Palekh painting originated in the village of Palekh, Ivanovo region, from where it got its name. This type is decorative applied creativity is truly unique, because, despite the fact that it has existed for many centuries, the technologies and techniques for creating compositions do not change - the master himself prepares the object that he will paint from beginning to end. Therefore, it is impossible to find two identical items painted in the Palekh style. Features Palekh painting is the elegance of the figures, clarity, subtlety and delineation of the drawings, a dark background, a large amount of shading done in gold.
As a rule, souvenirs and objects that serve as interior decoration are painted with Palekh miniatures - boxes, caskets, panels, ashtrays, brooches and similar items.
Artists do not create individual ornaments or figures, but draw entire pictures depicting certain subjects. All the figures in the Palekh artist’s drawing are elongated – people, horses, and animals. The characters in the paintings are always on the move, as evidenced by clearly defined folds of clothing and waves of hair. The masters took and take the theme for the miniature from everyday life, fairy tales, songs, epics and fables, and thanks to the variety of colors and small details, the effect of lightness and celebration is created.
The peculiarities of Palekh painting are related to the fact that it was born from icon painting and is based on its traditions and techniques; even as a paint, masters still use egg tempera, which is used to paint icons.
For Palekh painting, a black or dark background is used, which symbolizes the darkness, from which, in the process of painstaking and difficult work life and color are born, and it also has internal volume, which gives the paintings a special depth.
The technique of applying, fixing and processing the design has been passed down from ancient times from generation to generation, thanks to which unique things made using the Palekh technique are popular all over the world and are part of the culture not only of our country, but of the whole world.
We study the technology of making Palekh painting in miniature
Cardboard is used as a blank for Palekh miniatures. The master cuts it into shapes and, using flour paste, glues it together in several layers (depending on the thickness of the product). Then the workpiece is pressed and thoroughly dried for several days.
After drying, the semi-finished product is impregnated with linseed oil - for this, it is immersed in a vat of hot oil for a day, after which it is dried in an oven for 2 days at a temperature of 100°. After this, the product is treated with an emery brush, sanded and the necessary fittings are attached.
At this stage, the product is primed with a special composition of a mixture of oil, soot and red clay and varnished - 2 - 3 layers of black varnish on the outside and oil varnish with cinnabar with inside. Then another seven (!) layers of light varnish are applied, making sure to dry each layer in the oven. Only after all these preparatory manipulations does the product become suitable for painting - the master lightly walks over the surface of the product with pumice, draws the contours of the design and then paints it with a thin squirrel hair brush. Individual drawings in a composition are so small that craftsmen have to use a magnifying glass.
It is noteworthy that the master makes all the tools and materials himself - paints, brushes, varnishes with primers, and other compounds necessary for high-quality work.
At this stage, the painted product is dried and the pictures are fixed with a special varnish. After this, the master begins painting with gold and silver leaf, polishing it all with agate or wolf tooth (for additional shine). Then all products are again coated with several layers of varnish, dried and polished to a mirror shine. Because of large quantity layers of varnish that cover the product during the work process, Palekh painting is also called lacquer miniature.
Due to the brightness of the colors and the vividness of the images, drawings in the style of Palekh painting are used to illustrate children's books with fairy tales. For children, these images are very interesting, since the drawing represents not just a static picture, but a whole story or plot of the work. But the photo below shows illustrations for some children's fairy tales, made in the Palekh style.
Video on the topic of the article
In order to get better acquainted with Palekh painting, we suggest watching several video stories in which various options lacquer miniatures and describes in detail the stages of creating these unique and amazing images.
Pavel Bazhenov. Plate “Guarding the borders of the USSR.” 1935
Palekh miniatures are known throughout the world and have existed for almost a hundred years. But in fact, this artistic tradition is several centuries old. Palekh became a center in the 17th century; The Palekh icon before the revolution was no less famous than the Palekh box today, and these two types of art are directly related. In 1924, seven years after the revolution, Palekh hereditary 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 historians 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 Mstera did a similar thing, but although these three centers of lacquer miniatures are often put on the same line, each of them is original. Palekh - ancestor artistic style and unique author's works in miniature, monumental art, book graphics, scenography and porcelain decoration. Kholui and Mstyora deal exclusively with lacquer miniatures. Kholui in his compositions is more laconic and focused on mass copying from samples; The miniature landscape genre 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 government did not call Palekh artists heirs of a centuries-old tradition; for them, 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, be it 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, miniatures of the Palekh Artel of ancient painting were painted on eternal subjects like “The Harvest” or “The Kiss” and were sent for export. The West, which first saw Palekh art at an exhibition in Venice in 1924, has since then regularly ordered boxes and waited not for propaganda, but for apolitical subjects. The revolutionary theme of the works was mainly 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 - plate Plate- interior decoration made of papier-mâché. Pavel Bazhenov “Guarding the Borders of the USSR” 1935.
How Palekh miniature inherits icon painting
Four-part icon with saints in the margins. Palekh letters. Second half of the 18th centuryHouse-Museum of P. D. Korin, Moscow / palekh.narod.ru
Pavel Bazhenov. Churilo Plenkovic. Casket. 1934A. M. Gorky Apartment Museum, Moscow / Wikimedia Commons
Each master of the Palekh artel used his favorite technique in lacquer miniatures, 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, and the masters of Kostroma and Rostov in the 17th century. Aristarkh Dydykin comes from the traditions of the school of Simon Ushakov and Palekh XVIII style century; Ivan Zubkov - from the Fryazhsky letter of the late 19th century. The stylistic features of different icon painting styles are best seen in images of slides, trees and architecture. But the depictions of people and horses underwent 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 Passion of the Lord. 19th centuryState Museum of Palekh Art
Ivan Golikov. Bead pot with painting “Battle”. 1926
The bead size is only 4 by 5 cm.
Sergiev Posad State Historical and Art Museum-Reserve / palekh.narod.ruPre-revolutionary Palekh was famous for its icons of miniature, or, as they were called, petty work. These were small prayer icons based on menya scenes. Menaea(from the Greek “month-long”) - a book with texts for church or home annual worship., twelve 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 meticulousness of the writing, the virtuoso icon-painting technique, but most importantly, many finely painted 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, placing epic scenes with many heroes on them.
Akathist to Saint Nicholas. Stamp “Saving drowning people”. Palekh letters. Mid-18th century
The mark is a plot-wise and compositionally independent part of the icon.
State Museum of Palekh ArtIvan Zubkov. Cigarette case with the painting “Because of the island on the rod...”. 1927State Museum of Palekh Art
The iconography of Palekh akathists gave many options for visual solutions for a variety of spaces and subjects: the sea, mountains, buildings inside and outside, people in a city square, a lonely 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. “Near Lukomorye there is a green oak tree...”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 “Near the Lukomorye there is a green oak tree...”. He builds the composition according to the canon: Pushkin appears in the center, writing down the cat’s fairy tales, and all other groups of characters from a compositional point of view are subordinate to this center.
Icon of “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” Palekh letters. First half of the 18th centuryState Museum of Palekh Art
Ivan Bakanov. Box 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 layer responsible for its own section of the drawing. Faces were painted in icons using this method. As a result, the transitions from dark to light are imperceptible, and the sharp whitening engines that complete the image give it dynamism.
Icon "Protection of the Mother of God". Palekh letters. Mid-19th centuryState Museum of Palekh Art
Alexander Kotukhin. Box 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 the gaps of clothes Space- a technique of icon painting and Palekh painting, with the help of which a feeling of volume of figures is achieved; strokes written with white, gold or paint in several layers., patterning of lattices, curtains, vestments. Gold painting is also used in lacquer miniatures, solving a variety of decorative problems (this is another significant difference Palekha from other centers of lacquer miniatures - Kholuy, Mstera and Fedoskina).
Akathist to the Savior. Icon of Palekh writing. Late 18th century
State Museum of Palekh ArtPalekh has been famous for its icon painters since pre-Petrine times. Palekh icon painting reached its greatest flourishing in the 18th - early 19th centuries. The local style developed under the influence of the Moscow, Novgorod, Stroganov and Yaroslavl schools.
In addition to icon painting, the Palesians were engaged in monumental painting, participating in the painting and restoration of churches and cathedrals, including the Faceted Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, churches of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and the Novodevichy Convent.
After the revolution of 1917, Palekh artists were forced to look for new forms of realizing their creative potential. In 1918, artists created the Palekh artistic decorative artel, which was engaged in painting on wood.
, CC BY-SA 3.0The people of Palestine became acquainted with the new material papier-mâché, which for a century had been the basis for Fedoskin’s lacquer miniatures.
Masters have mastered new material, transferring onto it the traditional technology of tempera painting for ancient Russian icons and the conventional style of the image.
"Snow Maiden" author. Polunina On December 5, 1924, seven Palekh artists I. I. Golikov, I. V. Markichev, I. M. Bakanov, I. I. Zubkov, A. I. Zubkov, A. V. Kotukhin, V. V. Kotukhin united in "Artel of Ancient Painting". Later they were joined by artists I. P. Vakurov, D. N. Butorin, N. M. Zinoviev. In 1925, Palekh miniatures were exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris.
"The village of Palekh." Box, 1934. I. M. Bakanov Alex Bakharev, Public Domain The Union of Palekh Artists arose in 1932. In 1935, the artel was transformed into the Palekh Artists' Association, and in 1954 the Palekh art and production workshops of the USSR Art Fund were formed.
Typical subjects of Palekh miniatures are borrowed from everyday life, literary works classics, fairy tales, epics and songs. The works are usually done with tempera paints on a black background and painted in gold.
How to distinguish from fakes
Each product, made by hand by a master, is never repeated, and undoubtedly reflects the creative individuality of the author.
The original and subtle art of lacquer miniatures of Palekh incorporated as its basis the principles of ancient Russian painting and folk art.
vector-images.com, Public Domain Palekh miniatures are signed according to a single pattern. On the cover of the item there is a serial number of the semi-finished product, an indication of the place (Palekh), the surname and initials of the author.
Since 1934, the signature “Made in USSR” was placed on the bottom of the box, which was changed to “Made in Russia” in 1992. All signatures are made in created gold.
At the end of the 80s, a trademark appeared on the works of Palekh Artists - the firebird. Each work is accompanied by a certificate indicating the authenticity of the work.
For more than ten years, the main production association for the production of miniatures has been ".
The presence of the trademark of this enterprise indicates a genuine Palekh lacquer painting.
Guide to Russian Crafts, CC BY-SA 3.0 Briefly about the technology
The work of a Palekh artist begins with the preparation of paint. Paints in Palekh are diluted using egg emulsion.
Before painting, the surface of the product is treated with pumice. Then the artist applies a drawing to the semi-finished product with a finely sharpened pencil.
Then the image is drawn with whitewash using a thin squirrel brush (the artists also make their own brushes).
A layer of white is necessary so that when the painting is subsequently coated with varnish, black spots do not appear through the paint (the varnish slightly dissolves the paint).
Brand "Snow Maiden" Mariluna, CC BY-SA 3.0 Having finished the work with paints, the artist takes up the gold. Gold leaf (one portion - 10 sheets 12x7 cm) is carefully crushed and rubbed with fingers. Gold painting is also done with the finest brush.
After the artist has put his signature on the product, it is varnished and dried.
The piece is then polished on a mechanical wheel covered in plush or velvet.
Photo gallery
Useful information
Palekh miniature
Forefathers of the style
The founders of the Palekh style are I. I. Golikov and Alexander Aleksandrovich Glazunov, in whose Moscow workshop Ivan Golikov painted the first work in the so-called Palekh style.
First confession
For the first time, Palekh miniatures on papier-mâché, made to order Handicraft Museum, were presented at the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition in 1923, where they were awarded a 2nd degree diploma.
Training in Palekh miniature
In 1928, a vocational school of ancient painting was opened in Palekh, the training in which lasted four years. In 1935, the school was transformed into an art college. In 1936, the technical school transferred to the system of the All-Union Committee for Arts and began to be called a school (Palekh Art School named after A. M. Gorky), where training lasted 5 years. In the 2000s, the training period was reduced to 4 years.
Features of the Palekh letter
The style of Palekh painting is characterized by a thin and smooth pattern predominantly on a black background, an abundance of golden shading, and a clear silhouette of flattened figures, sometimes completely covering the surface of the lid and side walls of the boxes. The decorativeness of the landscape and architecture, the elongated graceful proportions of the figures, the color based on a combination of three primary colors - red, yellow and green, go back to the traditions of ancient Russian icon painting. The composition is usually framed with exquisite ornaments made of melted gold. Gold in Palekh miniatures is not only a key element of writing technique, but also part of the artistic worldview. It is associated with the symbol of light. In Christian symbolism, light becomes a prototype of Divine grace.
Contemporary artists
Currently, workshops of the Russian Art Fund, small private workshops and individual artists continue to work in Palekh. Among them are T. I. Zubkova, A. A. Kotukhina, N. I Golikov, A. M. Kurkin, K. Kukulieva and B. N. Kukuliev, A. D. Kochupalov, T. Khodova, V. V. Morokin, B. Ermolaev, E. Shchanitsyna and others.
Using a magnifying glass
The work of a miniature artist requires not only creative inspiration, but also enormous precision and thoroughness, which is why Palekh painters often have to resort to the help of a magnifying glass.
Wolf tooth
In order for the gold applied to the product to acquire shine, it must be polished. A wolf tooth is used for this - it has a particularly smooth surface. Even with the advent of new technologies and materials, nothing could replace this exotic instrument.
Manual finishing
The final finishing touches during polishing are done only by hand. The surface is covered with lard and treated for an hour with a palm moistened with water. From friction, the surface of the varnish heats up, becomes completely leveled and acquires a mirror shine.
O. A. Kolesova, Deputy Director State Museum Palekh art
Palekh is a small picturesque village located in the heart of Central Russia. In the 14th century, Palekh became the center of the appanage Paletsky principality, the feudal fiefdom of the Paletsky princes, who later became related to royal family. However, having gone into the service of the Moscow princes, the Paletskys lost their ancestral lands, receiving other estates in return. In his spiritual will of 1572, Ivan the Terrible designated the village of Palekh as a local estate for his son Ivan. In 1627, Palekh was granted by Tsar Mikhail Romanov to the steward Ivan Matveevich Buturlin and his sons, who participated in the militia of Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, “for the Moscow siege seat of the king.”
Palekh became famous due to the icon painting craft that arose here in the 17th century. Many Palekh residents, being serf peasants of the Buturlin landowners, maintained Yamsky yards, were engaged in the manufacture of sheepskins, and trade, but, as a rule, in the winter, from November to April, someone in the family certainly earned money by “writing images” both in Palekh and beyond. The Buturlins willingly gave their peasants permission to travel to Moscow, St. Petersburg and more remote provinces. Palekh icons were exported abroad - to the Serbs and Bulgarians, to Turkish and Austrian possessions.
The Paleshans were famous not only as icon painters, but also as craftsmen monumental paintings. Their work on the restoration of ancient frescoes in the Vladimir cathedrals - the Assumption and Dmitrievsky, Sophia of Novgorod, in the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is known. The Belousov family of Palekh icon painters painted the Faceted Chamber in the Moscow Kremlin in 1882. The Paleshans also decorated modest provincial churches in neighboring towns and villages with frescoes: Kineshma, Vichuga, Lezhnev, Yarlykovo, Mugreevsky.
Despite the proximity of busy roads, Palekh lived in seclusion, maintaining a patriarchal peasant life, ancient traditions of oral folk art and folklore. Numerous reviews, notes, and essays by researchers of the Russian province noted the special way of life of the Paleshans, their high morality and spirituality. IN mid-19th century, the famous expert on ancient Russian painting G.D. Filimonov, having visited Palekh, called it “a village-academy of the people.” This definition has not lost its significance to this day.
The October Revolution of 1917 interrupted for a long time the development of traditional icon painting crafts in Russia, including in Palekh. In December 1924, the Artel of Ancient Painting for painting papier-mâché products was organized here. Its founders were former icon painters: I. I. Golikov, I. M. Bakanov, A. V. Kotukhin, V. V. Kotukhin, I. V. Markichev, I. I. Zubkov, A. I. Zubkov. This gave rise to the new art of Palekh, which became a significant phenomenon in world artistic culture.
As a result of successful creative searches, the Palesians showed the world masterly compositions on various papier-mâché objects, painted with a rainbow of colors and “golden patterns”. Talented craftsmen skillfully used the decorative possibilities of the background, material, and shape of objects. Palekh artists maintained a strong connection with the traditions of ancient Russian painting. They did not abandon the usual technique of writing with egg paints and painting with “created gold”. Distinctive feature Palekh lacquer miniatures began with medieval techniques of stylization of natural and architectural forms, conventions in the depiction of human and animal figures.
The most numerous and most successfully designed compositions of the first years of the existence of Palekh miniatures were “troikas”, “hunts”, “battles”, “couples”, “shepherdesses”, “idyls”, “festivities”. They are characterized by the absence of a developed plot and eventfulness, but at the same time they have a clearly expressed ornamental element.
Unique and extraordinary talented artist Ivan Ivanovich Golikov is rightfully considered. Golikov’s “troikas” are dynamic, impetuous, sometimes stately and solemn. The Palekh master turned to this motif many times, painting winter and summer threes on a variety of objects: brooches, powder compacts, cigarette cases, trays. His “battles” and “hunts” with fabulous thin-legged horses and fancy riders are a manifestation of truly indomitable imagination.
Ivan Mikhailovich Bakanov was known in Palekh as the best expert on icon painting traditions. He was impeccable original technology overlaying layers of paint. Thanks to the transmission of the lower layers of paint through the thin, transparent upper layers, the effect of mobility of the color spot, the effect of the flow of one tone into another, is created. Bakanov created many wonderful works that have become classics of Palekh art. He turned to song themes - “Stepan Razin”, “On the pavement street” - sang the image of his native Palekh. But his best works are written on topics Pushkin's works- “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel”, “From the Threshold of My Hut”, “Bakhchisarai Fountain”.
Ivan Ivanovich Zubkov was a keen connoisseur of rural nature. There is no developed action in his miniatures; the artist seems to be contemplating nature. The figures have smooth, somewhat slow movements, which creates a feeling of peace and quiet. The artist builds a colorful range on subtle tonal relationships, on gentle transitions from one color to another. These are his miniatures “Couple”, “By the River”, “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish”.
One of the most original Palekh artists is Aristarkh Aleksandrovich Dydykin. In his compositions, he skillfully combined ancient iconographic motifs and new techniques mastered in the process of working on miniatures. The works of this master are characterized by special interpretation landscape, abundant application of gold in the ornaments and spaces. The best miniatures by A. A. Dydykin - “You, Vanya, have gone crazy”, “Demyan’s ear”, “Emancipation of a woman”, “Volga - Russian River” - are in the collection of the State Museum of Palekh Art.
Terrible wartime, a time of testing the moral strength of the people, led to the appearance in the art of Palekh of numerous works on historical topics. In 1945, P. Chalunin painted a wonderful miniature, one of the best in his work - “The Battle of Chelubey with Peresvet.” The absence of everyday details and furnishings gives the miniature a symbolic sound. The rearing horses represent the forces of dark and light, eternal struggle good with evil. But allegory and symbolism are combined here with a reliable description of the images. The face of a Mongol warrior with wide cheekbones and slanted eyes expresses a whole range of feelings: anger, hatred, intoxication from battle. The calm, enlightened face of Peresvet speaks of monastic meekness, kindness, and moral strength of the disciple Sergius of Radonezh. Only the formidable appearance of the horse Peresvet and the fluttering monastic schema, reminiscent of the wings of a fantastic bird of prey, make it clear how great the desire of the monk-warrior to hit the enemy.
The miniatures by N. M. Zinoviev “Battles of the Ancestors for the Russian Land”, A. M. Kurkin “Our Ancestors”, A. A. Dydykin “History of Moscow”, A. I. Vatagin “Russian Generals” depict the victories of Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Dmitry Pozharsky. Since military operations during the struggle against the Poles and Lithuanians, who captured Moscow and other Russian lands, also affected our region, the events of that historical era were widely reflected in the art of the Palesans. IN museum collection miniatures by A. A. Dydykin “Minin Calls for the Fight against the Polish Interventionists”, A. I. Vatagin “Kozma Minin”, N. M. Parilov “For the Fatherland”, N. I. Golikov “Ivan Susanin” are kept. The Russian people mythologize the images of their defenders, giving them features epic heroes. This is how Palekh artists see them too.
The portrait is developing as an independent genre of Palekh lacquer miniatures. Its founders were former personal icon painters: N. A. Pravdin, I. F. Palikin, I. G. Serebryakov. On various papier-mâché objects - plates, boxes, brooches, cigarette cases - Palekh artists paint portraits of statesmen, historical figures and their contemporaries.
A new stage in the history of Palekh art began in the 1980s, which were characterized by the amazing creative rise of many masters. The soul of the team of Palekh artists at this time was the Honored Artist of the RSFSR V. M. Khodov (1942–1988). The decorative plate “Song” is iconic in his work. IN pine forest, on the banks of the Paleshki River, a friendly company of artists gathered. They sing soulfully. But this simple plot contains a deep symbolic meaning: V. M. Khodov simultaneously presented artists of different generations. In the center is I. I. Golikov, on the left are his contemporaries I. M. Bakanov, I. V. Markichev, A. V. Kotukhin, I. I. Zubkov, D. N. Butorin, on the right are the miniaturists of Chodov’s era G. M. Melnikov, N. I. Golikov, B. M. Ermolaev, senior contemporaries, as well as V. F. Morokin, A. N. Klipov, who began their creative path together with V. M. Khodov.
Continuity of generations and loyalty to traditions have become the main criteria in the creative search for young talented masters. Among iconic work Those years there were many small caskets of simple shape. The idea of true miniature as the art of small forms is given by the works of E. F. Shchanitsyna, I. V. Livanova, N. B. Gribov. Small boxes, beads, tiny caskets decorate compositions by many authors on song, historical, and folklore themes.
In the turning point years of the 1990s, Palekh artists poeticized peasant labor, turned an everyday action into a symbol, an ideal of harmony and beauty, and painted the image of their native land.
Recently, more and more compositions have appeared that are devoid of any plot action. They clearly predominate symbolic beginning, reflecting the process of spiritualization of earthly existence. In the miniature “Melody” by A. N. Klipov, the most ordinary signs of autumn - bright clusters of rowan berries, fallen leaves, ripe apples, a bouquet of chrysanthemums - turn into lines of a slightly sad elegy or into the sounds of quiet and tender music.
One of the trends in the art of Palekh in recent decades is religious painting. This is either the actual icon or a miniature of a religious subject. Modern Palekh icon painters carry out orders for the production of iconostasis, painting of churches, and painting small images. Palekh as the most consistent custodian stylistic features The art of icon painting plays a special role in the process of its revival.
Currently, more than 600 artists live in Palekh; every tenth resident of Palekh is a graduate of the Palekh Art School named after A. M. Gorky. They work in various creative groups: the cooperative “Association of Palekh Artists”, JSC “Partnership Palekh”, LLC “Artists of Palekh”, icon painting and iconostasis workshops.
Of great importance in the preservation and development of a unique craft is the State Museum of Palekh Art, where the best examples of Palekh icon painting and lacquer miniatures are located. A sample room was created in the Artel of Ancient Painting, which marked the beginning of the museum collection. In the 1930s, its formation was continued by the famous art critic, first director of the State Museum of Palekh Art G.V. Zhidkov with the participation of A.M. Gorky, P.D. Korin, E.F. Vikhrev, A.V. Bakushinsky. The opening of the State Museum of Palekh Art took place on March 13, 1935, during the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Artel of Ancient Painting.
Palekh is an ancient settlement on the Vladimir-Suzdal land, the first mention of which dates back to beginning of XII century. The glory of Palekh began with icon painting, when by the middle of the 18th century an independent Palekh style of icon painting had formed. Palekh icons of this time are included in the golden fund of Russian icon painting.
, CopyrightThe traditional skill of ancient Palekh icon painting combined with the art of everyday objects, forming new look decorative creativity- Palekh lacquer miniature. The rich experience of icon painting with its linearity and patterning was translated into decorative - applied arts.
Cooperative "Association of Palekh Artists", Copyright In 1989, after the liquidation of the only organization of artists in Palekh, the Palekh Art and Production Workshops, by decision of the Council labor collective, the cooperative “Association of Palekh Artists” was organized, which included most of the artists, support workers and engineering personnel.
Cooperative "Association of Palekh Artists", Copyright Having started its activities practically from scratch, the cooperative has become a leading fishing enterprise. Today, the association employs masters in the production of traditional semi-finished papier-mâché and about 120 artists of lacquer miniatures, among whom there are many members of the Union of Artists of Russia.
Cooperative "Association of Palekh Artists", Copyright The team has formed many family dynasties of hereditary artists, such as the Kukulievs, Kochupalovs, Paramonovs, Kurkins, Petrovs, Sivyakovs, Krivtsovs, Lebedevs, Fedotovs, Bokarevs, Zhiryakovs and others. Leading masters are regular participants in exhibitions. The association is headed today by the hereditary artist Viktor Vladimirovich Paramonov.
The association today is the only enterprise in Palekh where the unique traditional technology for producing papier-mâché has been completely preserved. Absolutely all of the association’s products are original, and each of them is marked with the artist’s name in gold.
All works of the enterprise are assessed by the Art Council, are protected by a trademark and have a quality certificate, which allows them to be distinguished from all kinds of fakes and other low-quality products. The list of product samples is registered with the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology Russian Federation December 20, 2001 for No. 147.
The spirit of the times did not pass by the artists of Palekh. Masters of lacquer miniatures from the Association of Palekh Artists again began painting icons. Today, OHP is ready to accept orders for the production of not only lacquer miniature products, but also for painting various icons with any subjects.
Products
The Association of Palekh Artists produces a wide range of papier-mâché products with a wide variety of shapes: boxes, spectacle cases, cigarette cases, powder compacts, caskets, writing utensils, panels, plates and much more. The products are distinguished by the strict beauty of proportions and the correspondence of the form to the material.
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Contacts
Name: Production cooperative "Association of Palekh Artists"
Supervisor: Viktor Vladimirovich Paramonov
Address: Ivanovo region, Palekh, st. Lenina 23
Tel: +7 (49334) 2–20–76
Email mail: [email protected]
Production technology
The technology for making papier-mâché boxes came to Palekh from Fedoskino, where the craft of miniature painting existed since the 18th century oil paints based on realistic painting. Since then, this technology has not fundamentally changed.
The process of making papier-mâché itself and products made from it is very long and labor-intensive, including several stages.
Cardboard sheets cut to specific sizes are glued together with flour paste into multilayer plates, or wound onto special blanks and pressed to form tubes various forms and sizes. After drying, these plates and tubes are soaked in hot linseed oil and subjected to heat treatment according to a certain regime for at least 20 days. All work is done manually.
From ready-made tubes and plates, craftsmen directly make the products themselves, called “linen”. All carpentry techniques are used in relation to papier-mâché. This is the most labor-intensive process, requiring the highest skill, precision and experience working with this material from the performer. At this stage, equipment is used: sanding machine, milling and sawing machines, but 90% of the work is manual labor.
The next stage is preparation. The products are oiled, primed, puttied, coated on the outside with black varnish, on the inside with red enamel, and polished. After each operation - oven drying for 24 hours. All work is done manually.
The technology of tempera miniature painting was completely adopted from former icon painters and did not change throughout the existence of the craft. The same materials are used: egg tempera and melted gold leaf. The artist independently chooses the theme of the future work and a suitable semi-finished product.
A drawing of the future work is applied to the pumice box, bleaching preparation is done, coloring is done, and paint is applied. The painting is varnished and dried, and then painting with melted gold leaf is applied to the varnish. The gold is polished and re-fixed with varnish.
Unlike related crafts (Kholui, Mstera), copies are not written in Palekh. The method of creative variation within the traditions of Palekh art is widely used; the artist, within the same theme, in combination with a variety of semi-finished products, creates unique unique works.
Each painted product passes expert assessment artistic council of the enterprise for compliance with traditions, canons, performance techniques and determination of artistic merit.
Product approved artistic council, is transferred for final finishing.
Its surface is covered with 6 layers of varnish, cleaned, rubbed and polished on special wheels, and then polished by hand. The final polishing is done directly with the palm of the hand, which gives reason to consider this work truly unique.