Paint miniatures from Palech
The lacquer miniatures from Palekh ( Russian Палехская миниатюра , transcribed Palechskaja miniatjura ) are traditional Russian lacquer miniature paintings in egg tempera on paper mache . These products of Russian handicrafts are named after the town of Palech .
Caskets, boxes, cans, bulbous barrel jugs, blackboards, brooches, plates, ashtrays , tie pins, pins, candlesticks, salt kegs and other utensils are decorated with this decorative lacquer miniature painting.
history
Even before the times of Peter I , Palech was known for its icon painters . The origin of the icon painting art from Palech is presumed from the 16th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, an independent style of icon painters was established here, which, among other things , linked to the traditions of the old Suzdal state . The heyday of icon painting from Palech was in the 18th and late 19th centuries. The local style of icon painting ("Palech style") developed under the influence of the Moscow School, the Novgorod School, the Storoganower School and the Yaroslav School. In addition to icon painting, the artists of Palekh also dealt with monumental painting, were also involved in the design and renovation of churches and cathedrals - including the Faceted Palace , the Moscow Kremlin , the Trinity Monastery of Sergiev Posad and the Novodevichy Convent .
After the October Revolution of 1917, icon painting in Palech fell sharply in connection with the state anti-religious campaign of the communists and almost ceased to exist for a time. The artists from Palech had to look for new subject areas under the changed social conditions and switch from the representation of sacred subjects of icon painting to secular representations. In 1918 the artists founded the artists' cooperative ( Artel ) Palech, which dealt with painting on wood and later also with lacquer miniatures. Lacquer miniatures on paper mache were first made in Palech in 1923. At that time, the artists from Palekh got to know the new material paper mache, which then became the painting basis for the lacquer miniatures from Fedoskino for the whole century . The artists learned how to work with the new material and transferred the traditional painting style and the style for wooden icons with tempera paints to it. The first miniatures on papier-mâché from Palech were commissioned for the arts and crafts museum in Moscow.
The works were exhibited at the Moscow Crafts Exhibition in 1923 and were awarded a second degree diploma. The paint miniatures from Palech were also presented at the agricultural exhibition in 1924. In 1925 the miniature painters from Palech exhibited successfully at the World Exhibition in Paris.
The founder of the modern Palech miniature painting was Ivan Ivanovich Golikow ( Иван Иванович Голиков ); (* 1887; † 1937) He had painted his first work in the so-called Palech style in the Moscow studio of Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Glasunov ( Глазунов Александр Александрович ). Golikov had traveled from Palech to Moscow and saw lacquer miniatures from Fedoskino in the Museum of Handicrafts. Glasunow, a relative of Golikow, then founded workshops in which, in addition to Golikow, IP Wakurow, AW Kotuin and IV Markitschew also worked.
On December 5, 1924, seven artists from Palech joined forces to form the Cooperative for Old Russian Painting ( Артель древней живописи , Artel ). This date is considered to be the founding day of the new art genre of Palech lacquer miniature painting . The founding members were:
- II Golikow ( И. И. Голиков )
- IV Markichev ( И. В. Маркичев )
- IM Bakanow ( И. М. Баканов )
- II Zubkov ( И. И. Зубков )
- AI Zubkov ( А. И. Зубков )
- AW Kotuchin ( А. В. Котухин )
- WW Kotuchin ( В. В. Котухин )
The artists later joined them
- IP Bakurov ( И. П. Вакуров )
- DN Butorin ( Д. Н Буторин )
- and NM Zinoviev ( Н. М. Зиновьев )
on.
In the 1930s, political subjects also became the subject of miniature painting: the social upheavals after the October Revolution were presented positively and the fame of the Red Army in the civil war and later in World War II was glorified. The elements of socialist realism and icon painting were mixed together.
The Palech Artists Association was founded in 1932. The Artel was transformed into the Palech artists' cooperative in 1935. In 1954, the Artel was replaced by the newly founded "artistic production workshop Palech", which was founded by the Art Fund of the USSR. Today the art of miniature painting is still alive in Palech. There are small studios with independent artists in Palech. The Russia Art Fund holds workshops in Palech. However, there is no longer a state artists' association that finances exhibitions. The artists no longer work under a brand name Palech, which guarantees authenticity and quality . Many artists have given up miniature painting and turned back to icon painting and sacred art.
The works of masters from Palech are exhibited in numerous museums in Russia and abroad. The state art museum in Palech houses the largest collection of these lacquer miniatures with over 2000 works. It was opened in 1935 at the instigation of Maxim Gorky .
education
In 1928 a vocational school for old painting was founded in Palech. The training lasted four years. In 1935 the school was converted into an art technical college (middle vocational school) and integrated into the system of the All-Russian Committee for Art and was named Maxim Gorky Art School Palekh ( Палехское художественное училище имени А.М.Горь ).
Special features of the paint miniatures from Palech
The technology of the manufacture of the paper mache boxes and the lacquering technique was taken over from Fedoskino, where the lacquer miniatures were already produced by Fedoskino .
The typical motifs of the miniatures from Palekh were folkloric everyday scenes and motifs from literary works of the Russian classics , fairy tale scenes , Bylina (old Russian heroic epics) and songs. The pictures are mostly painted on a black background and decorated with gold. The pictures mostly cover the lids of the caskets completely, often also the sides.
Typical characteristics of the painters from Palech are:
- symbolic form of representation (symbolization of the figures, metaphorical imagery)
- the black background acts as a spatial environment that connects all picture elements
- the tiny miniature paintings
- the soft shade
- the abundant use of shades of gold
- the diverse elements of the picture composition
- varied decorations with intricate patterns (painted with gold that was dissolved in aqua regia and with tinsel )
- radiant colors
- pointed mountain peaks
- very naturally shaped leaves on the trees
- very accurate silhouettes of flattened figures
- elongated figures that go back to the tradition of icon painting - similar to the Stroganov School of Painting ( Stroganov Art School in Moscow)
- a finely drawn flow of the head and the bare parts of the arms and legs
- Contrasting, contrasting, thin, white border of the figures
- sometimes very thin gold lines that surround the contours of the figures
- the background between the figures is filled with broad and light brushstrokes
- the background is in different shades, often reaching gold tones
Soviet stamp series with pictures from Palech
Exhibition 2011
- March 19, 2011 - May 1, 2011: The myth of paint. The Palekh School 1923–1950. Lacquer miniatures of the icon painters. Bröhan Museum , Berlin, Schloßstraße 1a.
literature
- P. Kosolapow: Palech - an artist village . Progress Publishing House, Moscow 1977.
- L. Pirogowa (author), O. Serebyakova, J. Doroshenko (author), V. Guljajew (introduction): Russian lacquer miniatures: Fedoskino, Palech, Mstera, Cholui. Aurora-Kunstverlag, Leningrad, 1989, ISBN 5-7300-0019-7 .
- Vitaly Kotov, Larisa Taktashova (compilation and introduction): Palekh. The State Museum of Palekh Art. 3rd ed., Izobrazitelnoye Iskusstvo, Moscow 1990, ISBN 5-85200-182-1 .
- Monika Kopplin (ed.): The school of Palech 1923–1950. Lacquer miniatures of the icon painters. Hirmer Verlag 2011.
- Eva Haustein-Bartsch and Felix Waechter (eds.): Myth of Palech - icons and lacquer miniatures . EIKON, Society of Friends of Icon Art, DruckVerlag Kettler GmbH, 2010.
Web links
- Palech - the magic of Russian lacquer miniatures (PDF; 19 kB)