One of the most striking phenomena of Russian folk art is painting. She adorned various household items. Everyone can easily call Khokhloma and Gzhel. But few people know that there are much more types of Russian folk painting. This article will describe the most famous decoration styles.
general information
Art painting is the art of decorating surfaces with paints. Painting for a short period of time has become a part of everyday life.
Russian folk painting styles were used to decorate various products. Painted both wood and ceramics, and metal. According to this criterion, types of painting can be divided into three groups.
1. The basis is wood. This type of art includes:
- Khokhloma.
- Gorodets painting.
- Fedoskinskaya.
- Painting of the Northern Dvina.
- Prikamsky painting.
- Mezenskaya.
- Palekh.
2. The basis is ceramics. This type of art includes:
3. The base is the metal that was used to make the trays. It refers to:
As you can see, the most popular Russian folk painting on wood. And this is understandable.
The most famous types of Russian folk painting will be described below. Among them are Khokhloma, Gzhel, Zhostovo and Gorodets painting.
Khokhloma
Perhaps the most famous Russian folk painting is Khokhloma. The painting is unique in that, thanks to the special processing in the ovens, the products do not deteriorate even from hot food. Thus, wood acquires the properties of ceramics.
Story
This Russian folk style dates back to the 17th century in the village of the same name, which was located in the region of Nizhny Novgorod. According to one version, the very idea of the Khokhloma trade was brought by the Old Believers, who were fleeing persecution for the "old faith." Among these people there were many icon painters. By the beginning of the 18th century, this place became a real artistic treasure.
Currently, Khokhloma "moved" to the village of Semino and the city of Semenov. Here they are still engaged in painting, but on a factory scale.
Elements of Russian folk painting
Red, black and gold are the three primary colors, and yellow and green colors were used as complementary and in small quantities. Brushes are made of squirrel tails. It is this material that makes it possible to draw a thin line.
There are two ways to paint products. The first way - first the background is painted over with completely black paint, and a drawing is applied on top. The second way - first, the outline of the ornament is applied, only after that the background is painted over.
If you carefully look at the various works made in the style of Khokhloma, you can distinguish several basic patterns:
- Misfits. For this pattern, you need to easily draw the tip of the brush from top to bottom.
- Blades of grass. The element looks like a small brush stroke with a smooth thickening.
- Droplets.
- Tendrils.
- Curls.
- Bush. Drawn by a combination of sedges, blades of grass, droplets, antennae and curls. Moreover, the elements have always been located symmetrically to each other.
- Berries. Basically they painted lingonberries, currants, mountain ash, strawberries or gooseberries.
Manufacturing technology
At the very beginning, a wooden base was created. For the most part, these were household items: spoons, bowls, and so on. This basis was called "underwear". After drying, the base is covered with specially purified clay and left to dry for 7-8 hours. In the drying process, the product is covered several times with linseed oil.
The next step is called tinning. Aluminum powder is rubbed into the product with a special swab made of sheep skin. After this procedure, the item acquires brilliance and is ready for painting.
Gzhel
An equally famous Russian folk painting is Gzhel, in which only all kinds of shades of blue on a white background are used to draw patterns.
Story
The name of the Russian folk painting Gzhel comes from the Gzhel bush region. This is an association of more than 20 villages in the Moscow region. The first mention of this type of Russian folk painting was in the 14th century during the reign of Ivan Kalita. Initially, Gzhel was colored, but in the 19th century, fashion came for Dutch tiles and Chinese porcelain. Finished products were in blue and white. Soon it became an integral feature of the Russian pattern.
Key Stories
The central heroes of almost all products made in the Gzhel style are birds, roosters or flowers. The plots of the master of the Russian pattern are taken from their environment. Moreover, the painting itself and the shape of the product do not contradict each other, but constitute a single whole, complementing each other.
Manufacturing technology
Before painting, the quality of porcelain was necessarily checked. The product was dipped in fuchsin. Thus, the porcelain was painted pink, and it was possible to see the smallest cracks on it.
As a rule, craftsmen used cobalt-based paint. Before firing, it was black. In the work the master needed only a brush and paint. But, using various techniques, more than 20 shades of blue were created.
Zhostovo painting
Zhostovo painting is a Russian folk craft that was used to decorate metal trays. They exist to this day in the village of Zhostovo, which is located in the Moscow region.
Story
The history of Zhostovo painting begins at the beginning of the 19th century in a number of villages of the Trinity volost. The first masters of painting lacquered products made using the papier-mâché technique appeared here.
The appearance of the usual Zhostovo tray is directly related to the Vishnyakov brothers. Thanks to their shop, tray production increased. The first things made of metal began to appear. They gradually replaced other papier-mâché crafts.
Key Stories
In Zhostovo painting, the main characters of the work are flowers and floral ornaments. Sometimes they depict scenes of everyday life, landscapes, sketches of festivities, weddings and so on. But the most common is the image of the bouquet, which is located in the middle of the tray, on the edges of which there is a small golden pattern. Usually in a bouquet there were several rather large flowers, surrounded by a scattering of smaller ones.
Technology
Trays were used for two purposes: for domestic use (as a stand for a samovar or for serving food) and as an element of the interior. The material for the manufacture of the tray is ordinary sheet metal. The shape of the finished product can be any: round, rectangular oval, etc. Before applying the pattern, the product goes through several important steps:
- Padding.
- Puttying.
- Grinding.
- Varnishing.
Due to this, the surface of the tray becomes perfectly flat. Oil paints are used for painting. At the end of the work, the product is covered with several layers of colorless varnish.
The painting itself was carried out in several stages:
- Stage 1. Background. At this point, the primary color is selected. It will be used as background. Black was preferred, but could use white, red, blue, etc.
- Stage 2. Zamalenok. At this stage, the basis of the future pattern is made. Diluted with paint, the master draws the outline of the future composition in accordance with his idea. After that, the trays are sent to dry in the oven for several hours.
- Stage 3. T-shirt. At this stage, the master, using translucent paints, applies shadows to the flowers. Thus making them voluminous.
- Stage 4. Laying. This is the most crucial stage. Now the master begins to refine many details, to highlight and realize the contrasting or more harmonious structure of his composition.
- Stage 5. Flare. At this stage, with the help of glare, light and a larger volume appear on the flower petals. Glare is needed to create mood and color.
- Stage 6. Drawing. This is the last step in creating a bouquet. Using a very thin brush, the master draws barely noticeable veins on the leaves of the plant, makes a lace edge on the leaves and seeds in the center of the flower.
- Stage 7. Binding. This stage is the penultimate in Zhostovo painting. The artist paints the thinnest stems, blades of grass and antennae coming from the bouquet itself. Thus, the wizard establishes a connection between the bouquet and the background.
- Stage 8. Cleaning. At this point, the side of the tray is decorated. Usually a geometric or floral pattern is used for this purpose. The style of cleaning depends on the desire of the master. It can be quite modest and consist of one repeating element, and can be decorated richly and varied. If you skip this step, the product will look unfinished.
So you can find endless variations of similar motives. But you can never find exact copies or repetitions.
Gorodets painting
Gorodets Russian folk painting has existed since the mid-19th century. Bright and unusual, it served as an ornament for spinning wheels, furniture, shutters and doors.
Story
Hints of Gorodets painting can be seen in carved spinning wheels. In Gorodets they were unique in that the gondola (the place where the spinner sat) was decorated with the help of special equipment. Wooden figures carved from another breed were inserted into the recesses. Only two types of wood allowed Gorodets craftsmen to create stunning works of art. Later tint was added to this.
In the second half of the 19th century, the demand for such products increased, which prompted the masters to abandon the inlay of wood as a complex technique, to switch to simple pictorial elements.
Key Stories
Nizhny Novgorod painting is divided into two types: Pavlovskaya and Gorodets. They decorated chests, arches, sleds and so on.
Gorodets Russian folk painting is rich in content. Here you can see a variety of stories. For the most part, these were situations of a domestic nature. At the same time, most of the plot was devoted to floral motifs. You can also meet birds and animals in the role of the main characters of the mural. They can be either stylized or realistic. As a rule, the images were symmetrical, with the animals or birds looking at each other.
This painting is characterized by the use of under-circles, spirals, drops, arcs, staples, strokes and points. In this case, the last types of patterns are applied by the artist at the final stage in order to “revive” his work.
The painting uses not so many colors: red, green, blue and black. Images are applied to the tree without preliminary drawing. The patterns are applied immediately with a brush, while the master can use both wide and free strokes, and the finest touches.
Technology
To create the painting, tempera is used - paint, which is made on the basis of dry pigments in the form of a powder. Moreover, it can be created both from natural materials and from their artificial counterparts. Sometimes gouache mixes with PVA glue are used. But you need to consider that when dried, the color becomes whitish. Therefore, before applying the next layer, let the previous one dry.
The painting is done immediately on a wooden basis. If desired, it is primed with red, yellow or black paint. The future composition can be marked with a thin line with a simple pencil. But artists with great experience, as a rule, skip this step and immediately apply the pattern with a brush.
After the drawing has completely dried, the product is covered with a transparent varnish in several layers, each of which is carefully dried. Use either oil varnish, which is applied with a special swab, or nitro varnish, for which help is needed from the spray gun. This ensures evenness and smoothness of the finished product. Such a coating is necessary to protect the product from chemical or mechanical damage.
Russian folk painting today
Even in the 21st century, painting does not lose its relevance. Painted products are not just a part of the interior. Many of them have a wide functional load and are actively used in everyday life. For example, slicing products on a decorated cutting board or storing bread in a bread box, which is painted by a master of his craft, is still relevant.
Painted products will bring their flavor even to a modest room, making it unique. But do not overload the apartment with such things, since many of them look very bright. Two or three will be enough.
Also, various types of Russian folk painting are actively used to decorate walls, columns, borders and other interior elements. Such a solution looks great in a children's room or in the kitchen, so it will make the situation more vibrant and positive.