Russian lacquer art
The Russian lacquer art developed from icon painting, which had to be discontinued with the end of the Russian Empire , after the October Revolution in 1917 under pressure from the new communist rulers. The icon painters, who had previously supplied the churches and the houses of the population with icons , needed a different job to earn a living . This is how the craftsmanship developed, making decorative paper mache boxes , varnishing them and painting them with artistic miniature images. The motifs were often scenes from Russian folk tales .
In the 18th century, handicraft businesses emerged in Russia that specialized in interior furnishings for the Russian tsar's court in the “Chinese style”.
At the end of the 18th / beginning of the 19th century, snuffing ( snuff ) became fashionable in Russia. The demand for lacquered paper mache tobacco boxes increased and so numerous workshops and small businesses were established in the governorates of Moscow and Saint Petersburg , in which these lacquer products were manufactured. The company founded by Pyotr Korobov in Fedoskino in 1795 became the leading company of its kind in Russia.
Early beginnings
Thanks to the trade contacts with China, lacquered wooden trays, umbrellas, fans and similar objects from China appeared in Russia. Already under Alexei I (* 1629; † 1676) some rooms of the Kolomenskojer Palace near Moscow were designed in the "Chinese style".
Since the time of Peter the Great, there has been a great interest in artistic lacquer work in Russia. One of Peter I's rooms in the Peterhof , in the Monplaisir pleasure palace, was decorated with 94 lacquer wall panels in 1721. These were painted by the Russian painters Iwan Tichonow (Russian Иван Тихонов ) and Perfili Fedorow (Russian Перфили Федоров ) in the “Chinese style”. The painting was done under the guidance of the Dutch painter Hendrik van Bronkhorst, who worked in Russia until 1744.
On his trip through Holland, Peter had visited large European manufacturers. Among other things, he bought a number of pieces of furniture with lacquer paintings and invited foreign lacquer painters to Russia. Peter also sent Russian painting students abroad for training. After the founding of the Russian Art Academy in Saint Petersburg in 1757, artists were taught lacquer art in their classes.
At the time of Peter the Great there was a "paint yard" (Russian Лакирный двор ), which was in the so-called Italian House (Russian Итальянский дворец , opposite the Italian bridge ) of Catherine I on the bank of the Fontanka River. There were workshops and stores there. In 1761 Fedor Vlasow (Russian Фёдор Власов ) decorated the palace of Peter II in Oranienbaum ( Oranienbaum Palace , Russian Дворец Ораниенбаум ) - today Lomonossow , with unique lacquer paintings.
Gradually, many workshops sprang up in Russia, especially around Saint Petersburg and Moscow, in which lacquer painting and lacquer work were carried out.
The four centers of Russian lacquer art
Main articles: Lacquer miniatures from Fedoskino , lacquer miniatures from Cholui , lacquer miniatures from Mstjora and lacquer miniatures from Palech
The village of Fedoskino (Russian: Федоскино ) not far from Moscow, on the banks of the Ucha River, is the oldest of these four art centers of Russian miniature lacquer painting on paper mache, which has been cultivated there since 1795. Feodoskino stands apart from the other three locations. In contrast to the other three locations, oil paints are used there and not egg tempera . The painting style in Fedoskino is for the most part realistic in composition and details, but gave the painters a free hand in the impressionistic interpretation.
The other three centers of Russian lacquer art were:
- Palech (Russian Палех )
- Cholui (Russian Холуй )
- Mstjora (Russian Мстёра )
The lacquer painters from Palech, Cholui and Mstjora continued to use egg tempera colors with filigree gold leaf inlays. All three places were in the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal in central Russia. They are deeply rooted in the tradition of icon painting of the 17th to 19th centuries, which came to an abrupt end with the October Revolution. Only in the 21st century will the tradition of Russian icon painting be revived.
The lacquer miniatures from Palekh were a tradition of the long-standing icon painting art in Palekh.
Only those Russian lacquer miniatures that bear the signature of a recognized Russian miniature painter from one of the four locations are considered authentic today. Each of these four places has its own style of painting. The caskets with the lacquer miniatures have a value of 20 to 4000 euros, depending on the reputation of the artist.
Fedoskino style
Palech style
Mstjora style
Cholui style
Paint painting on metal
Filipp Vishnyakov took a different approach , who at the beginning also produced lacquer miniatures in his company, but soon specialized in painting metal trays with lacquer pictures.
literature
- Monika Kopplin: Russian lacquer art. Hirmer, 2003, ISBN 978-3777495903
- Margarita Albedil: Russian lacquer painting. Palech, Mstiora, Fedoskino, Cholui. Publisher: Jarkij Gorod, Saint Petersburg, 2007, ISBN 978-5966300760
- Maria Nekrasowa: Russian lacquer painting of the present. Miniatures from Fedoskino, Palech, Mstjora and Choluj. ISBN 978-3930090020
