of the National Library of Moscow State University: Cat. Ch. 2: Singing Manuscripts of the Bessarabian Collection of Moscow State University / Compiled by N. G. Denisov, E. B. Smilyanskaya, Moscow, 2000. No. 1608, 1733, 1738, 1838, 1845, 2206, etc.

The Vetkovites sang individual chants in a special chant, designated in the manuscripts as "Vetka chant". In one of the manuscripts, which was found and introduced into scientific circulation by E. A. and A. E. Bobkov, this chant recorded the chant “May my prayer correct me” (Bobkov E., Bobkov A. S. 450; rkp. Donated by the Bobkovs as a gift to IRLI, where it is stored (Drevlekhranishchee. Belorus. collection, No. 93. L. 30v.)). Indications of the Vetka chant are found in the manuscript of the chanter. collections of the Perm State. galleries (RKP. No. 1405r. Oktoikh and Obikhodnik are hooked. XIX century. L. 125. “Vetkavsky melody”: “Like Neide for advice” (Parfentiev N. P. Traditions and monuments of ancient Russian musical and written culture in the Urals (XVI -XX centuries.) Chelyabinsk, 1994. S. 178-179)) and others. its musical and stylistic features have not been studied. In the Vetka-Starodubsky collection of singers. there are no manuscripts of the scientific library of Moscow State University indicating this chant (Bogomolova, Kobyak).

Lit.: Lileev M . AND . From the history of the split on Vetka and Starodubye in the 17th-18th centuries. K., 1895; Pozdeeva, I . AT . Archaeographic works of Moscow. university in the district of ancient Vetka and Starodubye (1970-1972) // PKNO, 1975. M., 1976. S. 56-58; Bogomolova M . V ., Kobyak, N . BUT . Description of the singer manuscripts of the 17th-20th centuries. Vetkovsko-Starodubskogo collection. Moscow State University // Rus. written and oral traditions. M., 1982. S. 162-227; Bobkov E . A ., Bobkov A . E . Pevch. manuscripts from Vetka and Starodubye // TODRL. 1989. T. 42. S. 448-452; Smilyanskaya E. B . To the study of the historical and cultural significance of the Vetka-Starodub Old Believer Center in the 18th-20th centuries. // History of the Church: study and teaching: Mat-ly nauch. conf. Ekaterinburg, 1999. S. 205-210.

N. G. Denisov

Iconography B.

(end of the 17th century - 2nd half of the 18th century), reflecting the continuity of Orthodoxy. the tradition preserved among the Old Believers in following the decisions of the Stoglavy Cathedral of 1551 and the monuments of spiritual culture of the XVI - 1st half. XVII century, little studied. Its origins were art centers in Romanov-Borisoglebsk (now Tutaev), Kostroma, Yaroslavl, whose best masters worked in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin. However, new artistic trends could not help but influence the pre-Nikon icon painting. Combination of tradition. letters with "living likeness" testifies to the duality of the style, which nevertheless remained in the Old Believer icon within the boundaries of the ancient canon. Confessional isolation and location outside of Russia contributed to the consolidation of local features in the artistic practice of V., preserved due to the dynastic succession of craftsmanship. The originality of iconography in V. was also manifested in the creation of new iconographies.

The Vetka craftsmen made icon boards without an ark from softwood, aspen and poplar, which were strongly exposed to the grinder bug. Linen, later industrial cotton fabrics were used for the canvas. The count was always present; the drawing was scratched, minted on gesso and then the surface was gilded. characteristic feature Vetka icons became a simultaneous combination of most common techniques and techniques of writing (quotation, gold blooming, niello painting, scraping). when gilding nimbuses, glazing was often used, they were made in the form of a dotted ornament, as well as by the method of quoting, color (red and thin white lines), sometimes according to app. type - a combination of straight and zigzag rays. In the dressing of clothes made with gold leaf, a pattern was used (in a pen, in a zigzag, in a matting, etc., as well as free-form) in the technique of gold-space writing (the inakopi technique was not used); only on the Vetka icons is found the cutting of clothes with ocher or whitewash on gold, inherited from the masters of the Armory. The influence of these masters was also reflected in the simultaneous use of gold and silver when writing ornaments on clothes over folds, including in “shadow” places. A feature of the icons of such a letter is high quality linseed coating.

Nativity of the Virgin. Mother of God Feodorovskaya. "Be thy womb, holy table." Great Martyrs Catherine and Barbara. Four-part icon. 40s 19th century (VMNT)

Nativity of the Virgin. Mother of God Feodorovskaya. "Be thy womb, holy table." Great Martyrs Catherine and Barbara. Four-part icon. 40s 19th century (VMNT)

In the Vetka icon, the characteristic of traditions was preserved. iconography treats light as Tabor, but both light and color partially changed their qualities, as more and more attention was paid to the beauty of the visible world. Life within Little Russia left its mark on the tastes of the Vetkovites. Bright multicolor south. they perceived color as an image of the Garden of Eden, hence the increased decorativeness, an abundance of floral ornaments (daffodils, branches with leaves and flowers of apple trees, imitation of acanthus leaves, vines, garlands, a cornucopia, shells). The roofs of architectural structures were decorated with decorations in the form of semicircles, fish scales, tiles, plowshares, and a diagonal grid with an ornament inside. The ornamentation of clothes was influenced by the patterns of the app. and east. imported fabrics. From the masters of Yaroslavl and Kostroma, an interest in complicated compositions was inherited, a love for patterns and ornaments, in particular, Kostroma ornamental frames were adopted and developed, separating the middle of the icon from the fields, often with squares of other colors and ornaments.

In the Old Believer icon painting, the semantic meaning of the main components of the icon and the symbolism of its colors have been preserved: the edge on the margins (the border of the earthly and heavenly firmaments) was painted with red and blue paint; the frame separating the ark (the region of eternity) from the fields (the firmament) is a red and thin white line (the colors of the heavenly world). The pigment composition of the palette in V. is represented by primary colors and is distinguished by an abundance of cormorant. Open, pure, often not mixed, local colors are characteristic. In continuation of the tradition of tonal writing, it is possible to mix colors with different content of white. The background and fields were covered with gold, rarely silver with tinted drying oil. Unlike other icon-painting centers in V., a colored background was not used. On the spread of "architectural" backgrounds in the icons of the XVIII-XIX centuries. European influence. baroque. Another peculiar feature is the abundance of inscriptions in the margins. The eclectic style of the tsarist masters became a source of combination in the Vetka icons of the “beautiful” dolichny and traditions. personal letter.

The technique of personal writing goes back to the Byzantines. techniques (float, filling, selection) and is known in 3 main "poshib" (options). In the first - Byzantium. and Russian the pre-Mongolian tradition was continued by the so-called. Korsun letters, where the tones of sankir and ocher are as close as possible, a rouge of bleached vermilion and a gap between the lips highlighted by vermilion (or an inventory lower lip) create an image of spiritual burning. These "dark-faced images" preserved the Old Believers' special vision of the divine nature of the transfigured flesh. In another variant, “contrasting writing”, olive-brown sankiri with abundant highlights do not match each other in tone; blush was not always applied. In the 3rd - the writing system is the same, but the personal letter is sustained in warm colors: orange-brown colors of ocher applied on ocher-brown sankirs. A distinctive feature of the writing of faces are 3 light spots in the form of active highlights around the mouth and chin, as well as the shape of the upper lip, hanging over the swollen bifurcated lower one. These directions existed both in monastic and suburban workshops and in the works of rural icon painters.

The ability of the Vetka masters to embody the principles of monumental art in the icon is a legacy artistic culture wealthy Volga cities. Icon painters along with traditional. the form of hagiographic icons, the series of events in which is presented in stamps, adopted, following the masters of the Upper Volga region, a new compositional form of plot development in one plane. The skills of spatial thinking were reflected in the wide distribution of many-part icons that were relevant for the home chapels of the Old Believers who were "on the run".

"The apostles are bound by the union of love." 19th century (Chelyabinsk Regional Art Gallery)

"The apostles are bound by the union of love." 19th century (Chelyabinsk Regional Art Gallery)

The isolation of the Vetkovites did not stop creative searches in the field of iconography. Orthodox self-consciousness and aspirations of Heavenly Jerusalem by the Old Believers, expressed by the words of St. Paul: “We have no permanent city here, but we are looking for the future” (Heb 13:14), reflect the essence of many others. iconographies created in their environment. The favorite was the image of the Holy Trinity (the so-called New Testament) - the “Tri-hypostatic Deity”. The assimilation and complication of this iconography by the Old Believers, whose appearance they did not associate with the West, is due to the eschatological moods that are important for them and the idea of ​​Christians about the fate of sinners and the righteous. Among the numerous aspects, the idea of ​​the way of the cross of the faithful, who are able within the Church and with the help of the Eucharist to overcome division and become co-heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, is singled out. ", voice 4) reveals spiritual meaning image: the mystical union of the Earthly and Heavenly Church with its Head. The sacrificial path of this connection is expressed through a cross-centered composition, where the Cross is a means of salvation on the path to God. In the center of the composition, as a rule, Christ the High Priest is represented in the form of an Angel of the Great Council with an eight-pointed nimbus, in a priestly robe, in cuffs and with arms crossed on his chest; there are images of the Lord Almighty, “Saved Good Silence”, the Crucifixion, the Holy Trinity (Old Testament), as well as the Mother of God “Look for humility” in the image of the Bride-Church, bound by bonds of unity and love with the Bridegroom-Christ crowning Her. By artistic means, this image is revealed through the luminous structure of color and light, the gold of the fields and the background. The emergence of this iconography in the 1st half - ser. 19th century in Belaya Krinitsa, it is no coincidence that it was there that in 1846 the Bosno-Saraevsky Metropolitan joined the Old Believers. Ambrose (Pappa-Georgopoli), and the Old Believers received their own hierarchy.

in the 18th century The appearance in V. of the iconography of the Mother of God “Fiery” is connected with the comprehension of Her image as the fullness of the Church. This idea is connected with the theme of divine fire and is expressed in the icon through the symbolism of the red color of the face and clothes of the Virgin. The color of the Resurrection of Christ for the image of the Mother of God is the most adequate embodiment of the deified incorruptible flesh, which connected the earthly and heavenly and became the “Throne of Fire”. This iconography is associated with the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, celebrated in the Catholic. Churches like the Mother of God (Purification of Mary) and famous in Poland and the South-West. Russia under the names "Fiery Mary", "Tomb" (see: About You rejoices: Russian icons of the Mother of God of the XVI - beginning of the XX century. M., 1996. Cat. 60). Bespopovtsy does not have the image of the Mother of God “Fire-like”; in the ROC is known only in the Code miraculous icons Mother of God.

Wooden icon cases made in V. inherited the traditions of Belarusian, the so-called. flemskoy, slotted, multi-layer carving, having a Western European. origin. Application new technology and tools made it possible to create a sculptural-volumetric high-relief and at the same time openwork carving. The elements of wooden carving were influenced, and sometimes “cited”, by the ornaments of headpieces, initial letters of early printed and handwritten books of the 16th century.

Lit .: Sobolev N . AND . Russian folk. woodcarving. M; L., 1934; Abetsedarsky L . FROM . Belarusians in Moscow in the 17th century Minsk, 1957; NKS. T. 4. S. 8, 19, 25, 122-123, 126-127; Bryusova V. G . Russian painting XVII in. M., 1984. S. 94, 113-114. Il. 82, 83; Zonova O. AT . On the early altar frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral // Assumption Cathedral Mosk. Kremlin: Materials and Research. M., 1985. S. 116-117. Il. 26; Nevyansk icon. Yekaterinburg, 1997. Ill. 147; Vetka Museum creativity. Minsk, 1994; Raphael (Karelin), archim. About the language of the Orthodox icons. SPb., 1997; Grebenyuk T . E . Artistic originality of Vetka icons: Techno-technol. aspect // World of Old Believers. M., 1998. Issue. 4. S. 387-390; Sarabyanov V . D . Symbolic and allegorical icons of the Cathedral of the Annunciation and their influence on the art of the 16th century. Moscow Kremlin // Annunciation Cathedral Mosk. Kremlin: Materials and Research. M., 1999. S. 200, 202; Florovsky G. Faith and culture. SPb., 2002. S. 240-241.

T. E. Grebenyuk

The art of piety - it sounds!

An exhibition opened in the museum on Delegatskaya dedicated to history and the culture of the Old Believers - " The Art of Piety". The first exhibition with the same name was held in the spring of 2018 in Yegorievsk. It was a joint exhibition project of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art (VMDPNI) and the Yegorievsk Museum of History and Art. The city of Yegoryevsk, as you know, is located within the boundaries of Guslits, an area in the southeast of the Moscow region, where the Old Believers traditionally settled. Guslitsy are famous for the special manner of icon painting, copper casting and bright ornamentation of singing manuscripts. Therefore, the first place of the exhibition was not chosen by chance.

However, the exhibition project has not been fully implemented, because some exhibits could not (due to safety) go to Yegoryevsk, others were in a private collection, and a publication was being prepared on them, and still others had not yet been identified in the VMDPNI funds. The exhibition "The Art of Piety"-2 was a completely different project, despite the same name. It more broadly represents the funds of the VMDPNI, supplemented by books from the pre-split press of the 17th century, expeditionary materials from the Scientific Research Institute of the Art Industry (NIIKhP) and items from the personal collection of Priest Alexei Lopatin (RPSC).

Father Alexei kindly provided the author of the article with invaluable documents for a researcher of the Old Believers, concerning one of the descendants of Tikhon Fedorovich Bolshakov, a famous antiquary, collector and bibliophile not only in Russia but also abroad. We are talking about his grandson Nikolai Sergeevich Bolshakov (1889 -?). While working in the funds of the Department of Printed Sources and Visual Materials of the VMDPNI, I came across a surname that I knew well - Bolshakov. Then I thought: “But does he have anything to do with the famous antiquary and collector?”. But only two years later, when the exhibition was conceived, I remembered Bolshakov's "tables" stored in the fund. On the drawings of the "tables" there were ornaments of Pomeranian manuscripts of the 18th-19th centuries. The theoretical work of S. Bolshakov, senior researcher at NIIKhPN, which is also kept in the museum fund, is called “ national ornament Slavic-Russian Manuscripts and Folk Art. I was surprised by the date of its writing - 1947. Immediately after the war, the employees of the NIIHP found time, strength, and showed interest in the Old Believer book. The veiled name of the scientific work of N.S. Bolshakov pointed out that the native Old Believer was very cautious and diplomatic, but he could not hide his love for the Old Believers in this work.

The Russian religious movement, - wrote Nikolai Sergeevich, - known under the name of the Old Believers, expressing its protest against the innovations of the church reform of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the 17th century, was one of the main reasons that served to preserve the original Russian artistic forms of folk art of Ancient Russia. Trying to keep completely intact the church, everyday and artistic foundations of "ancient piety", the representatives of the Old Believers, closely connected with the masses of the people, could not but reflect in their entire way of life, even against their will, the phenomena of the developing reality.

Pomor ornament N.S. Bolshakov calls original folk art, emphasizing its organic origin from the depths of the people. The samples for the artists of the NIIHP, who copied book ornaments, were the Old Believer handwritten books of the 17th-18th centuries stored in the Russian State Library, in particular, in the “Collection of the Rogozhsky cemetery”: “Pomor Answers”, “Apostle”, “Creations of Dionysius the Areopagite” and etc. The concept of “ancient church piety”, rooted in the Old Believer environment, mentioned by N.S. Bolshakov, gave the name of the exhibition - "The Art of Piety". It reflects not only the composition of objects used in worship and characterizing the level of arts and crafts and folk art, but also the main "art of piety" of a Christian - prayer, for which new icons were written and ancient icons were preserved, books were copied and decorated with ornaments, copper images were cast.

One cannot ignore the fact that before the opening of the exhibition, almost nothing was known about Nikolai Sergeevich Bolshakov, except that he was the heir to the Bolshakovs' antiquarian business. We did not know the date of birth, or the place of study and work. I, as the curator of the exhibition, despite being busy in the development of the exhibition project, had to go to RGALI. Only one document was found in the archive, which lifted the veil over the biography of N.S. Bolshakov. The identified document became the basis for the presentation at the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Rumyantsev Readings - 2018. Libraries and museums as cultural and scientific centers: historical retrospective and investment in the future. Report “N.S. Bolshakov is an antiquarian, bibliophile and scientist” was published in the 2nd part of the Conference Proceedings (M., 2018). Now, dear reader, do you understand how surprised and delighted I was when Father Alexei, seeing the announcement of the exhibition on the VMDPNI website, suggested that I get acquainted with documents from his personal collection? According to the priest, a certain descendant from the Bolshakov family came to him in the church shop in the 1990s and offered to buy documents related to the Bolshakovs. So new details from the life of Nikolai Sergeevich appeared. Based on the documents, an article for the journal "Cultural Heritage of Russia" was prepared for publication. I really hope it comes out this year.

I will reveal to you one more secret of the exhibition "The Art of Piety". The fact is that it was mounted outside the plan. This means that there is neither time nor money to change the color and architecture of the buildings of the previous exhibition. There is a super task - to fit with your exhibition into the already existing exhibition space. What we heroically did with the assemblers from the exhibition department Vyacheslav Kokurin and Ruslan Kleimenov. Luboks with traditional plots for the Old Believers (“Sirin Bird”, “Alkonost Bird”, “Pure Soul”) look wonderful. Purple mats, in which popular prints are framed, stand out beautifully against the light green background of the four rectangular sections. Under the luboks there are glass cubes with ladders, belts, a handkerchief and kacea from the collection of Father Alexei Lopatin. And it must happen that I intuitively had a desire to take all four ladders and four belts that I was offered to choose from. And, as it turned out later, there were also four sections. My choice - I take everything!

The hall, divided by two columns with arches, was decided to be logically divided: in the first one there will be icons, carved crosses, showcases with copper castings, and in the second part of the hall there will be NIIHP materials. In addition to the ornaments made under the direction of N.S. Bolshakov, tables with materials from the Altai expeditions of the NIIHP were found in the museum funds. In the 1950s The institute sent its specialists on an expedition to capture the life of the inhabitants of Rudny Altai, among whom there were many Old Believers. This place is closely connected with the legend of Belovodye. In Altai, there are enough names in which the word “white” sounds: Beloe Lake, Belaya River, Belokurikha River, Belukha Mountain, etc. This is probably why the legendary fairy-tale country, with which the Old Believers associated their dreams, was called Belovodie - the holy land where Russian people live, who fled from the religious strife of the 17th century. After almost two centuries of attempts to find the promised land, many of its seekers began to consider the Bukhtarma region to be Belovodie. The Old Believers who settled here were fugitives hiding in the hard-to-reach gorges of the Altai mountains from government duties, serfdom, and religious persecution. The settlements of the Bukhtarma Old Believers are one of the first Russian peasant settlements on the territory of East Kazakhstan. In 1765, a special government decree was issued, which commanded to exile the fugitive Old Believers from Poland and Lithuania to Siberia, so they began to be called "Poles" in Altai. In the 1760s all the indigenous villages of the "Poles" were founded in the Zmeinogorsk (according to other sources "Zimogorsk") district of Altai: Ekaterininka, Shemonaikha, Losikha (Verkh-Uba), Sekisovka, Bobrovka. Soon new villages appeared, where only Old Believers were residents: Malaya Ubinka (Ubinskoye), Bystrukha, Cheremshanka, etc.

Bolshakov N.S., Arkhipova Z.A., Agranovich Z.L., Skubenko N.B., Temerina A.S., Churakov N.S. Ornamental sketch table. Cardboard, paper, watercolor, bronze paint, ink. M., 1947

Expeditionary materials of the NIIHP in the 1950s. became an ethnographic document depicting the clothes and life of the Altai Old Believers. On one of the sketch tables, a woven garus belt and a girdle flaunt in 1906. These things are the property of Vera Filipyevna Sysoeva from the village of Tumanovo, Soloneshensky district, Altai Territory (sketch by A.V. Kurochkina). Another drawing by the same artist depicts a woven garus belt and two girdles by Klepikova Matryona Mironovna from the village of Ust-Koksa, Gorno-Altai Autonomous Region (1900-1910). On one of the sketch tables there is an image of a female figure in the Old Believer costume of the craftswoman Chernova from the village of Cheremshanka. It is indicated that the costume is fifty years old (drawing by E.G. Yakovleva, 1954). The girl is wearing a raspberry-colored woolen jacket with a printed pattern, trimmed with lace, a green woolen sundress with a woven pattern, embroidered with silk. Several cardboards with sketches are an image of men's Old Believer shirts from the village of Malo-Ubinskoye, Zimogorsky district of the Kazakh SSR (each has a note that the shirt belongs to the Regional Museum of Omsk).

There is a unique one at the exhibition, i.e. in the singular, the object is a signed icon board with three copper inset icons: a Cross, folded with the icon of Our Lady of Kazan in the middle and the icon of St. Nicholas. The Holy Martyr Tatyana, the patroness of the icon’s customer, is depicted in tempera as those present at the Cross. On the back there is an inscription indicating the ownership of the icon board. After cleaning the copper casting by the restorer Ivan Biryukov, it turned out that the images were silver-plated...

And finally, one more secret from the curator. Books of the 17th century did not go to Yegorievsk, because there was a risk that the books might undergo undesirable changes due to the transfer from the storage facility, the temperature difference (we still drove to Yegorievsk for almost three hours). Therefore, it was decided that if the exhibition takes place in Moscow, then the books will definitely get there. Thus, at the exhibition "The Art of Piety" there was a rare old printed edition - the Psalter of the Moscow Printing Yard of 1645. The book was published under the last patriarch of Ancient Russia, Joseph. In addition to the psalms of the prophet and king David, the Psalter includes the famous "Theodorite Word" about double-fingeredness. On the margins and individual pages of the book are numerous entries in various handwriting of the 17th-20th centuries. Another interesting publication was Lenten Triod (Moscow: Moscow Printing Yard, 1642). On sheet 97 and following there is an entry in the handwriting of the 17th century: “This book of the city /? / of the Pyatnitskaya Church of the Holy Martyr Poroskov Fridays.” Another notable book of the exhibition is Menaion. September" (Moscow: Moscow Printing Yard, 1644). On the first pages, in the handwriting of the 17th century: “This book is the month of September of the Church of the Kazan Mother of God, which is inside the city, and there are 448 sheets.” I consider as my small discovery a find in the library fund of the museum - a singing manuscript with a Guslitsky ornament - "Osmoglasnik" of the early twentieth century, which will be transferred from the library fund to the fund of the Rare Book of the VMDPNI.

A few words should also be said about the documentary film shown at the exhibition. The film was kindly provided by colleagues from the Yegorievsk Museum. It was filmed in 2012 and tells about the Old Believer Palestine - Guslitsy and the city of Yegorievsk. The film is not just interesting, but very interesting. The author's text with subtle humor tells about the feelings of the Old Believers to Peter the Great. The staff of the Andrey Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Culture speaks with love in the film about the contribution of the Old Believers to the preservation of the original Russian culture, no matter what it concerns - icon painting, copper casting or books. The excellent work of the operator leaves a poignant feeling of longing for the beauty of Russian nature, from which the capital's resident has come off. Be sure to watch the movie if you come to the exhibition. It was planned that the exhibition would run until the twentieth of July this year, but it was extended. Happy viewing!

In the modern world, an ornament is a pattern that adorns household items without carrying a semantic load. For us, rhombuses on a carpet are just rhombuses, and circles are just circles. But there were times when people could read ornaments, encrypted their ideas about life, about other world about eternal truths.

It can be said that a decorative pattern is the result of a found relationship between the perception of nature and a decorative reflection of reality. Over the many years of the existence of decorative art, various types of patterns have developed: geometric, floral, complex, etc., from simple articulations to complex intricacies.

An ornament can consist of subject and non-objective motifs, it may include forms of a person, animal world and mythological creatures, in the ornament, naturalistic elements are intertwined and articulated with stylized and geometric patterns. At certain stages artistic evolution there is an "erasing" of the line between ornamental and narrative painting. This can be observed in the art of Egypt (Amaran period), the art of Crete, in ancient Roman art, in late Gothic, modern.

First there was a geometric ornament, it was at the dawn of human culture. What could be simpler than straight or wavy lines, circles, cells, crosses? It is these motifs that adorn the walls of clay vessels of primitive people, the most ancient products made of stone, metal, wood and bone. For ancient man, they were conventional signs with which he could express his concept of the world. Straight horizontal line meant earth, wavy - water, cross - fire, rhombus, circle or square - the sun.

According to an old belief, the symbols in the patterns carried a spiritual power that could conjure any evil and injustice of the elemental forces of nature. These symbolic signs, which came to us from ancient ritual holidays, are with magical symbols. For example, in the Filimonovo toy (Russia) we see symbols of the sun, earth, water, fertility. The masters let through all the images and symbols through their worldview and showed their perception of the world in the painting. Ancient symbols are also found in the Dymkovo and Kargopol toys. But they are everywhere different in ornament. In every craft, we notice the symbols of the sun, water, etc. The ancient symbolism of the peasant religion runs like a thin thread through them.

And an ornament in a Russian folk costume. The main motives of which were solar signs - circles, crosses; images of a female figure - a symbol of fertility, mother - damp earth; wavy rhythmic lines - signs of water; horizontal straight lines denoting the ground; images of a tree are the personification of eternally living nature. Embroidery on peasant clothes not only adorned them and delighted those around them with the charm of patterns, but also had to protect the one who wore these clothes from trouble, from an evil person. A woman embroidered Christmas trees - it means that she wished the person a prosperous and happy life because spruce is the tree of life and goodness. A child was born to a peasant woman. And she will decorate his first simple shirt with embroidery in the form of a straight line of bright, joyful color. This is a straight and bright road that a child should follow. May this journey be happy and joyful for him.

The image of the sun occupies one of the main places in arts and crafts. The sun in the form of round rosettes, rhombuses, can be found in various types of folk art.

A straight equilateral cross was also the image of the sun in folk symbolism. The rhombus was revered as a symbol of fertility and was often combined with the solar sign inscribed in it.

Tree of Life

In addition to the geometric, in the ornament of Ancient Russia, you can often find various ancient pagan plots. For example, the female figure personified the goddess of the earth, fertility. In pagan art, the tree of life embodied the power of living nature, it depicted the divine tree, on which the growth of herbs, cereals, trees and the "growth" of man himself depended. Very often you can find plots of magical calendar rituals that are associated with the main stages of agricultural work.

The most diverse symbolism is characteristic of images flora, which included flowers, trees, herbs.
In the ornament of Egypt, the decoration often used a lotus flower or lotus petals - an attribute of the goddess Isis, a symbol of the divine productive force of nature, resurgent life, high moral purity, chastity, mental and physical health, and in the funeral cult it was considered a magical means of reviving the dead. This flower was personified with the sun, and its petals - with the sun's rays. The lotus motif is widely used in ornamental forms ancient east(China, Japan, India, etc.).

The Egyptians also used the image of aloe in the ornament - this drought-resistant plant symbolized life in the other world. Of the trees, date and coconut palms, sycamore, acacia, tamarisk, blackthorn, perseus (Osiris tree), mulberry tree were especially revered - they embodied the life-affirming principle, the idea of ​​​​the ever-fruitful Tree of Life ..

Laurel in Ancient Greece was dedicated to the god Apollo and served as a symbol of cleansing from sins, as the sacred laurel branch was fanned to be cleansed. Laurel wreaths were awarded to the winners in musical and gymnastic competitions in Delphi, the main center of the Apollo cult. Laurel served as a symbol of glory.

Hop is a cultivated plant, scenic view which contributed to the widespread use of plant forms in ornamentation. The image of hops combined with ears of corn was used as a decoration on household utensils.
Grapevine - bunches and branches enjoyed special reverence in antiquity and in the Middle Ages. In ancient Greek mythology, this is an attribute of the god Bacchus, among Christians - in conjunction with ears of corn (bread and wine, meaning the sacrament of communion) - a symbol of the suffering of Christ.

Ivy is an evergreen climbing shrub, sometimes a tree; like a vine was dedicated to Bacchus. Its leaves have a variety of shapes, most often heart-shaped or with pointed lobes. They were often used in ancient art to decorate vases and wine vessels.
Oak is the king of forests, a symbol of strength and power. Oak leaves were widely used in Roman ornamentation. Their images are often found on friezes and capitals, church utensils and other types of Gothic applied art, as well as in the works of Italian Renaissance masters. Currently, the image of oak leaves along with laurel can be found on medals and coins.

Oak is a symbol of power, endurance, longevity and nobility, as well as glory.

In ancient China, pine symbolizes immortality, longevity. a truly noble personality. The image of a cypress, which in Chinese beliefs was endowed with special protective and healing properties, including protection from the dead, echoes the image of a pine tree. Among the flowering trees important place wild plum occupies - meihua - this tree is a symbol of the New Year, spring and the birth of everything new. Among the flowers, the central place is given to the peony. The peony is associated with female beauty and family happiness. The orchid and chrysanthemum are associated with the divine world and ritual rituals. The most common symbol among vegetables is a pumpkin gourd, which has become a symbol of immortality and longevity.

Painted gourd, vessel and talisman (China, 19th century)

"Happy fruits": pomegranate, tangerine, orange - symbols of longevity and a successful career.

Sakura motifs are often found in Japanese arts and crafts. It is a symbol of beauty, youth, tenderness, the inevitable variability of the transient world.

Flowers are widely used in ornamental motifs of all times and styles. They serve as decoration for fabrics, wallpaper, tableware and other types of decorative art.
The rose has polar symbolism: it is heavenly perfection and earthly passion, time and eternity, life and death, fertility and virginity. It is also a symbol of the heart, the center of the universe, the cosmic wheel, divine, romantic and sensual love. Rose - completeness, the mystery of life, its focus, the unknown, beauty, grace, happiness, but also voluptuousness, passion, and in combination with wine - sensuality and seduction. The rosebud is a symbol of virginity; withered rose - the transience of life, death, sorrow; its thorns are pain, blood and martyrdom.

Heraldic roses: 1 - Lancaster; 2 - Yorks; 3 - Tudors; 4 - England (badge); 5 - German Rose Rosenov; 6 - Russian stamp.

The heraldic medieval rose has five or ten petals, which connects it with the Pythagorean pentad and decade. A rose with red petals and white stamens is the emblem of England, the most famous badge of the English kings. After the "War of the Scarlet and White Roses", so named after the breastplates of the names that fought for the English crown, the scarlet rose of the Lancasters and the white of the Yorks were combined in the form of the "Rose of the Tudors". The bright crimson rose is the unofficial emblem of Bulgaria. The famous tea rose is the emblem of Beijing. Nine white roses are in the coat of arms of Finland.
In ancient ornaments, along with plants, various animals are often depicted: birds, horses, deer, wolves, unicorns, lions. They form the horizontal structure of the tree of life: at the top are birds; at the level of the trunk - people, animals, as well as bees; under the roots - snakes, frogs, mice, fish, beavers, otters.

Animals can be seen on embroidered towels and aprons , on a painted chest X, on carved and painted spinning wheels; on the walls of ancient Russian cathedrals and in the decorations of huts , in letter ornaments. Ancient images of a horse and a bird have been preserved in folk toys and utensils. Pommels for horse whips and combat bows were carved in the form of animal or bird heads. Stylized animals and birds adorned hair combs, utensils and utensils. In ancient times, many natural phenomena were personified in the images of animals, and everyone looked at these phenomena from the point of view that was closer to him, depending on the way of life and occupation: the point of view of the shepherd was different from the views of the hunter, and both of them - from the warrior. People transferred their knowledge about terrestrial animals to atmospheric phenomena.
A bird in folk arts and crafts could personify wind, cloud, lightning, thunderstorm, storm and sunlight. Ladles and salt shakers were carved in the form of birds, embroidered birds adorned women's clothing. . The image of a bird is widely included in the folklore of almost all peoples of the world.

The horse also represented everything natural phenomena associated with fast movement - wind, storm, clouds. He was often depicted as fire-breathing, with a clear sun or a moon in his forehead, and a golden mane. A wooden horse, made for children's fun, was often all decorated with solar signs or flowers. . It was believed that this protects the child from evil forces. Images of horses can often be seen on household items (ladle handles, spinning wheels , spindles), on clothes .

In the northern regions, natural phenomena associated with horses were also attributed by ancient people to deer. . Deer were often depicted near the tree of life on an embroidered towel, sometimes they were placed instead of a ridge on the roof of the hut. The sacred role of the horse, deer in Scythian art is often associated with the hope of a successful ascension of the soul to another world.
The lion in the mythology of many peoples was a symbol of the sun and fire, and also at different times among different peoples, he personified higher powers, power, power and greatness, generosity, nobility, intelligence. The image of a lion has existed in arts and crafts since ancient times.
For many centuries, the lion has remained one of the favorite figures in Russian symbolism. In ancient Russian images associated with the great princely power, the image of a lion, depending on what surrounded him, had two meanings: the power bestowed by God, and the conquered power of evil.

Folk craftsmen often carved lions on the front of the hut or painted on chests surrounded by floral ornaments, craftswomen embroidered them.

feminine beginning. The Great Mother, in her terrible form as weaver of fate, is sometimes depicted as a spider. All moon goddesses are spinners and weavers of fate. The web that the spider weaves is woven from the center in a spiral - a symbol of the creative forces of the Universe, a symbol of the universe. The spider in the center of the web symbolizes the center of the world; Sun surrounded by rays; The moon, personifying the cycles of life and death, spinning the web of time. The spider is often associated with good luck, wealth or rain. Killing a spider is bad luck.

Spider depicted on an American Indian amulet

Due to the stability of religious canons, the meaning of symbols in the ornamentation of Egypt, the art of the countries of the Ancient East remained unchanged for many millennia. Therefore, for ethnographers and archaeologists, ancient ornaments are signs with which you can "read" a kind of magical texts.

Ethnocultural contacts, trade, military campaigns, religious missions, embassy gifts and invited artists contributed to the movement of works of art from one country to another, which led to the spread of artistic ideas and styles.
Often subsequent generations of artists use the previous art and create their own variations on its basis. So a prime example can serve as an element of the swastika, one of the earliest symbols that is found in the ornaments of almost all the peoples of Europe, Asia, America, etc. The oldest images of the swastika are already found in the culture of the Tripoli tribes of the 5th-4th millennium BC. e. In ancient and medieval cultures, the swastika is a solar symbol, a lucky sign, which is associated with ideas about fertility, generosity, prosperity, movement and power of the sun.

Kolovrat or Solstice is one of the oldest ancient Russian symbols, personifying the Sun and the solar gods Svarog, Dazhdbog and Yarila. The name of the symbol came from the word "kolo" - the sun.

The symbol itself looks like a circle with curved rays, which is why many people associate it with the Nazi swastika. Although this is fundamentally not the case: the Nazis did use this solar symbol, but not vice versa.

In 1852, the French scientist Eugene Burnouf first gave the four-pointed cross with curved ends the Sanskrit name "swastika", which roughly means "bearing good." Buddhism made the swastika its symbol, giving it the mystical meaning of the eternal rotation of the world.
In the ornaments of the new time, there is virtually no modern symbolism, despite the fact that it exists in abundance in the surrounding reality. As an exception, there may be the work of modernist artists. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. these artists attempted to create their own symbolism and reproduce it in their work.
The ornament in their works no longer played an auxiliary role, but became an integral part of the image, organically woven into the outline of the plot.
At the same time, A. Bely, the theorist of Russian symbolism, wrote: “The symbolist artist, saturating the image with experience, translates it into his work; such a transformed (modified) image is a symbol. And then A. Bely fixes the main slogans of symbolism in art: “1. a symbol always reflects reality; 2. a symbol is an image modified by experience; 3. the form of the artistic image is inseparable from the content.
In these three paragraphs, the well-known poet and prose writer precisely formulated the main provisions for creating a symbolic work that can be used in any kind of art, including ornamental.

Culture, like civilization, is a generic concept of human existence, where his social nature is recreated. The unity of the past-present-future is self-realized in the semiotics of culture - in the practice of replacing a person's action with a sign and a symbol.According to A.F. Losev ornamental, pictorial forms cultures and arts embody a symbol, the meanings of which are folded in a sign.

It can be said that artifacts with pictorial motifs are a sign system of traditional culture. L. V. Pankratova in her article "Shielding from troubles and giving abundance ..." cites the words of the linguist and philologist V. N. Toporov that patterns organized as "correct", rhythmically repeating sequences of signs (texts of culture) are sacred marked. This feature makes it possible to identify things that have an elevated semiotic status, therefore, clearly realizing the sign function.

This status has an artifact of traditional Russian culture - the Old Believer belt. And the collection of these items in the museum collection allows you to study the iconic phenomena of traditional Russian culture of the pre-Petrine era.

Such an empirical basis for the study of pictorial elements on the Old Believer belts is the collection of these artifacts in the East Kazakhstan Regional Architectural-Ethnographic and Natural-Landscape Museum-Reserve (Ust-Kamenogorsk). The collection was collected on the territory of the South-Western Altai, which was the center of the Old Believers for three centuries. Here, since the 18th century, two ethnic groups of immigrants, the so-called "masons" and "Poles", lived. "Bricklayers" settled along the river. Bukhtarma. Their ancestors, fugitive mining workers, due to religious persecution and overwork, "ran" to the most inaccessible mountain places, that is, "into the stone", from which their name comes. The ancestors of the “Poles” settled in the valleys of the Ulba and Uba rivers, as well as near the right tributaries of the Irtysh during government migrations to Siberia from Poland, more precisely from Vetka and Starodubye, where they lived locally for a long time. The study of the Old Believer population in any area is of great ethnographic interest due to the fact that this population, due to its religious beliefs, is an adherent of everything old and the keeper of ancient traditions.

A few words about the collection of Old Believer belts of the East Kazakhstan Regional Museum-Reserve. Currently, it has about 600 items. The ornaments of the Old Believer belts are, as a rule, rapport. They are different and depend on the technique of execution, which in turn can be the principle of systematization. Of the systematized 129 belts woven on planks, 205 belts of warp and mortgage weaving, the rest are made by shaft weaving, woven on a seamstress, crocheted or knitted.

Belts of martial, elective, mortgage weaving are saturated with geometric ornaments: rhombuses, burrs, oblique crosses, comb stripes, simple and complicated swastika elements. No more than two main ornaments can be combined, one is inscribed in the other. A single "linear" pattern is often made along the entire length of the belt. This species belongs to the tradition of the Old Believers "masons".

Belts woven on planks also have geometric patterns, but they are characterized as a motif. These include rows of waves, zigzags, stripes, interpenetrating corners, triangles, rhombuses, as well as meander-shaped elements, etc. On some exhibits, in addition to the named motifs, there are anthropomorphic images and letter combinations.

A special kind of decorative elements of such belts is "written" speech. The local population defined them as “nominal” or belts “with words”. Such a creative approach to the design of clothing characterizes the tradition of the Old Believers - "Poles".

For the convenience of studying, the items in the collection are divided into belts with texts of psalms, prayers, belts-letters, with dates of manufacture, etc. There are belts where the text occupies a large part, where ornaments are between words, or as a decorative element) unreadable letters together, in other words, imitation of text. All this allows us to talk about a certain role of the inscriptions on the belt.

Belts with the texts of psalms, the Great Canon of Repentance, the Jesus Prayer were made by residents of the Glubokovsky district of the East Kazakhstan region in the villages of Pikhtovka, Tarkhanka, Cheremshanka, Bystrukha. There are six such belts in the museum's collection. A special meaning was invested in such a belt, it became a symbol of faith.

A special attitude to belts with prayer became the reason for their integrity, indivisibility. This is confirmed by the halved braced wide belts with rapport geometric ornament from the museum collection. According to researcher N. I. Shitova, ornamented belts could divide, the integrity of the product with a prayer did not violate.

Phrases of religious content have the meaning of reinforcing the main Orthodox meaning of wearing a belt by the Old Believers - equating it with a cross, an analogy with Jesus Christ, who wore "belts", etc.

According to the semiotic concept, a necessary condition under which an object, thing, gesture, and other things can become signs is the presence of a communicative process in which they carry special information.

The subject, gestural, behavioral function of writing, the form of a heartfelt message were possessed by "belts with lyrical phrases" or "lyric belts". At the same time, their addressee remained " incognito”: “Whom I love, I give to him…” or “…this belt is woven in the name of someone who is dear to my heart. Wear it, don’t lose it, don’t forget me…” or “My little blue dove, take this belt to someone who is dear to my heart. Fly, curl yourself into no one's hands.

The functions of texts with non-religious content on belts are not clearly spelled out in the literature. Accordingly, the question of the presence of an additional semantic load of these objects remains open.

Conducting a content analysis of non-religious inscriptions on belts, in order to identify their functions as cultural phenomena, made it possible to get closer to the answer.

The object of the study was 50 belts "with words" in the funds of the East Kazakhstan Regional Museum-Reserve, the subject was the texts themselves on the belts.

Comparative analysis of the identified two contexts"nominal inscription" and "lyrical inscription" showed that the content of very primitive, it would seem, texts woven on the Old Believer belt, allows us to judge with some degree of certainty the behavior and intentions of participants in cultural communication.

In the world of traditional culture, where the object and the subject were identified, the thing was inseparable from the person. Clothing was presented not only as an outer cover of the body, but also as its continuation. With the transfer of clothes to another person, it is as if a part of “his own”, personal space of the owner is transferred to him. For example, the indirect meaning of the transfer of an object to a family member is fixed by the woven names of the authors of the products in the nominative case (“THIS POIS WAVED THE GIRL APIST IMEYASILA NTIVNA”). Authorship and addressee were important, i.e. who performed and to whom it is intended. On belts with names, the addressee is most often known. The popular names of such belts “nominal” or “nominal names” probably also meant “personal”, “own”. The dates woven by the author of the product added importance to the inscription. The demonstrative pronoun "this" in the meaning of "this", "just like this", "given", "corresponding to something", "not another" was the beginning of the text of most belts of this kind.

In an inscription with the semantics of a request, the addressee is often hidden under the phrase “who is dear to my heart." This is a slightly different communication, with an element of creativity.With this inscription on the belt, they conveyed sublime, of course, hidden from everyone for the time being, feelings. Take away, donate, hand over, etc. the subject of high relations was entrusted to the “blue dove”. Presumably, this rather frequent appeal was intended to hide the author of the message woven on the belt, to create intrigue in creative lyrical communication.

An analysis of the content of non-religious inscriptions on ancient Old Believer belts showed the diversity of their meaning.As a sociological phenomenon, gift and heartfelt messages were intended to carry out the communicative function of verbal communication, but with a different core - as a gift, a charm and as a heartfelt message. The first and second could be combined in one subject.

Text on the belt asthe pictorial form, along with the ornament, is a symbol of folk art and culture. But an ornament as an action contained in a sign is a reflection of a biological, natural principle, and a text is a social one. The replacement of an action by a word, which acts as a sign, realizes here the lost interaction of the past, present and future in places.

The study of the Old Believer belt on an empirical basis - the collection of the East Kazakhstan Museum-Reserve, collected in the region, which for more than three hundred years has become one of the largest centers of the Old Believers, allows us to understand the meaning, interconnection and inseparability, as well as the integrity of all aspects, objects and details of this subculture, where the general depends on the particular, and the particular on the general.

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