How often is a word like splint now? No, quite rarely. This is understandable, because the word is considered obsolete and not everyone even knows its meaning. So what are luboks? We will tell below.
They were popular in Germany, in France. Factories for their production were located in many countries and cities. The arrival of the peddler or a visit to the fair were very joyful events for the whole family. After all, everyone could find an interesting product for themselves. For children - fairy tales, for women - useful tips, for men - popular prints with images of history and battles. Thanks to such boards people began to learn more about the world and their country. After all, before they were even more limited in this.
Lubok: meaning of the word, meaning
So, lubok (in the most common meaning of the word) is a type of folk graphics, a picture, a picture with the addition of inscriptions. A distinctive feature is the simplicity of the images depicted. This type of folk art is first performed in the technique of engraving on copper or woodcut, and then painted by hand. They depicted mainly heroes of fairy tales and epics.
This name is formed from special sawing boards. They were called bast (hence the word "deck"). Before they began to make images on the boards, they were still used for similar purposes. For example, they carried out drawings, wrote plans. At first, the pictures were called "Fryazh sheets," and then simply luboks.
The meaning of the word lubok in the explanatory dictionary is ambiguous. For example, lubok is also a plate of a fresh layer of tree bark. That is, the inner part of the bark, mostly young deciduous trees. Often small wooden caskets and drawers are made of it.
Another purpose of lubok (the meaning of the word in the dictionary confirms this information) is to help with a fracture. This was the name of the tire for the fastest fusion of bone tissue. So called baskets, boxes made of this material.
Often, lubok also means a linden board, on which the engraving of the image necessary for printing was subsequently produced. But much less often the word has such a meaning as “literature” (popular print literature). Such works were extremely simple, one might say primitive. As such, they were not only in content, but also in design.
The meaning of the outdated word lubok was not always used for images or the manufacture of boxes. Dry tops also covered the upper part of the roof in the villages. But in order for it to be suitable for this, Lubok needed to undergo some training. First, it was dried in the forest all summer, then it was peeled of the outer thick crust, steamed, and then dried again under oppression. And only then they were taken out of the forest. Necessarily in the straightened position.
Synonyms for the word lubok
So, having studied the meaning of the word lubok, the 4th grade of the school involves familiarization with the synonyms of the word. One of the main is bast. A bast is also the inside of the bark of a young tree. Still weak baseline. How material is used in many products.
The next common (but less well-known) synonym is propaganda. An agitation club is the same popular pub, but with an agitation slant. His images are more intelligible and capacious, and they call for something.
Another little-known synonym is the joker. The joker is not just a picture, but a splint with a funny picture, with some satire or caricature.
On a more scientific plane, splint is simply called splint. If we take the value not as a bark, but as a particular image, then it is often called in the usual way - a picture.
Lubok history as graphics
Luboks were born in China. Until the eighth century, they were completely executed by hand, and only starting from it they began to be performed in the technique of engraving. Next, Lubok appeared in Europe. Here he initially began to be performed in the technique of woodcut. Woodcut is an engraving on a tree. Later copper engravings and lithography began to be added. Lithography is the imprint of an image from something flat onto paper. Here, the luboks began to be used not only as a regular image, but also as propaganda or advertising material. This was facilitated by their simplicity and clarity.
There were also luboks and obscene content. They were popular mainly in Europe, but also fell into Russia. Mostly from France and Germany.
Ubiquitous
Consider what lubok in the understanding of the inhabitants of the East. His colors were much brighter. And at the end of the XIX century, he began to be drawn in the form of comics.
In the XVI-XVII centuries and in Russia there appeared some “Fryazh sheets” or “German amusing sheets”. Here the images were made on special boards called bast. Not only boards with images began to appear, but also boxes and boxes painted using this technique. There were also paper luboks.
Luboks in Russia are quite widespread, as they were inexpensive, looked beautiful. Such sheets performed both social and entertaining roles. It was from them that all modern and well-known posters, comics, calendars went.
Plots
Initially, the plot for the popular prints were handwritten legends, some kind of oral stories, tales or epics. After the plots began to be taken from foreign works and almanacs. They were taken from the plots of such writers as Goethe or Radcliffe.
By the end of the 19th century, images on the subject of scripture or portraits of famous and statesmen became more popular. They began to invest a deeper meaning in images . Even if this was not agitation, then it still had some instructive character. Often these were simple illustrations for fairy tales or images of cities.
Types of lubok
The meaning of the word lubok is multifaceted and diverse, and its types can be listed for a very long time:
- Spiritual (religious) - images similar to icons. They could also depict parables or some kind of moralizing.
- Fairy tales - ordinary illustrations for various fairy tales. Images of warriors, wizards.
- Holidays - oddly enough, but saints, rather than various festivities, were depicted on popular prints of this type.
- Philosophical - similar to spiritual, but without a religious character.
- Historical - plots taken from chronicles. Battles were also portrayed, just historical events, cities. Sometimes even topographic maps.
- Legal - images of the court.
- Cavalry - horseback riders were depicted on such luboks.
- Joker - caricatures, satire images.
Production and production of lubok
Engravers were engaged in the production of luboks. They were also called "Fryzhsky carved craftsmen." Among such people, the term "sign" existed. So called the process of applying and painting pictures. Therefore, responsibilities are usually shared. That is, at first the denominator applied the drawing itself, and then the engraver already cut it out on the necessary material. A term such as "translation" has also appeared. That was the name of the copying of lubok.
The manufacturing process was as follows: first, the drawing itself was applied with a pencil, then with the knife those places that were supposed to be white were deepened. The board was greased, and then pressed to the paper with a press. As a result, black contours of this image remained on it.
Next, the luboks were painted. Very often, women with children did this. The price of lubok depended, of course, on the paper on which it was made. What are luboks on the cheapest and grayest paper? They were called "rustic".
Over time, production technology has improved and improved. Not just engravers, but engraving artists began to appear. They began to work on copper plates using a variety of cutters. This helped to add a lot of small details and details to the images.
Production in Russia
In Russia, the first factory was born in Moscow. A lot of machine tools worked on it, and luboks were produced in huge quantities. The price was different (from half a penny to twenty-five kopecks).
Thanks to the production of popular prints, new professions have also appeared. For example, "flower designers". Such people painted a very large number of popular pubs in a short time, while they received quite good money. Industrialization was not long in coming, and the profession did not live long, as lithographic machines began to appear.
Lubok popularity
The first important reason for such universal love is that popular prints carried the functions of books and textbooks that were inaccessible to ordinary people and were very expensive. They not only taught, but also served as a kind of fiction, as they often retold epics, tales, and oral legends.
In addition, luboks served as sources of information, like newspapers or leaflets. On such boards, you could often find useful medical advice, or just have fun with the joke depicted on them.
Many popular prints were made really masterfully and very beautifully. Therefore, they are often used as decor in their homes.
Censorship
Of course, one should not forget that censorship in our country has always been closely associated with creativity and literature. Before making the popular print, the image itself had to be tested by a censor. If the image did not pass it, then the reason must always be indicated so that the manufacturer can correct and try again happiness. Only after complete approval (not only of the drawing, but also of the finished popular print) did the manufacturer receive the necessary document authorizing the release of the print run. And even that, he should not have exceeded the specified amount. The release of bast images was necessarily accompanied by documents that were kept by the publisher. For each new edition of the circulation, new documents were issued.
Most often, censors corrected spelling errors. But it also happened that the images did not correspond to the Russian mentality or traditions. They violated the rules of dogma.
In the modern age
We can say with confidence that the style of lubok has not been forgotten to this day. Many people know what lubok is. They are used in illustration, design. Many posters and calendars are in this style now. Many workshops on this topic are being produced. You can also learn how to splash in art schools and craft workshops.
The traditions of antiquity are never forgotten, including the lexical meaning of the word lubok. Although they are improved in a modern way.