A box or casket is usually called a small box or drawer, which most often has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. They are convenient for storing jewelry, money, papers and other small valuable items. It is believed that the boxes appeared a long time ago and originate from chests in which clothes were stored. In Tsarist Russia in the middle of the 18th century, such a folk craft as lacquer miniatures became especially popular.
The boxes made using this technique by craftsmen from the Ivanovo village of Palekh are an excellent example of the craftsmanship and originality of the Russian people.
Historical reference
The history of Palekh miniatures 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 Palekh miniature are considered to be Ivan Golikov and Alexander Glazunov. Masters have mastered 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 II degree diploma.
In December 1924, seven masters from Palekh founded the Artel of Ancient Painting. The works of this association were sent to the World Exhibition in Paris in 1925. In 1932, the Union of Artists of Palekh was formed, and in 1935 the artel was transformed into the Association of Artists of Palekh. In 1954, the Palekh art and production workshops of the USSR Art Fund 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, boxes in the traditions lacquer miniatures had a papier-mâché base. The cardboard blank is compressed and then dried for several days. Next, it needs to be soaked in linseed oil for 24 hours and dried in a hot oven for 2 days. Then the semi-finished product is processed using 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, carefully drying each layer 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 studied for several years, only then can one achieve ideal smoothness of lines, accuracy and clarity of miniature silhouettes.
On initial stage master painters paint the composition with white, emphasizing dark and light places. Then the paints necessary to paint the box are applied. Craftsmen painstakingly draw squirrel bones self made contours of all elements, 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 the drawing warmth and brightness, creating the feeling that the image is glowing from within.
Gold finishing was borrowed by Palekh masters from icon painting, where gold is a symbol of divine light.
On last stage Before production, the box is coated 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 using 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 boxes is black - it is a symbol of the darkness from which life and colors are born, and gives depth to the entire composition. The inside of the product is always red. Palekh painting is also characterized by bright tempera paints and gold painting. Gracefully drawn elongated figures are an echo of icon painting traditions. The heroes are characters from fairy tales and epics, as well as classical works and songs. The boxes have their own names, for example, “Troika”, “Ermak’s Campaign”, “Stone Flower”, “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, “Vasilisa the Beautiful”.
How to distinguish an 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, you should pay attention to the following details when purchasing.
- Original Palekh boxes are usually black on the outside (sometimes they can be painted in shades of green or blue) and are always painted red on the inside.
- The painting is characterized by multi-tonal painting of shadows, slightly elongated images of characters, and precise drawing of all elements and details.
- Products from Palekh are distinguished by perfect polishing outside and inside. Scratches, stains and blisters 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 glued cotton wool inside that can protect the varnish and painting from damage.
- A low price for such a product is always an indicator that it is a fake. Palekh miniature is a very labor-intensive folk craft, so such things are highly valued and cannot be cheap.
Palekh painted boxes are unique works of art into which the master puts his soul and all his many years of experience. Boxes made using the Palekh technique are known all over the world and are an integral part of the original Russian culture.
Watch the video for everything about Palekh boxes.
Palekh has been famous for its icon painters since pre-Petrine times. Palekh icon painting reached its greatest flourishing in the 18th century. early XIX century. 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, the temples 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.
The masters mastered the new material, transferring to 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
Helpful 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.
Palekh or Palekh miniature is one of the traditional Russian artistic crafts, a type of lacquer painting.
Folk craft, developed in the village of Palekh, Ivanovo region, are lacquer miniatures in tempera on papier-mâché. Palekh is the center of icon painting in the traditions of Russian painting of the 15th-17th centuries.
The Palekh icon painting style developed under the influence of the Moscow, Novgorod, Stroganov and Yaroslavl icon painting schools. Palekh icons were famous for their particularly delicate writing with the use of gold on the clothes of saints and in ornaments. The painting of icons was divided into several stages, each of which was carried out by different masters: one primed the board, the second (the flag bearer) drew the outline of the future icon, the third painted the final part - the entire composition, except for the faces - they were painted by a personal artist. The names and texts were written by the master signer, and the dryer completed the work on the icon.
IN mid-19th century century, several workshops operated in Palekh, the largest of which were the establishments of the Safonovs, Belousovs, Korovykins, and Parilovs.
After the revolution of 1917, Palekh icon painters faced the need to search for new forms of realizing their creative potential. In 1918, the craftsmen united into the Palekh artistic decorative artel, which produced painted wooden products. In 1923, they were presented at an art and industrial exhibition in Moscow and awarded a second degree diploma.
At the same time, the Palesians first became acquainted with a new material - papier-mâché, which for a century was the basis for Fedoskino lacquer miniatures. With the support of the famous art critic and native of Palekh, Anatoly Bakushinsky, the masters mastered the new material, transferring to it the technology of tempera painting traditional for ancient Russian icons and the conventional stylistics of the image.
In 1924, Palekh artists enjoyed great success at an exhibition in Venice. Soon the Palesans received an invitation from Italy to send four artists to organize a school, but the artists refused to leave their homeland.
The founding of the "Artel of Ancient Painting" is considered to be the birthday of Palekh art.
Initially, Artel included seven people: Ivan Golikov, Ivan Bakanov, Alexander and Ivan Zubkov, Alexander and Vladimir Kotukhin, Ivan Markichev. Soon they were joined by Dmitry Butorin, Alexey Vatagin and others. In 1925, the works of the Paleshans received recognition at International exhibition in Paris.
In June 1932, more than 100 people worked at the Artel of Ancient Painting, including 48 masters and 20 candidate students.
In March 1935, the artel was transformed into the "Association of Artists of Palekh". It was closed in 1940 and restored in 1943.
In 1954, the “Partnership” was transformed into Art and Production Workshops (PHPM). In the same year, the Palekh branch of the Union of Artists of the RSFSR was created.
In 1989, the Palekh art and production workshops were closed.
The style of Palekh painting is characterized by a thin and smooth pattern on a predominantly 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 red, yellow and green colors go back to the traditions of ancient Russian icon painting. The composition is usually framed with exquisite ornaments made of melted gold.
Palekh artists successfully worked in the field of theatrical and decorative art, book graphics, monumental painting, painting of porcelain products, as well as restoration of monumental paintings.
Currently working in Palekh creative organizations: JSC "Partnership Palekh", cooperative "Association of Artists of Palekh", Small Enterprise (MP) "Masters of Palekh", MP "Traditions of Palekh", Joint-Stock Company closed type "Palekh", creative workshop "Paleshane".
Since 1926, apprenticeship has been revived at the Artel of Ancient Painting. At the turn of 1920-1930, a vocational school was opened, reorganized in 1935 into an art college, and from 1936 into the Palekh Art School named after M. Gorky.
Currently, the school provides training in the specialty “Decorative and applied arts and folk crafts” (lacquer miniature painting).
The State Museum of Palekh Art was created. Its collection includes more than 15.4 thousand items. It includes 1.5 thousand icons of the XIV-XX centuries, works Western European painting XVI-XVIII centuries, more than three thousand works of lacquer miniatures, sculpture, graphics, early printed books, stitched items, household items and ethnography.
In structure State Museum Palekh art four memorial museums: House-Museum of P.D. Korina, Museum-Workshop N.V. Dydykina, House-Museum of I.I. Golikov, Museum-Estate of N.M. Zinoviev.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
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. The peculiarities of Palekh painting are the elegance of the figures, the clarity, subtlety and delineation of the drawings, a dark background, and 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’s 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 to know each other better Palekh painting, we suggest watching several video stories that present various options lacquer miniatures and describes in detail the stages of creating these unique and amazing images.
O. A. Kolesova, Deputy Director of the State Museum of 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 the 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”, “Demyanov’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.
IN Lately More and more compositions appear 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 directions in the art of Palekh last decades – 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 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 belongs to the State Museum of Palekh Art, where the best examples are located Palekh icon painting and lacquer miniatures. 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.