Treasures of Russian Art. Palekh

Palekh was famous for its icon painters since pre-Petrine times. Palekh icon painting reached its peak in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The local style was formed under the influence of the Moscow, Novgorod, Stroganov and Yaroslavl schools.

The Palekh miniature, which arose as a result of the social and cultural changes that took place in Russia after 1917, managed to preserve the age-old traditions of icon painting and transfer them to new forms. From icon painting, the Paleshians took the materials and method of painting with tempera emulsion paints, compositional techniques, the style of stylization of human figures, architecture and landscape, the skills of linear drawing with paints created by gold, but at the same time they embodied them in new forms and with new secular subjects on the themes of modern rural life, history, epics, fairy tales, classical Russian literature.

In 1918, former icon painters created the Palekh Art Decorative Artel, which was engaged in painting on wood. The founder of the Palekh style is I. I. Golikov, who in 1922, having become acquainted with the products of the Fedoskino masters, created the first work in the so-called Palekh style.

Paleshians began to master a new material - papier-mâché, which was the basis for Fedoskin's lacquer miniature. The Palekh masters transferred the technology of tempera painting, traditional for the ancient Russian icon, and the conditional style of the image to papier-mâché. An expensive semi-finished product - papier-mâché blanks - was initially purchased from the Fedoskino artel, but soon they set up their own production.

For the first time, Palekh miniatures on papier-mache, commissioned by the Handicraft Museum, were presented at the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft and Industrial Exhibition in 1923. At the end of 1924, Palekh artists united in the Artel of Ancient Painting, and already in 1925, Palekh miniatures were exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris, where they made a splash and enjoyed great success. In 1935, the artel was transformed into the Association of Palekh Artists, in 1954 the Palekh Art and Production Workshops of the Art Fund of the USSR were formed.

From the first years of the existence of the Artel of Ancient Painting, the question arose of training specialists. In 1928, a vocational school of ancient painting was opened in Palekh. In 1935, it was transformed into the Art College, which later became known as the Palekh Art School named after A.M. Gorky.

The range and forms of items painted by Palekh masters was quite large: brooches, beads, chests, caskets, cigarette cases and snuff boxes, eyeglass cases and powder boxes and much more. The Palekh miniature of the pre-war period has a pronounced ornamental beginning, while it lacks vivid images and a developing storyline. The most successful and popular compositions of that period were battles, shepherdesses, hunting and folk festivals.

In the first post-war decades, many masters of Palekh miniatures depicted various battle scenes in their works, both of the end of World War II and other great battles that glorified the Russian army.

In the 1950s, the lacquer miniature in Palekh experienced a clear crisis, which was due to the tendency of many artists to excessive realism, pathos and monumentality, which forced out the romanticism and sublime sophistication characteristic of the works of previous years from products. In the 1960s, poetry and allegorism returned to the works of Palekh artists. During this period, Paleshian artists, in search of themes for their work, turn to folklore sources and works of classical literature, as well as to modern songs. At the same time, socially significant events, such as, for example, the flight of a man into space, also find their reflection in the products of masters.

Having survived the difficult 1990s, the Paleshians did not leave their traditional craft. The Palekh Art School annually graduates young masters who carefully preserve the traditions and features that make Palekh miniature so interesting. Today, there are several artels and family businesses that make traditional lacquer products in Palekh.

Palekh painting, like any other folk art that has developed in a particular area, has its own distinctive features and traditions. The Palekh style differs from other folk schools of lacquer painting in the following features: writing with egg tempera paints; use of dark backgrounds; gold painting; variety of color transitions; general soft tone of the letter; patterned palatal writing; a variety of rainbow lights; miniature (small) multi-brand letter; variety of composition elements and their picturesqueness; miniature painting; patterning and ornamental richness of the pattern; careful detailing of each element; elongation and fragility of human figures; the subtlety of drawing parts of the body of people.

Palekh is characterized by multi-layered tempera painting according to the pattern outlined in white. First, color spots are applied, then miniatures and details are painted, then gold and the so-called gap are introduced, when paint is applied to the light parts in several stages, increasing the amount of white in the main tone. Paleshians, as a rule, resort to a complex pictorial technique - glazing or “floating” painting, which consists in multi-layer writing with transparent strokes, when the lower layers of painting shine through the upper ones.

Work on the product begins with the creation of a workpiece. Cardboard plates are smeared with flour paste made from wheat or pecked (a mixture of rye and wheat) flour and glued one on top of the other on a table or horizontally laid board. The number of layers depends on the required thickness of the product and ranges from 3 to 30. The sides of caskets, boxes, cases and other items are made by wrapping cardboard strips on round or rectangular blanks (up to 12 layers).

Then the workpieces are compressed by a press. Pressed semi-finished products are dried in a dry, dark room for 3-15 days. After drying, the workpiece is impregnated with heated linseed oil, in a vat with which it is kept for about a day. After that, the blanks are dried for two or three days in an airtight cabinet at a temperature of +100 degrees.

A semi-finished product made in this way becomes durable, like the strongest woods, and lends itself well to carpentry and turning: it can be sawn and planed, various shapes can be machined from it on a lathe, hinges and locks can be built into it.

Each blank is made immediately for four products. Then they are sawn. Then the blanks are carefully selected and transferred to joiners, who process the blank with a file, and round products are finished on a lathe. The bottom of the products is made separately, glued into place and adjusted with a planer. Then the workpiece is turned on a sanding wheel and finished with an emery brush.

After carpentry, the products go to the preparatory workshop for painting, where they are leveled with sandpaper and primed. The soil consists of river silty clay mixed with soot and ground with boiled oil (linseed oil) on a stone slab with a smooth stone chime. The primer is applied three times with a bristle brush and leveled with a flat board, spatula. After applying each layer of soil, the products are well dried in the oven, cleaned with emery bars with water and dried again. Then all the outer sides are painted with soot dissolved in oil varnish, and the internal parts are painted with cinnabar mixed with carmine dissolved in the same varnish. After that, black surfaces are covered three to four times with black varnish. At the end of the preparation, the product is covered with a light varnish: black surfaces once, and red internal ones - three times. After each operation with varnish, the products are dried well in the oven, and the last time for at least 12 hours. This long process of processing products for painting creates a strong and even tone on all its planes. In this form, they go to the artist, who decorates them with his painting.

When the semi-finished products are ready, they are handed over to the artists. Paints in Palekh are bred traditionally - on an egg emulsion. In the old days, and later in lacquer miniatures, the artists prepared the paints themselves. They were made on egg yolk, diluted with table vinegar or bread kvass (less often - beer or rain water), and they were called "egg" or "yolk". To do this, the yolk was carefully separated from the protein, since even an insignificant amount of it would interfere with the artist's work (the protein would hang on the brush and would not allow fine lines to be drawn). The chicken egg was carefully broken from the blunt end, the punched hole was leveled and the protein was released through it. Then the yolk was rolled out into the palm of the hand, the shell was washed well and, having broken the film on the yolk, it was poured back into the already clean shell, into which vinegar was poured in addition. All together well shaken with a round spatula. The liquid prepared in this way is the solvent for dry paints. Egg yolk serves as a binder in it, and vinegar turns the paint powder into a liquid mass and eats up the excess fat content of the yolk.

The painting of the product is carried out in several stages. First, a drawing is transferred to it. To do this, the reverse side of the picture is rubbed with dry chalk or white powder, with a finger; then the drawing is superimposed on the surface of the object and carefully translated with a finely sharpened pencil. So that the drawing does not move or warp during translation, its upper corners can be temporarily glued to the surface of the object with some kind of light glue. When the drawing is removed, a clear imprint remains on the surface of the object. The remains of white powder are brushed off with a goose quill so that the contours of the pattern remain clean.

The next stage is the whitening preparation, which is done so that the color of the paints on the varnish stays stronger. The artist, working on the composition, thinks over where and what tones to put, according to this, bleaching preparation is done. The lightest places are prepared with thick white, the tones of medium brightness are less dense, and the darker ones are prepared with liquid white; very dark places are left without whitening preparation. It is carried out by melting cleanly and softly, without roughness, in strict accordance with the pattern. With the correct whitening preparation, the work looks almost finished, made according to the principle of a light silhouette. Serious preparation with whitewash helps to speed up the work of the artist in its further stages.

Next, the artist proceeds to painting with paints - the imposition of colored spots. For painting, as well as for preparing whitewash, use a brush of medium sharpness. From the prepared paints, tones of different densities are compiled on a palette. One of the methods of painting is when all the elements of painting are revealed as a melt, each with its own one main tone. This technique reveals human clothes, animal figures and some other elements of painting. With such a covering, evenness and transparency of the melt are observed, while the exposed elements do not look like painted with pure paint, and each melt plays with a lively tone. When covered with a melt, it creates the impression of a three-dimensional element. Since paints tend to settle (their light parts settle down, and the dark ones rise to the top of the melt), then the larger the paint layer, the more dark particles of paint protrude to the surface, and if the artist covers the melt unevenly, then the painting falls into dark spots. A well-versed artist knows how to use this property of paints. The opening of the heads and naked parts of the human body - the sankir - is made according to the type chosen by the artist: it can be light yellow, for a tanned face - brownish, for a pale face - yellow-greenish, etc. The opening and sankir are made at the same time.

The next stage is painting - drawing by painting in a dark tone all the contours and details: the contours of tree trunks and branches, the general forms of leaves, the ledges of mountains, the pattern of waves, the contours and folds of human clothing, the contours of animals, structures and their details, as well as all other elements compositions. For painting, a dark tone is compiled, in most cases from burnt umber, which is diluted with egg thinner, and then painted with a sharp squirrel brush. The painting is done by the artist not with the same, but with soft, smooth, dark, lively lines of different thicknesses and different strengths, thereby revealing the volumes of the images. It is important that the painting lines do not look separate from the painting, but merge with it in a general tone.

After painting, the shadow and light parts of all elements of the composition are fused with a medium-sharp brush in order to additionally emphasize the volume. The shadow parts are fused with tones somewhat darker than the sillage, and on the light parts with tones slightly lighter than it, so that the tone of each element looks more sonorous and more picturesque. As a result, overflows of several different tones are obtained, and the overall tone becomes more sonorous.

The subsequent final decoration with paints of clothes, human figures and all landscape objects aims to further strengthen the conditional volume of all elements and give them completeness. On some clothes, human figures, gaps are made - most of them are gold, the smaller ones are painted. A space with paints is superimposed on clothes, the highest places of the human body (on the shoulders, chest, stomach, knees) or the torso of an animal, which emphasizes their shape. The gap is often made in three tones, consonant with the roofing, painting and shadow surfacing. The space has a main spot, which is called a snare, from which strokes come that emphasize the shape of the body parts. The first tone of the gap is wider and slightly lighter than the opening, the second is somewhat lighter and narrower than the first, and the third tone, lighter, is made in one line, which emphasizes the second tone and is called the animation of the gap. For a better sound, gaps are placed on warm tones with cold tones, on cold tones - warm. The entire decoration with paints is done softly, does not break out of the tones of the overlay and surfacing, organically connects with all the surrounding tones and gives completeness to the whole painting.

This is followed by smelting (registration with liquid paints) of the head. The melt is made in several stages with a brush of medium sharpness. At the first melt (okhreniye), convex places on the face, neck, ears, arms, legs are melted in a bodily tone in such a way that it sees through subsequent melts. After drying, the second melt follows - the imposition of a blush composed of cinnabar on the cheeks, brow ridges, end of the nose, lips, earlobes, on the folds of the fingers and toes, on the elbows, palms and knees. The third melt - when the pupils of the eyes, eyebrows, mustaches, dark hair are melted by the burnt umber. The fourth melt - padding - is made up of ocher and cinnabar and is designed to combine all previous melts with sankire so that the light parts of the face and figure are shrouded in a light halftone. The tone of the fifth melt - alloy - is compiled according to the tone of the depicted person chosen by the artist. It should be superimposed so that the previous melts are visible through it. Finally, the sixth, last melt - the imposition of highlights. Next comes the final finishing of the heads and naked parts of the body with the restoration of the drawing - an inventory. For this, a sharp brush is taken, a dark brown tone is made (from burnt umber) and all facial features are drawn with thin, lively lines. With these lines, the artist reveals a certain image of a person, his psychological state and character. At the same time, the hair on the head, beard, mustache is combed in a slightly lighter tone than the superimposed highlights. The pupils of the eyes and cilia are prescribed with soot.

It remains only to paint all the work with gold and silver, but first you need to fix all the work done with varnish. It is impossible to write with gold on loose painting: paints absorb gold. An object painted with paints is covered with copal varnish twice. After each coating, it dries well. Before painting with gold, the lacquer surface is rubbed with a pumice stone to a dull finish, since gold does not stick to the lacquer. Pumice powder from the wiped surface is brushed off with a goose feather.

Sheet gold leaf is carefully crushed and rubbed with fingers. Gum arabic (transparent acacia resin) is used as a binder. Gold painting is also done with the thinnest brush. Sometimes silver or aluminum powder is used. Gaps in gold and aluminum are superimposed on the clothes in those places where there are no gaps in color: in dark tones - gold, in light tones - silver. They also make all the ornamental decorations. The painting with gold and silver on the miniature is used in three forms: “in bristles”, with a monkop and painting with an ornament.

In order for the gold applied to the product to acquire a shine, it must be polished. A wolf tooth was used for this because it has a particularly smooth surface.

After the artist has put his signature on the product, it is varnished and dried, and then polished on a mechanical wheel covered with plush or velvet. Final finishing during polishing is carried out only by hand. The surface is covered with fat and treated for an hour with a palm moistened with water. From friction, the surface of the lacquer heats up, finally levels off and acquires a mirror shine.

Palekh painting, sparkling with gemstones, as if splashes on the black surface of boxes, caskets, caskets, forming a colorful pattern covered with the finest golden strokes and ornaments on clothes, trees, buildings. In the compositions, reality is bizarrely combined with fantasy. People, houses, trees, peeped in nature, but depicted with special plastic sharpness, coexist with fantastic "hills", "chambers", "trees". Narrative compositions on the upper and side surfaces of objects are decorated with a thin golden ornament of the most diverse, never repeating patterns.

A box or casket is usually called a small box or box, which most often have the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. It is convenient to store jewelry, money, papers and other small valuable items in them. It is believed that the caskets appeared a very long time ago and come from chests in which clothes were stored. In Tsarist Russia in the middle of the 18th century, such folk craft as lacquer miniature became especially popular.

The caskets made in this technique by craftsmen from the Ivanovo village of Palekh are an excellent example of the skill and originality of the Russian people.

History reference

The history of the Palekh miniature as a folk art craft is closely connected with icon painting. In the 18th century, masters who skillfully painted icons lived in the village of Palekh, which at that time belonged to the Vyaznikovsky district of the Vladimir province. Along with icon painting, local craftsmen took part in the painting and restoration of the Faceted Chamber of the Kremlin and churches located in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and on the territory of the Novodevichy Convent.

After the revolution of 1917, it became impossible to continue to engage in icon painting, so a year later the Palekh Art Decorative Artel was created. The artists who entered it began to paint on wood. The founders of the Palekh miniature are considered to be Ivan Golikov and Alexander Glazunov. Masters have mastered a new material - papier-mâché, which is based on a mass obtained from mixing paper and cardboard with gypsum, starch and other substances. In 1923, Palekh miniatures were sent to the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition, where they received a diploma of the II degree.

In December 1924, seven masters from Palekh founded the Artel of Ancient Painting. The works of this association in 1925 were sent to the World Exhibition in Paris. In 1932, the Union of Palekh Artists was formed, and in 1935 the artel was transformed into the Association of Palekh Artists. In 1954, the Palekh art and production workshops of the Art Fund of the USSR arose. Currently, you can learn the art of this miniature in 4 years at the Palekh Art School named after A. M. Gorky.

Manufacturing technology

As noted earlier, the caskets, in the tradition of lacquer miniatures, had a papier-mâché base. The cardboard blank is pressed and then dried for several days. Next, it must be soaked with linseed oil for a day and dried in a hot oven for 2 days. Then the semi-finished product is processed with an emery brush, polished and the necessary fittings are attached to it. At the end of this stage, the box is primed with a special composition, covered with black varnish in several layers and 7 layers of light varnish, each layer being thoroughly dried in the oven.

The painting has a strict sequence in the application of tempera. Tempera paints have been used since ancient times; artists made them from dry powder pigments, in which emulsions served as a binder: natural (chicken yolk) and artificial (oils in an aqueous solution of glue). The skill of working with tempera needs to be trained for several years, only then can one achieve ideal smoothness of lines, accuracy and clarity of miniature silhouettes.

At the initial stage of painting, the masters paint the composition with whitewash, emphasizing dark and light places. Then the paints necessary for painting the box are applied. Craftsmen painstakingly trace the contours of all elements with handmade squirrel bones, emphasizing each detail with color and often using a magnifying glass. At the end of the painting, gold is applied (a sheet of gold is crushed and mixed with glue), it gives warmth and brightness to the drawing, it creates the feeling that the image glows from the inside.

The decoration with gold was borrowed by Palekh masters from icon painting, where gold is a symbol of divine light.

At the last stage of manufacturing, the box is covered with oil varnish and polished. Polishing occurs by applying several layers of varnish, which are well dried at a given temperature for a certain time. Then the surface is leveled with glass and pumice, and then polished on a special moving wheel, which is covered with velvet.

Originality of style

The background for the drawings on the Palekh caskets is black - it is a symbol of darkness, from which life and colors are born, it gives depth to the whole composition. Inside the product is always red. Palekh painting is also characterized by bright tempera colors and gold painting. Gracefully traced elongated figures are an echo of icon painting traditions. The heroes are the characters of fairy tales and epics, as well as classical works and songs. The caskets have their own names, for example, "Troika", "Yermak's Campaign", "Stone Flower", "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "Vasilisa the Beautiful".

How to distinguish the original from a fake?

Painted boxes from Palekh are a wonderful interior decoration and a unique gift. But in order not to purchase a fake, when buying, you should pay attention to the following details.

• The original Palekh boxes are usually black on the outside (sometimes they can be tinted green or blue) and always painted red on the inside.
• The painting is characterized by multi-tone coloring of shadows, slightly elongated images of characters, accurate drawing of all elements and details.
• Products from Palekh are distinguished by perfect polishing outside and inside. Scratches, stains and swelling are a sign of a non-original box.
• The lid of the box is always tightly fitted to the base - the so-called box.
• The original item must have a gilded inscription "Palekh", which is always located in the lower left corner, and in the lower right corner you can read the name of the master.
• A real Palekh box is packed in a tin box, which has a layer of pasted cotton wool inside, which can protect the varnish and painting from damage.
• A low price for such a product is always an indicator that you have a fake in front of you. Palekh miniature is a very labor-intensive folk craft, so such things are highly valued and cannot be cheap.

Palekh painted caskets are unique works of art in which the master puts his soul and all his many years of experience. Caskets made using the Palekh technique are known all over the world and are an integral part of the original Russian culture.

All about the Palekh caskets, see the video.

Palekh- a small village in the Ivanovo region, the first mention of which dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. And today it is the world's most famous center of iconography and lacquer painting, which has no analogues in any corner of our planet. The works of Palekh masters do not leave anyone indifferent,
who once saw them.

At the turn of the 16-17th century, Palekh masters appeared who painted holy images, painted temples and cathedrals, and restored ancient frescoes. At the beginning of the 19th century, Palekh icon painting flourished, which is in great demand not only in Russia, but also abroad. The peculiar, elegant art of Palekh lacquer miniature combines the principles of ancient Russian painting and folk art.

If in some cities the creation of icons had an almost industrial distribution, then in Palekh for many years the original writing of holy images was preserved, which were painted by members of peasant families in their free time from agricultural labor.

It was noteworthy that in the peasant families of icon painters there was a division of labor: the drawing on the base was applied by the "signer", the clothes and chambers were painted by the "dolicnik", and the faces - by the "personalist". Palekh icons were created for a long time and scrupulously, they were sustained according to the canons of ancient samples, so their value was high.

But by the end of the 19th century in Russia, the number of icon painters greatly increased, which caused a decrease in the cost and deterioration in the quality of icon painting, and the demand for Palekh icons dropped sharply due to the high cost.

And the 1917 revolution that took place in Russia changed not only the whole way of life in Russia, but also the attitude towards the church. The production of icons became unclaimed and icon painters were left without work at all.

But the lacquer painting miniature of Palekh is a relatively young direction, which arose only about two centuries ago. The prerequisite for the emergence was that at the end of the 18th century, the Moscow merchant Korobov founded the production of varnished visors for army caps. And when snuff came into fashion, he also began to produce lacquered snuff boxes.

Over time, these caskets acquired a luxurious and rich look, they began to serve to decorate the premises. Using colorful coloring and Russian folk themes, Palekh masters used various plots of fairy tales, epics and legends in their work.

At the end of the civil war, Palekh craftsmen resumed their craft, now making caskets, brooches, powder boxes and other items from papier-mâché. They depicted plots from Russian folk tales, scenes of village life, and also used the work of Russian writers and poets.

The Second World War also brought its own plots to the Palekh painting - colorful military scenes. During the Soviet era, Palekh was characterized by pathos, ideology, and monumentalism. And only years later, the artists managed to restore romance and sublimity, poetry and allegoricalness.

To this day, lacquer miniatures are distinguished by bright colors on a black background, elongated figures, and thin lines. The decorativeness of landscapes and architecture, the elegant gold ornament framing the composition - all this makes the Palekh painting unique.

Each of the master miniaturists has his own professional style. This painstaking work requires not only inspiration, but also great precision and accuracy, since all painting is done by hand, and very often this requires a magnifying glass. Most of the miniatures are unique or produced in very small quantities.

Treasures of Russian Art.

Palekh. Palekh lacquer miniature.

The history of Palekh goes back to ancient times. In the 15th century, the village of Palekh was part of the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. According to the Spiritual Testament of Ivan the Terrible in 1572, the village of Palekh was in the local possession of his son John. In 1616, Palekh was listed as the estate of Vasily Ivanovich Ostrogubov and the widow of Yuri Ivanovich Ostrogubov. Soon it was granted patrimonial possession to Ivan Buturlin "for the Moscow siege seat of the king", that is, for participation in the war against the Polish-Lithuanian intervention. According to the scribe books of 1628-1630 of the Vladimir district of the Bogolyubsky camp, Palekh is the patrimony of Ivan Buturlin and his children.

In 1693, a wooden church was built and lit in Palekh in the name of the Exaltation of the Cross, in 1696 a chapel was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, and in 1742 in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. In 1774, at the expense of parishioners, Yegor Dubov built the current Exaltation of the Cross stone church. At the end of the 19th century, Palekh was a small village. The population was mainly engaged in icon painting and handicrafts: wood carving, linen weaving, embroidery, sheepskin dressing. On Orthodox holidays, rich fairs were held here.

Bakanov I.M. "Village Palekh"
1934, box

Palekh is a name of Finno-Ugric origin. The results of archaeological excavations of a barrow-free burial ground of the 8th century confirm that one of the many Finno-Ugric tribes lived in the region for a long time. culture can be traced only in geographical names - Purekh, Palekh, Landekh, Sezuh, Lukh, Lyulekh.

a belief told by a local resident Felitsata Grigoryevna Palikina about the origin of the name Palekh has been preserved:
"... Deaf forests stood, there was no population ... there was a big fire in the forest ... from" lightning ". The fire burned all the trees on the mountain. And soon people showed up here - and from those that they were looking for a free life, either from the Tatar raid, either they fled from the boyars' yoke.
There is also a legend - “Palekh arose in those violent years of ancient times, when countless Tatar hordes marched to Vladimir-Suzdal Russia. The devastated population fled into the dense forests and swamps and took icons with them. The Tatars burned forests. “There was a great Palikha” - hence and the name Palekh went.

The Masquerade

The fairy-tale world of fiction, poetry - the art of the miniature of the new Palekh. Its history as a decorative art begins after the October Revolution, when the icon-painting workshops were closed, and the masters spread to different parts of the country in search of a livelihood. Some became painters, others - decorators of club scenes, many turned to agriculture and small-scale crafts: they painted wooden utensils, toys. Most often, the painting was a rough copy of the popular print, peasant spinning wheels or samples taken from the album "Ornament of all countries and peoples."

In 1923, on the initiative of A. V. Bakushinsky, several experiments were made in Palekh in painting wooden products using icon painting traditions. Caskets and plates on the themes of Russian songs by artists I.V. Markichev, I.M. Bakanov and "The Shepherd" by A.V. Kotukhin. In the same years in Moscow, in the former icon-painting workshop of the Paleshanin A.A. Glazunov, similar searches were carried out. But the master who worked there, in the future the famous artist I.I. Golikov, chose to use papier-mâché icon-painting technique.

Experiments I.I. Golikov was supported by the Moscow Handicraft Museum; the first works signed by A.A. Glazunov were shown in 1923 at the exhibition of the State Academy of Artistic Sciences, where they received a diploma of the 1st degree. Soon, in addition to Golikov, other Palekh icon painters began to work for Glazunov - I.P. Vakurov and A.V. Kotukhin. Then Kotukhin went to Palekh, where, since the summer of 1923, the best old masters, I.M. Bakanov and I.V. Markichev, had already been working on papier-mâché.

For display at the All-Russian Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition in 1923, Palekh masters I.M. Bakanov, I.I. .Markichev completed the orders of the Handicraft Museum of the All-Union Council of the National Economy of the work, for which they also received a diploma of the 1st degree. In 1924, Palekh artists enjoyed great success at an exhibition in Venice. Success came. Soon, the Paleshans from Italy received an invitation to send four masters to organize a school. The artists refused to leave their homeland.

On December 5, 1924, the Artel of Ancient Painting was organized in Palekh. Initially, it included seven people: I.I. Golikov, I.M. Bakanov, A.I. Zubkov, I.I. Zubkov, A.V. Kotukhin, V.V. Kotukhin, I.V. Markichev. Soon they were joined by D.N. Butorin, A.I. Vatagin and others. And already in 1925, the works of the Paleshans received recognition at the International Exhibition in Paris.

March 1935 - "Artel" was transformed into the "Association of Palekh Artists" Chairman until 1938 - A.I. Zubkov.

1940 - "Partnership" is closed.

1943 - restored.

1954 - "Partnership" was transformed into Art and Production Workshops (PHPM). Director - A.G.Bakanov.

1954 - creation of the Palekh branch of the Union of Artists of the RSFSR. Chairman of the Board - G.M.Melnikov.

In 1989, the Palekh art and production workshops were closed.

The couple

"Rapunzel"

"August"

"On The Volga River"

"Twelve Months"

"The Autumn Nocturne"

"The Golden Hair Lady"

"Cinderella"

"Cinderella"

"Ruslan & Ludmila"

Warm Summer

"Boldino Autumn (A.Puskin)"

"Happy Childhood"

"Autumn. The Holiday of The Last Sheaf"

"The Scarlet Flower"

ATIn 1935, the Artel of Ancient Painting was transformed into the Association of Artists of Palekh, whose chairman until 1938 was A.I. Zubkov.

In 1940 "Tovarischestvo" was closed and restored in 1943.

In 1954, the Association of Palekh Artists was transformed into Art and Production Workshops headed by A.G. Bakanov.

In 1954, the Palekh branch of the Union of Artists of the RSFSR was created. Chairman of the Board - G.M.Melnikov.

In 1989, the Palekh art and production workshops ceased to exist.

Currently, creative organizations are working in Palekh:

• JSC "Partnership Palekh",
  Chairman of the Board S.I. Kamanin,
• Cooperative "Association of Palekh Artists",
  Chairman of the Board A.V.Dudorov,
• Small enterprise "Masters of Palekh",
  director M.R. Belousov,
• MP. "Traditions of Palekh",
• CJSC "Palekh"
  director A.M. Zubkov,
• creative workshop of B.N. Kukuliev "Paleshane"

"Fairy-Tale About Tsar Gvidon"

"The Scarlet Flower"

"The Miracles Come To Those With Pure Souls"

"Sadko\& The Tsar of The Sea"

"The Winter Spring"

"The Snow Quenn"

"The Spring & The Snow Maiden"

"Under The Apple Tree"

"Tsar Of The Sea"

"Winter Time"

"The Frog Princess"

"Morozko"

"Ruslan & Ludmila"

"Russian Hunting"

"The Greek Tales"

"Meeting of Two Worlds. Aelita (after Belov)"

"Skiing in the Winter Forest"

"After The Work"

"The War Time"

"Ivan Tsarevitch & The Fire-Bird"

"Winter Troika"

"Battle With Swedish Knights"

"Bella (by Lermontov)"

"Alenushka"

"Morozko"

"Near The Bank Of The River"

"The Snow Maiden"

"The Red Hat Fairytale"

The Palekh miniature is known all over the world and has existed for almost a hundred years. But in fact, this artistic tradition is several centuries old. Palekh became the center back in the 17th century; the Palekh icon before the revolution was no less famous than the Palekh casket today, and these two types of art are directly related. In 1924, seven years after the revolution, hereditary Palekh icon painters figured out how to apply their skills and preserve the ancient Russian artistic tradition in a new, atheistic culture. Masters Ivan Bakanov, Ivan Vakurov, Ivan Golikov, Alexander Kotukhin, Ivan Markichev and art critics Anatoly Bakushinsky and Alexander Glazunov created the Palekh Artel of ancient painting and transferred icon-painting styles to lacquer miniatures The masters of Kholuy and Mstyora acted in a similar way, but although these three centers of lacquer miniatures are often placed in one row, each of them is original. Palekh is the founder of the artistic style and unique author's works in miniature, monumental art, book graphics, stage design and porcelain decoration. Kholuy and Mstyo-ra are engaged exclusively in lacquer miniatures. Kholui in his compositions is more concise and focused on mass copying from samples; the genre of miniature landscape was created there. Mstera loves realistic painting, completely fills the black background and prefers a warm golden or bluish-gray color tone.. Of course, the Soviet authorities did not call Palekh artists the heirs of a centuries-old tradition, for her the art of Palekh became a folk craft, and the artists became peasants. The “nationality” imposed by the ideology dictated the plots and their perception: in any event, whether it was a flight into space or harvesting, a wonderful fairy tale was seen. In post-Soviet mythology, the diverse art of Palekh is "agitlak", the mass production of products with Soviet symbols and themes. But in fact, the miniatures of the Palekh Artel of ancient painting were written on eternal subjects like " Harvest"or" Kiss"And sent for export. The West, which first saw Palekh art at an exhibition in Venice in 1924, since then regularly ordered boxes and waited not for agitlak, but for apolitical plots. The revolutionary theme of the works was mostly situational: the boxes were created for all-union exhibitions or as exclusive gifts to the party leadership. For example, one of the most interesting compositions with a Soviet theme is the plate plate- papier-mâché interior decoration. Pavel Bazhenov "On guard of the borders of the USSR" 1935.

How Palekh miniature inherits iconography

Four-part icon with saints in the fields. Palekh letters. Second half of the 18th centuryHouse-Museum of P. D. Korin, Moscow / palekh.narod.ru

Pavel Bazhenov. Churilo Plenkovich. Casket. 1934Museum-apartment of A. M. Gorky, Moscow / Wikimedia Commons

Each master of the Palekh artel used his favorite in lacquer miniature, hence the variety of new art. In the works of Ivan Vakurov, there are clear traditions of the Novgorod style of the 15th century. In the compositions of Ivan Golikov, Alexander Kotukhin and Dmitry Butorin - the Stroganov school of the 17th century. In the works of Ivan Markichev, Ivan Bakanov, one can find the traditions of the frescoes of the Savior on Nereditsa, Andrei Rublev, the masters of Kostroma and Rostov of the 17th century. Aristarkh Dydykin comes from the traditions of the school of Simon Ushakov and the Palekh style of the 18th century; Ivan Zubkov - from the Fryazhsky letter of the end of the 19th century. The stylistic features of different icon-painting styles are best seen in the images of hills, trees and architecture. But the images of people and horses underwent a greater transformation, because the authors followed the plots and compositional tasks of the 20th century.

Mikhail Zinoviev, Vasily Markichev. Icon of the Menaion with the Resurrection and the Passion of the Lord. 19th centuryState Museum of Palekh Art

Ivan Golikov. Bead with painting "Battle". 1926

The size of the bead is only 4 by 5 cm.

Pre-revolutionary Palekh was famous for its miniature icons, or, as they were called, petty, work. These were small prayer icons based on the scenes of menaia Menaion(from the Greek "lasting month") - a book with texts for church or home annual worship., twelfth holidays, small hagiographic icons, compositions depicting iconostases. The peculiarity of this type of icons was the preservation of the purity and rigor of the canon, the jewelry thoroughness of writing, the virtuoso icon-painting technique, but most importantly, many finely written compositions or images were placed on the small surface of the icon board. This skill is one of the foundations of the Palekh style. Masters painted tiny beads and brooches, fitting epic stories with many heroes on them.

Akathist to Saint Nicholas. Stamp "Saving the drowning." Palekh letters. Mid 18th century

The stigma is a plot and compositionally independent part of the icon.

Ivan Zubkov. Cigarette case with painting "Because of the island on the rod ...". 1927State Museum of Palekh Art

The iconography of the Palekh akathists gave many options for visual solutions for a variety of spaces and subjects: the sea, mountains, buildings inside and out, people in a city square, a lone traveler in a forest or desert. Artists borrowed these iconographic solutions and developed them coloristically and plastically to solve new problems.

Icon "Great Martyr Barbara". Palekh letters. Second half of the 18th centuryState Museum of Palekh Art

Dmitry Butorin. “At the seaside, the oak is green…”State Museum of Palekh Art

Palekh small icons are distinguished by a very complex compositional structure with many mini-plots in one icon and a clear center of the composition. For example, this principle is used by the artist Dmitry Butorin in the miniature "Green oak near the seashore ...". He builds the composition according to the canon: in the center is Pushkin, writing down the cat's tales, and all other groups of characters from a compositional point of view are subordinate to this center.

Icon "Joy of All Who Sorrow". Palekh letters. First half of the 18th centuryState Museum of Palekh Art

Ivan Bakanov. Casket with painting "Palekh". 1934State Museum of Palekh Art

The basis of Palekh lacquer art was the complex painting technique of floating, also preserved from icon painting. In this technique, transparent paints of different tones are applied in several layers, each melt is responsible for its own section of the drawing. Faces were painted in icons using this method. As a result, transitions from dark to light are imperceptible, and sharp white engines that complete the work on the image give it dynamism.

Icon "Protection of the Mother of God". Palekh letters. Mid 19th centuryState Museum of Palekh Art

Alexander Kotukhin. Casket with painting "The Tale of Tsar Saltan". 1946State Museum of Palekh Art

In the Palekh icon, painting was organically combined with golden backgrounds. Gold-volume painted gaps of clothes Space- the technique of icon painting and Palekh painting, with the help of which a sense of the volume of figures is achieved; strokes written in white, gold or paint in several layers., patterns of lattices, curtains, ris. Gold painting is also used in lacquer miniatures, solving a variety of decorative tasks (this is another significant difference between Palekh and other centers of lacquer miniatures - Kholuy, Mstyora and Fedoskino).

Akathist to the Savior. Icon of Palekh writing. Late 18th century