Matryoshka is a painted wooden doll, a world-famous Russian souvenir that originally appeared in Russia at the end of the 19th century. It was then, during the period of cultural and economic development, that the Russian Style art direction arose. In a short time, Russian folk art spread throughout the world, and the painting of nesting dolls turned into its integral part.
Appearance story
The traditions of a folk peasant toy called "nesting doll" was initiated by Russian artist Sergei Malyutin, one of the most convinced followers of the Russian style. Painted nesting doll carved from a single piece of wood has become a symbol of Russian land. The artistic image of a simple village woman with a rooster in her hands and dressed in a festive outfit conveyed the whole depth of ethnographic traditions of Russia.
The principle of putting one nesting doll into another was suggested by the detachable Japanese toy "Sage Fukurama", which was brought from the country of the Rising Sun by the wife of Savva Mamontov, a famous Russian industrialist. Since that time, the Russian nesting doll has become a classic souvenir of world significance. A set of dolls, consisting of 37 copies of "small is small is less," was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
The first Russian nesting doll
The artist Milyutin met with the famous master toy maker from Sergiev Posad Vasily Zvezdochkin and ordered him eight wooden blanks of different sizes that could be put into one another. An experienced wood turner Zvezdochkin coped with the task - this is how the first set of eight dolls appeared.
The blanks were polished, and Sergey Milyutin set about painting the dolls. From the very beginning, the artist had difficulties of a specific nature: paints spread over the surface, the drawing became shapeless, and had to start all over again. It seemed that it was impossible to paint on wood, but the painter Milyutin, who had previously used only oil paints in his work , decided to master the process of painting wood blanks with tempera.
The water-emulsion base of tempera paints already made it possible to designate the drawing within certain limits, and the viscosity of the coating corresponded to the assigned tasks. The colors did not spread, and the artist again proceeded to paint the nesting dolls. However, a new obstacle arose, in some places the paint layer fell into the microscopic slits of the wood structure. At this point, the color of the coating changed radically, a dark spot appeared. Sergey Milyutin became more and more convinced of the necessity of applying soil, which would have to level the surface of the workpiece and fill the fibrous sections of wood.
In the end, the artist’s perseverance was rewarded, and he managed to arrange painting of nesting dolls first on the scale of the artel, and then as part of a large production enterprise.
Painting Matryoshka
The coloring process of traditional wooden dolls is associated with special technologies that can be divided into several parts. Matryoshka, the phased painting of which consists of three actions: priming, painting and varnishing, requires an artistic approach, so it is difficult to cope with this task for an ordinary folk art enthusiast. Otherwise, the result will resemble a popular print.
Another standard provides for more detailed detail of the process when the painting of the nesting dolls is performed in a truly artistic style, with the drawing of the smallest signs of the doll's facial expressions, on which the expression of her face depends. Only a professional painter can convey Matryona’s mood, smile or sadness. In this way, matryoshka, phased painting which is a responsible creative process, will certainly become a work of art, and the quality of execution will directly depend on the level of training of the master. Currently, due to the high demand for traditional Russian souvenirs, the enterprises manufacturing them increase the pace of production, unfortunately, this affects the quality of products.
Varieties
First of all, painting wooden nesting dolls differs on a territorial basis. There are several types of popular folk souvenirs: Tverskaya, Sergievskaya, Maidanskaya, Vyatka, Semenovskaya. Each variety has special characteristics. Matryoshka, the types of painting of which are so diverse, can claim to be recognized as its separate art form. His story speaks of such a high rank of folk art - Russian souvenirs have been popular all over the world for more than a hundred years. Types of nesting dolls and their differences:
- Semenov matryoshka, the painting of which is distinguished by a conditionally primitive style, is accessible to folk craftsmen without an art education. Another sign of the Semenov matryoshka is the doll's apron with the obligatory stylized flowers: a huge rose in the middle or a magnificent bouquet. It is customary to paint matryoshka from Semenov with just three colors: blue, yellow and red, combinations of which give the unique beauty of a sundress, scarf and apron.
- The painting of dolls in the Tver style is distinguished by its plot. The signature theme of the drawing is the image of historical characters. In addition, such dolls are made in the classical style - the Russian beauty in a scarf and elegant dress with an apron, which is dominated by the image of flowers, landscapes, Russian architectural masterpieces.
- Masters of painting nesting dolls in the village of Polkhovsky Maidan (Nizhny Novgorod region) adhere to their style. Their dolls are distinguished by a narrower, elongated upside down. Instead of a sarafan and an apron, such a matryoshka has a wide oval with a floral theme.
- The painting of dolls in the Vyatka style involves bright blue eyes and a soft, shy smile. Vyatka matryoshka is considered the most popular all over the world. The unique Russian manufacturing technology adds to the attractiveness of the popular Russian souvenir - the product is encrusted with natural straw.
- Sergievskaya nesting doll captivates with simplicity, naivety of a ruddy face and multicolored elegant clothes. A traditional sign of the difference between such a Matryona is a scarf tied in a knot. In the hands of the nesting dolls there is always some object, bundle, basket or bouquet of flowers.
Own workshop
Making a popular and sought-after Russian souvenir can be organized at home. To equip the workplace you need a small table. If you have the necessary materials, painting nesting dolls at home can be an interesting creative process. To get started, you will need a set of paints, brushes, fine sandpaper and wooden blanks, which are sold in specialized stores. In addition, putty and primer will be needed to level the surface of the nesting dolls. The most important rule for the preparation of materials is a careful adjustment of the docking line of the upper and lower parts.
When turning the nesting dolls on the lathe, the masters do not adjust and leave the joint seam unchanged, thus placing the process of finishing the blanks on the master who paints the nesting dolls. Artists have to arm themselves with a file and process the protruding parts manually. This must be done, otherwise the halves of the product will not correspond to each other. Only when the fitting is completed, and parts of the nesting dolls are easily inserted along the docking line, can you start painting.
After the workpiece is ground, it must be covered with two layers of primer. If the finished mixture is not at hand, you can prepare the composition yourself by mixing PVA glue with water in a ratio of about 2: 1. After the primer is completely dry, we begin painting our dolls with our own hands.
For work, it is better to take acrylic paints, they are sold in assortment in all art stores, as well as in the "Handicraft Products" departments. It is not necessary to buy a full set, most paints will be left without use. It is better to purchase several colors that are used in the coloring process. It is yellow, blue, red, green and black. You will also need white and bright orange. The listed paints are universal and fit into the general style of the famous Russian souvenir.
Do-it-yourself painting of nested dolls should begin with drawing the contours of the face, scarf, hair, sundress, apron, and hands. The drawing is applied with a thin drawing pencil, unsuccessful lines are easily removed with an eraser. All further work depends on the quality of the image, so you should take this step very seriously, it’s better to redraw the pencil drawing several times , than to get a crooked image in color.
Training
A special kind of fine art is work on the refinement of wood products, such as decoupage, intarsia, inversion and drawing in the style of Khokhloma, as well as the artistic painting of nesting dolls. Workshops on these types of art are available to all comers, they are organized everywhere. At special courses and seminars they study to the smallest details such art as painting nesting dolls. The master class and subsequent practical classes provide an opportunity to master the interesting and profitable profession of a design specialist in the field of folk art crafts. The demand for Russian souvenirs is practically inexhaustible. Matryoshka dolls are sold all over the world, which means that an artist painting woodwork will never be left without work.
Master Class
First you need to prepare a place for work and the material necessary for painting nesting dolls. The list includes:
- oilcloth table;
- brushes numbered No. 4, No. 3, No. 1 and one brush "zero";
- primer;
- acrylic or tempera paints, palette, rag, cotton buds, wooden skewers or toothpicks for the most delicate strokes;
- turpentine for diluting paints to the desired consistency;
- simple drawing pencil, eraser, ruler;
- an awl with a large handle for mounting the workpiece;
- varnish brand PF 157 or 283.
Templates and sketches
At the first stage of work, we apply a pencil drawing to the front of the workpiece. If there are several products of the same type and size in the plan, then you can create a template for matryoshka for painting, according to which it will be easier to observe the proportions when applying the drawing. It is important to use the stencil correctly. If you have wood drawing skills, then you won’t need a template for dolls for painting, it’s easier to draw contours from memory. This method is also preferable because in the process of drawing you can add something from yourself. The creative approach in this regard is justified.
However, in any case, in order to have a sample at hand, it is necessary to create a sketch of the matryoshka painting. This should be a drawing on paper, reflecting the general contours of the product, as well as the style of future work.
Next, you need to transfer the drawing to the workpiece by simple copying. It should be borne in mind that the image must be symmetrical, for this you need to draw a straight line vertically from the very top of the future nesting dolls to the bottom.
The contour of the face is drawn in the form of a circle, the lower part of which falls on the place of transition of the wide lower part of the workpiece into a narrower head. At the same time, there should be a place for a scarf on the sides of the circle, and for hair above.
Next, the contours of the scarf are outlined, which can be tied in a knot on the neck of Matryona or freely fall off, covering the back and part of the sundress in front. After that, you can draw your hands down, or bend them at your elbows, if you have any object in your hands: a samovar, a loaf, a bouquet of flowers or a basket with mushrooms and berries.
At the next stage, we draw in color all the contour details, the sundress is painted with red paint, which will serve as the background for the patterns. The shawl is also pre-painted with a plain color and we are waiting for the background paints to dry completely.
In order to fill the free space in front, we draw in the hands of Matryona a samovar or something else. The subject should organically fit into the overall picture. The fluffy sleeves of a white shirt are favorably combined with a red dress, which is time to decorate with floral ornaments or some special decoration, it all depends on the artist’s imagination.
So, the sundress is completely painted, go to the scarf. Russian scarves, including the famous Pavlovo-Posad, are usually very colorful. Flowers or patterns on them are juicy and bright. This tradition must be followed when painting.
It is best to use rich golden tones, this can be done with a golden gel pen. The combination of black with intense red looks good. All the free space on the sundress must be filled with flowers and green plants, since any empty space looks like an unfinished work.
Face
The most crucial step in painting a nesting doll is its eyes, nose and lips. The face needs to be drawn so that it is expressive and at the same time serene. And most importantly - the doll must smile!
Matrena's eyes are always round. In order to draw them, it is enough to put two points in the right place, located symmetrically relative to each other. We draw circles around the points, then in the circle we enter smaller circles, which will be the pupils. After that, draw eyelids - curved lines that smoothly bend around the eyes. Draw eyebrows above, their shape can be arbitrary. Now we put a white stroke on each pupil, it will be a glare from daylight.
Matryona's nose does not have to look like a real human nose. It is enough to symbolize it with two points in the right place.
The lip contour is the most crucial touch on the face of Matryona. But to draw it is easy, you just need to carefully draw a line in the form of an arc with the ends up. A smile appeared immediately!
Then draw the lower lip in the shape of an orange slice, and then the upper one in the form of two miniature semicircles.
Face painting
Before painting the facial contours, it is necessary to prepare a pale pink color. This can be done by mixing red paint with a relatively large amount of water. First you need to try the resulting solution on a sheet of paper, then apply a blush on the cheeks of Matryona with a cotton swab.
After applying the blush, the eyes, lips and hair are combed, parted. The background of the face should not remain pure white. In order to get a skin-colored paint , you need to mix white with ocher. Hue can be selected experimentally.
Next you need to make Matrona revitalizing makeup - this is a thorough drawing of the smallest details. At this point, the nesting doll comes to life.
Final stage
After all the work is completed, you need to wait until the dolls have completely dried and cover the product with varnish in three layers, drying each of them.
And now, our wonderful wooden nesting doll is completely ready! The painting of nesting dolls, photos of which must be left as a keepsake, will now become your best pastime.