Wood painting appeared in Russia a very long time, and still this type of art is of interest to many artists and cultural experts. Even children are familiar with bright Khokhloma and gentle gzhel. But despite the fact that Vyatka painting is not so widespread, it is one of the most mysterious and beautiful in Russia. Of course, this craft has existed for a very long time, but many masters still use it.
Vyatka painting
Wood painting is an art that has come into the modern world from the depths of centuries. At first glance, absolutely chaotic elements actually have a semantic load. In ancient times, every item decorated with Vyatka painting was created in order to protect the house, the owner and his entire family. Due to the fact that before people rarely described their daily lives, the meaning of all the characters is almost impossible to restore. Despite the fact that in the modern world there are masters who still use Vyatka painting in their work, the meaning of the written elements has become purely decorative.
In Moscow and other large cities, such as Smolensk and Kazan, they sell a lot of decorated dishes for tourists. Masters do not make any sense in such products, and the entire painting was done only to decorate the plates. Tourists from other countries like Vyatka painting, and they are happy to buy household items made in this style.
History of creation
From the name of art it is clear that it originated on Vyatka land. And this is true, in ancient times in this province many household items were painted the same way. So, spinning wheels, chests, cabinets, chests of drawers, chairs and even whole houses could be decorated in the style of Vyatka painting.
The problem of the masters for a long time was to bake, or rather, a method of heating the hut. When chimneys had not yet been invented, all the soot fell into the hut, thereby painting any thing did not make sense. After a couple of months, in any case, it turned black. But with the invention of “white” heating, Vyatka wood painting became in demand. The stove itself, the red corner, the matrices and even the front doors - everything began to decorate.
Historians still do not know the exact date when the Vyatka culture appeared, but the first records found by archaeologists date back to the 9th-10th centuries. In those days, despite the fact that the Baptism of Russia takes place, many still believe in polytheism and pagan rites.
Of course, decorative painting on wood appeared a very long time ago, but nevertheless, its heyday fell at the end of the XIX century. In these times, the lion becomes the main element in the quality of a home charms.
Vyatka chest
Ancestors painted almost all household items. Since cabinets and chests of drawers did not exist, the housewives kept all the family's things in a chest. To betray the subject's decorative appearance, it was painted with traditional ornament.
However, painting and ornaments performed not only an aesthetic function. This was done in order to protect the house and family from evil. Of course, in the XIX century Christianity flourished with might and main, but still the Russian people continued to believe in pagan gods.
Crafts: wood painting
Since ancient times in the Vyatka province it was customary to depict flowers, animals and geometric shapes on household items. For example, rhombuses, circles and squares were very popular, and triangles and stars are almost never found on any dishes. At the same time, people drew very rarely, this is due to the fact that a person does not see the other world, and therefore cannot protect his family and home from it. Flowers were not depicted separately, but combined into beautiful garlands or even bouquets.
Listed below are the elements that the craftsmen used in the painting.
Circle and rhombus
Of all the geometric shapes, this one is most often found on decor items. And all because the circle in ancient times had a sacred meaning - symbolized the sun. And the strokes around him indicate the rays. Then, if you look at the ancient chests, a reasonable question arises: “Why are several suns depicted on one subject at once?” It turns out that the circles indicate the movement of a star in the sky. That is, the change of night and day.
A frequent symbol in culture was the geometric figure of a rhombus, it personified fertility and prosperity. Despite the fact that each symbol on the product has its own role, masters sometimes added rare figures. So, it was not customary to draw stars, but archaeologists find dishes with the image of the stars. Most likely, such symbols appeared when Christianity had already taken root in Russia.
Vyatka duck
Most often, the ancient Slavs depicted only what they saw with their own eyes, this is due to the fact that no books, and especially TVs, did not exist. Nevertheless, such a creature as duckbill appeared in Vyatka culture. This beast has mythological roots, and it personified such qualities as wealth, fertility and prosperity.
A duck and a horse are precisely those animals that were on every farm. Most likely, that is why people combined them to create a divine image. Artiodactyls characterize willpower and tenacity. And the duck always personified motherhood and care. Thus, a fictional character is a mom and dad in one person, that is, a family.
Real animals
Along with a fictional animal, ancient artists loved to depict lions. But here the question arises: in the Vyatka province there were no such animals as the masters could then see them? Most likely, lions appeared in those days when trade routes were opened. And they were portrayed in order to protect the house from evil spirits.
Birds in Vyatka painting also acted as protectors. Most often they were depicted schematically, in the form of checkmarks. But skilled craftsmen painted all the details, so they depicted birds such as hens, ducks, crows and owls. The latter also personified calmness and wisdom. According to the legends of their ancestors, owls have always been considered the messengers of good news.
Wood painting technology
The main colors in Vyatka art are red - as a symbol of life - and white, which indicates the purity of the primary world. Also, shades such as yellow, orange, green and black appear as an addition.
In ancient times, there were no brushes, therefore, rabbit paws were used to stain chests. And to create smaller parts, the instrument was trimmed or a pattern was applied using sticks.
Also, if we consider archaeological finds, you can see that the picture is completely identical. This was achieved using special stamps. Ancient masters chose straight sticks with a large diameter and created a pattern on them.
Before painting the chest, special glue was applied to it. And until it froze, it was necessary to cover the product with the background paint. Then another layer of glue was applied. And only after completing these steps it was possible to proceed directly to the painting of the product.
Now the technology has changed, instead of glue, they use a special base, and instead of rabbit paws, brushes of different sizes. But it turns out that there are not only differences in this. Ancient masters used only oil paint in their arsenal. This was due to the fact that at that time the remedy was the only one that was not afraid of water. Today, to create a Vyatka painting, paints for painting on wood are used by anyone, including gouache. And so that the liquid does not spoil the pattern, the final product is varnished.