Khokhloma painting short description. Story
Khokhloma - old Russian folk craft, born in the 17th century in the district of Nizhny Novgorod. An old legend tells: once upon a time a man lived in the forests of Nizhny Novgorod, on the banks of a quiet river. Who he is and where he came from, we do not know. That man carved wooden cups and spoons and painted them so that it seemed they were made of pure gold. The king found out about this and got angry: “Why don’t I have such a master in my palace?! To me it! Immediately!" He tapped his staff, stamped his foot and sent soldiers to bring the craftsman to the palace. The soldiers went to fulfill the royal order, but no matter how much they searched, they could not find the miracle of the master. He left no one knows where, but first he taught the local peasants how to make gold dishes. In each hut, cups and spoons sparkled with gold.
The Khokhloma village, Koverninsky district, Nizhny Novgorod region, is considered the birthplace of Khokhloma.
Products for Khokhloma painting, most often dishes and furniture, are made of wood. But before painting on them, the surface is covered with a primer and shiny oil using a special technology. Then this shiny surface is tinned - aluminum powder is rubbed into it with a soft cloth, from which it becomes silvery and very smooth, and after varnishing - golden. They paint dishes "under Khokhloma" with oil paints. The traditional elements of Khokhloma are red juicy rowan and strawberry berries, flowers and branches. Birds, fish and animals are also often found.
Red, black, gold and green are the colors of Khokhloma. To revive the pattern, a little white is allowed.
The painting is “horse” - a drawing is applied to a silver blank in red and black; and “under the background” - first, the contour of the ornament is outlined, and then the background is filled with black paint, while the pattern itself is not painted, but remains silver. When we cover it with varnish, the silvery coating will turn into golden and will look like it is made of gold :)
Let's practice in horse Khokhloma painting? To do this, you need to print a sheet with your favorite pattern or dishes. And there - pick up a brush and paint and go!
Grass - a pattern of large and small blades of grass. Pattern elements: sedges, blades of grass, droplets, antennae, curls and bushes.
Herbal ornament.
Leaf pattern - stems and leaves.
The berry pattern includes an ornament: lingonberry, gooseberry, currant, strawberry, mountain ash, raspberry.
The “gingerbread” ornament is usually drawn inside a cup or dish; it is a geometric figure (square or rhombus) decorated with grass, berries, and flowers.
In painting "under the background" the element "curly" is more often used. The “kudrin” painting is a rich, lush pattern with round, intricate curls resembling curls. They draw not the patterns themselves, but a dark background. And the resulting pattern is supplemented with small colored elements (additions). This process is much more laborious than horse painting.
Painted products are coated 4-5 times with a special varnish (with intermediate drying after each layer) and finally hardened for 3-4 hours in an oven at a temperature of +150 +160 ° C until a golden oil-lacquer film is formed. This is how the famous “golden Khokhloma” is obtained.
Khokhloma is an old Russian folk craft that arose in the 17th century in the Nizhny Novgorod province (the village of Semino, Zavolzhye) and to this day is the most famous view Russian folk painting. Art historians believe that the origins of the ornamentation of Khokhloma painting with its peculiar combination of colors (bright scarlet cinnabar, black and gold, curly branches with clusters of berries surrounded by "herbs") should be sought in the ancient Russian decorative culture of the 15-16 centuries. It was in these centuries that similar color combinations are found in frescoes and icons, in the design of books. It is surprising that when painting a tree, not gold, but silver tin powder is applied. The product itself is coated with a special composition and processed three or four times in an oven. After that, this delightful honey-gold color appears, thanks to which light wooden utensils seem massive.
Traditional Khokhloma ornament - juicy red strawberries and mountain ash, flowering branches. Birds, fish and all sorts of animals are less common.
Initially, the word Khokhloma meant the name of one of the trading villages, where craftsmen from nearby villages brought their products. It was the time of the revival of Russia, which came after the liberation from the devastating Tatar-Mongol yoke, the time of renovation of temples and churches. Local forests gave shelter to peasants and Old Believers who fled from their owners. This land was poor, and folk crafts became a new source of livelihood. The new craft united the centuries-old traditions of local residents and refugees, especially the Old Believers.
The folk craft has been constantly developing. Already at the end of the 19th century, Khokhloma was presented at every domestic and foreign fair. And after the unprecedented success of International exhibition in Paris, exports of Khokhloma rose sharply to various countries. Trading firms in Germany, England, France and India bought especially much. Even one of the German entrepreneurs took up the production of wooden spoons, which he passed off as Khokhloma.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, folk crafts have experienced a crisis caused by the World War and the Civil War. Because of this, many craftsmen lost orders and closed their workshops. In Soviet times, Khokhloma received a second wind, a new generation of craftsmen appeared. And now Khokhloma is "returning" to us in Russia and the world.
In ancient Rus', the tree played a very important role. From it built dwellings, made furniture and utensils. Archaeological finds indicate that already in the 10th-12th centuries, Russian artisans made bowls, ladles, scoops, and ancient inventories of monastic farms often mention turners, ladlers, and ship-writers. Among the dishes made by artisans, there was a special one, painted with cinnabar and covered with gold. It was served at princely feasts and royal receptions. As a rule, it was produced at monasteries. Among the artisans of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra were assigned peasants from the Volga villages. Dense, impenetrable forests along the banks of the Kerzhentsa River have sheltered fugitive peasants, archers for a long time. The Old Believers also rushed here during the split of the Russian Church. It was the newcomers - migrants who contributed to the development of the ware industry in the Nizhny Novgorod region and the creation here of a new original wood processing with imitation of gilding.
The emergence of the craft of Khokhloma painting
Archival materials and Scientific research determined that in the second half of the 17th century in the Semenovsky district, a craft for making dishes arose, which became the basis for the development of a special type of decorative painting on wood. The first mention of painted dishes dates back to 1659, when the boyar B.I. Morozov demanded to collect from the Volga estates dishes of various sizes and brothers in the "tin business". In the 17th century, tin was used for gilding in arts and crafts, and the boyar Morozov owned the Semyonovskoye village. It was in it, as well as around the villages of Khokhloma and Skorobogatovskoye, that the craft of Khokhloma painting was formed.
Development
The development of the fishery was facilitated by the proximity of the Volga trade route and the proximity to the largest in Russia Makarievskaya fair. The quality of the utensils produced in the Semyonovsky district was high, and in 1764 the production of wooden utensils was noted as "the main craft of all the inhabitants." They said about the products of peasants from the Semenovsky district: “Their goods are light, clean, strong and bright,” and the Semenovsky mayor Blummer wrote that in the city the inhabitants “are not engaged in agriculture. During the year they make various wooden, painted and lacquered dishes…”. The village of Khokhloma, a volost village in the Semyonovsky district, becomes a trading post where wooden utensils with an unusual color were sold.
Communication with culture
For two centuries, Khokhloma dishes have satisfied the needs of the people and have been an important part of the national artistic culture. In the second half of the 19th century, interest in craft as an art increased. The “Russian style” comes into fashion, and an educated society awakens interest in the works of folk crafts. In 1853, Khokhloma items were presented for the first time at the All-Russian Industrial Exhibition in Moscow, followed by successive exhibitions in Paris, St. Petersburg, and Nizhny Novgorod. The royal family also began to show interest in Khokhloma painting. Admired by the creativity of folk masters, Empress Maria Fedorovna in 1882 awarded master Mikhail Krasilnikov with a gold watch for art. Khokhloma products are widely sold at bazaars and fairs, and after receiving the Grand Prix at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, exports of products also increased sharply.
Semenov Khokhloma School
The demand for Khokhloma in the second half of the 19th century caused the appearance of buyers. They demanded a cheap, low-grade product, which led to simplification and a decrease in product quality. This caused concern among the educated society and the authorities. According to the general opinion, it was necessary to organize the training of masters in new techniques and technologies. In 1913, the Main Directorate of Land Management and Agriculture organized an instructor school for turning, utensils and furniture in the city of Semenov. The Nizhny Novgorod provincial zemstvo also contributed to the improvement of the art of folk craftsmen and established a special position as an artist. And in 1916, on the initiative and at the expense of the Nizhny Novgorod Mayor D.V. Sirotkin in the city of Semenov opened the School artistic processing tree led by the artist G.P. Matveev. After the Great October Socialist Revolution, the school was not only preserved, but also found significant support from the new Soviet government. The graduates of the school introduced new elements into the painting, the school united disparate handicraftsmen, revived the craft and directed the production of products for sale in foreign markets.
JSC "Khokhloma painting" 100 years of activity
The development of the Semyonov school of woodworking was very active. In 1924, the school was transformed into the association "Handicraftsman-artist"; in 1931 it was transformed into the "Export" artel. In 1934, a museum of handicraft and art products was founded in Semyonov. During the years of the Great Patriotic War many masters of the artel went to the front and died, and the enterprise worked for the needs of the front, made skis, boxes for ammunition and spoons for soldiers. More than 10 thousand spoons for the front were made daily. Fragile female shoulders endured the heroic labor feat in the rear. It was women who replaced the male artists who did not return from the front, and since then they began to play the main role in the factory team.
In 1950, the masters of the "Khokhloma painting" (as the artel began to be called) formed a new handwriting, there was a tendency to complicate the painting, elegance. In 1960 the artel was reborn as big factory"Khokhloma painting", technical re-equipment is taking place, new workshops are being put into operation. In 1964, a creative laboratory was created on the basis of the enterprise, headed by the artist E. N. Dospalova. New forms of products and types of writing are being developed, adapted to the life of the townspeople. Numerous world exhibitions in Montreal (1967), Osaka (1970), Paris, VDNKh brought awards and diplomas to the factory and made it world-famous. In 1992, the enterprise opened a division for the production of nesting dolls, in 1993 - a miniature painting workshop, in 2004 - a painting section. In 2014, the city of Semyonov was given the status of the capital of the Golden Khokhloma. From the same year, the International Festival Movement "Golden Khokhloma" begins. In 2015, a new line of production of fashion accessories with elements of Khokhloma painting was launched.
Hello dear.
Last time we talked with you about Palekh: it is quite logical that today we will remember Khokhloma.
This is an ancient art, which is a decorative painting of wooden utensils and furniture, made in red, green and golden tones on a black background.
It is assumed that Khokhloma painting originated in the 17th century on the left bank of the Volga, in the villages of Bolshie and Malye Bezdel, Mokushino, Shabashi, Glibino, Khryashchi. The village of Khokhloma (since 2010, part of the Koverninsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region) was a major sales center, where finished goods, hence the name of the painting. 
To date, there are many versions of the origin of Khokhloma painting, here are the two most common:
According to the most common version, the unique way of painting wooden utensils “under gold” in the forest Trans-Volga region and the very birth of the craft was attributed to the Old Believers. Even in ancient times, among the inhabitants of local villages, securely sheltered in the wilderness of forests, there were many Old Believers, that is, people who fled from persecution for the "old faith".
Among the Old Believers who moved to the Nizhny Novgorod land there were many icon painters, masters of book miniatures. They brought with them ancient icons and handwritten books, fine painting skills, freehand calligraphy and samples of the richest floral ornament. 
In turn, local craftsmen were excellent at turning, passed down from generation to generation the skills of making dishware molds, the art of three-dimensional carving. At the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries, the forest Trans-Volga region became a real artistic treasury. The art of Khokhloma inherited from the Trans-Volga masters the “classical forms” of turning utensils, the plasticity of the carved forms of ladles, spoons, and from the icon painters - the pictorial culture, the skill of the “thin brush” and, no less important, the secret of making “golden” utensils without the use of gold.
But there are documents showing otherwise. A method of imitation of gilding on wood, akin to Khokhloma, was used by Nizhny Novgorod artisans in painting wooden utensils as early as 1640-1650, before the appearance of the Old Believers. In the large Nizhny Novgorod handicraft villages of Lyskovo and Murashkino, in the Trans-Volga "selishka Semyonovskoye" (the future city of Semyonov - one of the centers of Khokhloma painting), wooden utensils were made - brothers, ladles, dishes for the festive table - painted "for pewter", that is, using tin powder. The method of painting wooden utensils “for pewter”, probably preceding Khokhloma, developed from the experience of icon painters and local Volga traditions of utensil craft.
The production of Khokhloma utensils was held back for a long time by the high cost of imported tin. Only a very wealthy customer could provide the craftsmen with tin. In the Trans-Volga region, monasteries turned out to be such customers. So, the villages of Khokhloma, Skorobogatovo and about 80 villages along the rivers Uzola and Kerzhents worked for the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. From the documents of the monastery it is clear that the peasants of these villages were called to work in the workshops of the Lavra, where they could get acquainted with the production of festive bowls and ladles. It is no coincidence that it was the villages of Khokhloma and Skorobogatovo that became the birthplace of the original painting of dishes, so similar to precious ones. 
The abundance of forests, the proximity of the Volga - the main trade artery of the Trans-Volga region - also contributed to the development of fishing: loaded with "chip" goods, the ships went to Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod, Makariev, famous for their fairs, and from there - to the Saratov and Astrakhan provinces. Through the Caspian steppes, Khokhloma dishes were delivered to Central Asia, Persia, and India. The British, Germans, French willingly bought up the Trans-Volga products in Arkhangelsk, where they were delivered through Siberia. The peasants carved, painted wooden utensils and brought them for sale to the large trading village of Khokhloma in the Nizhny Novgorod province, where there was a bargain. Hence the name "Khokhloma painting", or simply "Khokhloma".
There is also a legendary explanation for the appearance of Khokhloma painting. There was a wonderful icon painter Andrei Loskut. He fled from the capital, dissatisfied with the church innovations of Patriarch Nikon, and began to paint wooden crafts in the wilderness of the Volga forests, and paint icons according to the old model. Patriarch Nikon found out about this and sent soldiers for the recalcitrant icon painter. Andrei refused to obey, burned himself in a hut, and before his death bequeathed to people to preserve his skill. Sparks went out, Andrey crumbled. Since then, the bright colors of Khokhloma have been burning with a scarlet flame, sparkling with golden nuggets.
Basics of ornaments:
On large objects, dishes and bowls, a square or rhombus with softly rounded corners was drawn around the outlet. On supplies or salt shakers, having a cylindrical shape, the craftsmen created drawings of shoots rising from the ground. The lower the height of the product, the more intense the movement of the wave of the ornament that runs around it. The higher the product, the steeper the wave of the spreading branch. The entire surface of the object was harmoniously filled with ornament. Festive dishes were decorated more intricately and magnificently. The Khokhloma craft reached its peak in the 18th century. At this time, two types of writing are formed: top and background. Horse painting was carried out with plastic strokes on the tinned surface of the dishes, creating a magnificent openwork pattern. “Grass” can serve as a classic example of “riding” writing. The “background” painting was characterized by the use of a black or red background, while the drawing itself remained gold. But such a color scheme did not appear in Khokhloma painting right away. It has undergone tremendous changes, over the years it has become more concise and solemn. The bleaching agents, which created the impression of a three-dimensional form, disappeared, and the range of colors was limited. If earlier masters used white, blue, blue, pink, green and brown paints, then gradually red, black and gold become the main colors of the ornament. This limitation was caused not only by the fact that these paints did not burn out in the oven during hardening, but also by the fact that artists preferred the combination of these colors, primarily because of their special decorative qualities. As mentioned above, in Khokhloma painting there were two types of writing “background” and “horse”.
When “riding” writing, the master applies a drawing with black or red paint on a gold or silver background of the product. Three types of ornament can be distinguished here: “grass” painting, “leaf-like” or “berry-like” painting, “gingerbread” or “gingerbread” painting. "Grass painting" reminds us of the usual herbs familiar to everyone since childhood: sedge, white-bearded, meadow grass. This is perhaps the most ancient type of painting. It is written in curls, various strokes, small berries or spikelets on a silvery background. "Grass" drawing has always been popular among Khokhloma masters of painting. With great love, this drawing was written out with a brush, then collecting it in thick bushes, then scattering them over the surface of the product. The methods of painting floral ornaments are so diverse that amazing motifs come out from under the brush of the master. They twist into peculiar elements, the combination of which creates many combinations. From individual blades of grass, artists paint their favorite motif of a rooster or hen, which sits on a tree and pecks berries from it.
The letter, in which, in addition to grass, the masters include leaves, berries and flowers, is called “under the leaf” or “under the berry”. These paintings differ from the "grass" in larger strokes, forming the shape of oval leaves, round berries, left by the poke of the brush. Folk craftsmen take their motifs by stylizing plant forms. Therefore, it is not surprising that on the products of Khokhloma masters we see flowers, daisies, bells, grape leaves, strawberries, currants, gooseberries, cranberries. The basis of the painting under the leaf is made up of pointed or rounded leaves, connected by three or five, and berries, located in groups near the flexible stem. In the painting of large planes, larger motifs are used - cherries, strawberries, gooseberries, grapes. This painting has great decorative possibilities. In comparison with the "grass" it is multi-colored. For example, if in the "grass" painting mainly black and red are used, then in the painting "under the leaf" or "under the berry" masters paint the leaves in green, as well as in combination with brown and yellow. These murals are enriched with a herbal pattern, which is written in such compositions with green, red, brown colors. Another peculiar kind of painting belongs to the riding letter - “gingerbread” or “gingerbread”. This is a geometric figure, most often inscribed in a square or rhombus, and in the middle of the rectangle - a "big camelina" - the sun. Paintings with gingerbread are more simple and conditional than herbal ones, when you look at them, it seems that the Sun, with rays curled in a circle, is in constant motion. In the "background" letter, two types of ornament are distinguished: - painting "under the background" and painting "kudrin". 
Painting “under the background”, as already noted, begins with drawing a stem line with leaves and flowers, and sometimes with images of birds or fish. Then the background is painted with paint, most often black. Details of large motifs are drawn on a golden background. On top of the painted background, “herbal additions” are made with the tip of the brush - rhythmic strokes along the main stem, berries and small flowers “stick” with a poke of the brush. “Gold” shines through in this type of writing only in the silhouettes of leaves, in large forms of flowers, in the silhouettes of fabulous birds, which Khokhloma masters love to draw. Painting “under the background” is a much more time-consuming process and not every master can cope with such work. Items with such a painting were usually intended for a gift, and, as a rule, they were made to order and were valued higher. A kind of "background" painting is "kudrin". It is distinguished by a stylized image of leaves, flowers, curls. The space not occupied by them is painted over with paint, and the golden branches look spectacular against a bright red or black background. Curly hair got its name from golden curly curls, the lines of which form bizarre patterned shapes of leaves, flowers and fruits. The painting "kudrin" resembles a carpet. 
Its peculiarity is that the main role is played not by the brush stroke, but by the contour line. A flat spot of gold and a subtle touch of detail. The background in this type of painting is also painted in red or black. No other colors are used in this type of writing. From the emergence of Khokhloma painting to the present day, its various types have undergone tremendous changes, although the stylistic basis has remained the same. It is no coincidence that the art of Khokhloma originated on Russian soil near the beautiful Volga. It reflected the richness of the nature of this free land. The breadth of the expanses of our land and the generosity of the soul of the Russian people prompted him to bright colors and free rhythms of patterns. Here the craftsmen are able to write such a joyful and poetic ornament that the light and warmth of the sun's rays, the rustle of spring grasses and flowers begin to sound on the simplest wooden household items. The villages, with which the history of Khokhloma painting has been associated since time immemorial, are located along the banks of the winding river Uzola, which flows into the Volga. Water meadows and green fields stretch along its banks, separated by deep ravines, mountainous slopes and picturesque forests. For the sensitive soul of artists, the awakening of spring, and the special smell of the earth soaked with moisture, the opportunity to observe the blue flowering of flax, the gold of autumn and the silvery whiteness have always been significant events. winter forest. It was here, in the silence of the village, that they learned to penetrate the world of nature, the ability to admire the lightness and grace of the simplest field herbs and the juiciness of forest fruits. Reproducing these motifs in the ornament, they created poetic stories about the greatness and beauty of the Russian land. 
Currently, Khokhloma painting has two centers - the city of Semyonov, where the Khokhloma Painting and Semenovskaya Painting factories are located, and the village of Semino, Koverninsky District, where the Khokhloma Artist enterprise operates, uniting craftsmen from the villages of the Koverninsky District: Semino, Kuligino, Novopokrovskoye etc. Khokhloma Artist actively promotes its products. In Semino there is also an enterprise that has been producing wooden boxes with Khokhloma painting for 19 years (Promysel LLC).
Have a nice time of the day.
The ancient art of Khokhloma painting is now experiencing a new flowering. Sparkling gold, flaming with cinnabar patterns, wooden utensils and furniture are world famous. The wonderful Russian art craft, which arose back in the 17th century in the Volga region, near the trading village of Khokhloma, from which it got its name, has become one of the largest centers of folk art in our country. In the last century, Khokhloma spoons and bowls were part of everyday peasant use.
Khokhloma entered the life of a Soviet person in a new way: magnificent sets decorated the festive table, decorative vases and panels fit into the ensemble of a modern interior and enlivened it; small things - boxes, ladles - became favorite souvenirs, painted beads, brooches and bracelets - an elegant addition to a women's costume.
And yet, among the various products of the Khokhloma craft, which sometimes have a purely decorative purpose, the most important place is occupied by dishes. Today, along with traditional cups, spoons, flasks, supplies, Khokhloma artists offer beautiful and easy-to-use kitchen sets, sets for fish soup, berries, honey, milk, consisting of several items. From this bright colorful dish it seems to breathe generosity, Russian hospitality.
But the growing fame of Khokhloma is explained not only by the fact that Khokhloma products are practical and pleasant to use, they can serve as a decorative ornament or an original souvenir. In our time, the significance of Khokhloma painting as an original area of Russian folk art, a unique phenomenon of national culture, is becoming clearer. Artistic experience of many generations of talented wood turners, carvers and painters comes to life in the works created by the hands of modern masters.
When you look at cups carved from light wood, cups, bochaga, salt boxes, you never get tired of admiring the strict beauty of the forms, the sonorous decorativeness of the painting, which turned these modest household items into genuine works of art.
The motives of Khokhloma painting are simple and poetic. They are limited to floral and simple geometric patterns. Flexible grasses or twigs with golden elastic curls-leaves gently creep along the convex surfaces of objects. Flowers, clusters of berries are woven into the pattern. The compositions, sometimes strict and laconic, sometimes refined and lush, embodied the love of the Russian people for nature, their desire for beauty.
The cheerful structure of the painting acquires a festive solemnity thanks to the magnificently found colorful range: sparkling gold, scarlet cinnabar and deep black tone. Strict color combinations and the bright sheen of gold give wooden bowls a resemblance to precious dishes. This is all the more remarkable because the Khokhloma "gold" is a product of the ingenuity of Russian artisans.
And getting the effect of gold on a tree is not so easy: unpainted products are primed, covered with drying oil, rubbed with aluminum powder (in the past - tin, less often silver). The dishes “silvered” in this way are painted with heat-resistant oil paints, varnished and tempered in an oven. From heating, the varnish turns yellow, turning "silver" into "gold", softening the brightness of the color of the painting with an even golden tone.
The secrets of technology, the wonderful traditions of this type of folk art are kept and improved by two large art enterprises located in the Gorky region: Khokhloma Painting in the city of Semenov and Khokhloma Artist in the villages of Semino, Kuligino, Novopokrovskoye, Koverninsky district. Illustrious teams unite about a thousand masters. The work of many of them has received high awards.
It was not by chance that the Trans-Volga region became the birthplace of Khokhloma painting. The forest region in the northeast of the former Nizhny Novgorod province has long been famous for its skilled craftsmen. Here, until the end of the 19th century, numerous artistic crafts were preserved, among which, due to the abundance of forests, woodworking occupied a special place. Khokhloma was only the only branch of the art of carving, turning and painting on wood that was widespread here.
Peasant utensils were generously decorated with carving and painting: sledges, horse arches, spinning wheels, rollers, weaving mills, dishes. Intricate patterns were carved by folk craftsmen on gingerbread and heeled boards, and a chipped and chiseled toy was made for children. Especially sophisticated in the Volga region was the carved outfit of the huts. The pediment, walls, gates were covered with decorative boards depicting lush floral ornaments and fantastic creatures - birds-Syria, mermaids - "shorelines", lions with a flowering branch instead of a tail.
To enhance the impression of elegance, house carving, as well as the carving on the utensils, tinted. But the desire of peasant artists for bright colors was even stronger in the painting of wooden toys, bast boxes, birch bark, Khokhloma dishes and Gorodets spinning wheels.
Gorodets painting, which arose in the second half of the 19th century next to Khokhloma painting, is completely different from it. In the villages near Volzhsky Gorodets, famous for the noisy bazaars, the peasants depicted funny pictures on the wide bottoms of the spinning wheels: elegant “couples”, dashing riders on steep-necked horses framed by lush roses or colorful bouquets, cheerful treats.
And today this peasant painting delights us with its impudently bold painting style, sonorous harmony of rich blue, yellow, black and pink-red tones. Everyday scenes indicating the later origin of Gorodets painting, the flamboyance of the colorful range, the technique of “cold” coloring in contrast emphasize the unique originality of Khokhloma’s purely ornamental motifs, its strict solemn coloring and unusual technology, generated by the artistic culture of the 17th century.
In the history of the folk crafts of the Volga region, the Khokhloma craft has taken a special place not only in terms of the breadth of distribution, the number of employed workers, the volume of manufactured products, the scope of trade, but also in terms of amazing vitality. The method of Khokhloma coloring arose, in all likelihood, in the 17th century. In any case, even then, metal powder in the decoration of wooden utensils was widely used by Nizhny Novgorod craftsmen, for example, in the estates of the boyar Morozov, who in a letter to his clerks in 1659 demanded to send him "a hundred dishes of quick red (i.e. dyed. - i.e.) and for the tin business". But whether this dish was similar to gold is unknown.
It is quite possible that the development of the Khokhloma technology was influenced by the icon-painting craft developed in the schismatic hermitages of the Trans-Volga region - for gilding the background of the icons, silver powder was used under drying oil. In this technique, close to Khokhloma, local icon painters also tried to create purely ornamental compositions. The Gorky Art Museum has 17th-century icon cases painted with lush floral patterns reminiscent of precious oriental fabrics. Fantastic golden flowers and oddly shaped leaves gleam against red and green backgrounds.
The spread of the method of imitation of gold in the coloring of peasant dishes was apparently caused by the desire to imitate expensive utensils carved from precious woods, painted with cinnabar and painted with real gold. It existed among the boyars, and was made in monasteries and, in particular, in the Tronza-Sergius Lavra, to which the Trans-Volga villages of Khokhloma and Skorobogatovo were assigned in the 17th century. From the documents of the monastery it can be seen that the peasants from these villages were called to work in the workshops of the Lavra, where they could get acquainted with the production of festive bowls and ladles. Interestingly, it was the Khokhloma and Skorobogachovo lands that became the birthplace of the original folk painting, dishes that looked like precious ones.
Abundance of forest, proximity trade routes contributed to the development of the industry. In 1810, the Russian geographer Yevdokim Zyablovsky reported that in the villages of the Nizhny Novgorod province, located on the left bank of the Volga, “peasants sharpen and varnish various wooden utensils. Their goods are light, clean, strong, and both their yellow and black varnish, which they brew from linseed oil, is very strong and bright.
By the middle of the 19th century, the industry had grown significantly. “The activity in the Khokhloma volost is unusual,” wrote Nizhny Novgorod Gubernskiye Vedomosti in 1855, “in some villages buckwheats are prepared, in others cups are sharpened from buckles, in others they are painted ...”
Ten villages of the Semyonovsky district (Vikharevo, Koshelevo, Sivtsevo, Berezovka and others) in 1870 painted 930 thousand pieces of dishes. The Skorobogatovskaya volost of the neighboring Kostroma province competed with them, where they were engaged in painting in Big and Small Khryashchi, Semin, Rossadin, Mokushin, Vorotnev and the village of Bezdeli, which got its name because its inhabitants did not sow bread, like other peasants, but lived only on income from the industry.
In the second half of the 19th century, all kinds of cups, caviar dishes of five varieties, chiseled mugs, barrels, lacquer canes and snuff boxes were made here. The furniture with Khokhloma patterns, which was made in Bezdely by the Krasilnikov family, was also famous. By this time, Khokhloma painting had accumulated certain traditions, its characteristic techniques and types of compositions had developed.
The art of Khokhloma in its origins is closely connected with the ancient Russian decorative culture. In Khokhloma ornaments, one can see a connection with the floral patterns of icons and frescoes, manuscripts, fabrics and utensils of the 17th century. In the process of development, peasant painting experienced various influences, but, having reworked them, it created its own special style, largely determined by the tasks of mass production of cheap dishes for peasant households.
The principles of decorating it are varied and depend on the shape, size and purpose of the object. The cheapest bowls that could be found in any village hut had a simple ornament. The master, having dipped a stencil made of a piece of felt, a dry raincoat mushroom or a porous sponge into the paint, confidently applied black and red rhombuses, stars, spirals to the surface of the bowl. They alternated on a golden background in a strict rhythmic order, sometimes combined with light strokes, either scattered along the side, or forming a semblance of a flower at the bottom. Already in these primitive compositions, the wonderful decorative flair of the village artist, his ability to fill the surface of an object with a pattern, leaving no voids anywhere, but also without clogging the golden background with paint, affected. Using stingy means, the master created an elegant, eye-pleasing painting.
Things large or more complex in shape were painted with the so-called grass ornament. It was executed with quick, laconic strokes of the brush, similar to blades of grass or feathery leaves. A light openwork pattern covering the golden dishes, casks, and supplies emphasized the beauty of their proportions and the plasticity of the silhouette.
In this regard, the painting of the "artel" bowls is noteworthy, huge, "up to one and a half arshins in diameter," from which it was possible to feed an entire artel. Sometimes they were inscribed with: This bowl is for barge haulers, it’s nice to eat them to their health. We serve the owner, we sing a song.
At the bottom of such a bowl, the master, as a rule, placed a rosette of "herbs". This composition was popularly called "saffron milk cap", either because of its resemblance to a forest mushroom, or because it resembled the sun - red-haired Yarilo. Often the socket fit into a rhombus, forming, as it were, a gingerbread.
The drawing in the center, emphasizing the bottom, was framed by a plant branch. She lay down on the side of the bowl with a magnificent wreath and seemed to bloom before our eyes, throwing out elastically curled shoots with clusters of berries one after another. It is convenient to distribute such an ornamental motif on the spherical surface of an object, and thanks to repeated repetition, its drawing becomes clear and complete.
In another case, the composition is built on the principle of contrast - the "gingerbread" is enlarged, and along the side, like the feathers of a fabulous bird, swirling strokes are boldly thrown, running in one direction. Their impetuous rhythm exacerbates the immobility of the “carrot”. Khokhloma carefully preserves herbal patterns taken from antiquity, and sometimes unexpectedly boldly recycles, creating endless and varied options: a wavy branch on a bowl, lush bushes on a pot-bellied barrel or a squat salt cellar, graceful “sedges” on a slender stand, and on its lid - a steeply curved branch-spiral.
The fantasy of a peasant artist is inexhaustible: the ornament never repeats exactly, and each new version of it is a skillful improvisation performed without a preliminary drawing. That is why the methods of “riding” writing, which are used to perform “grass”, are so expressive: flexible strokes - blades of grass - lie like silhouettes on top of the Golden background. The rhythms of painting are determined by the movements of the brush, sometimes bold, energetic, sometimes smooth and unhurried, but always confident and precise.
The manner of writing, worked out by more than one generation of artists, combines the accuracy of techniques with spontaneity and apparent simplicity: we see how the paint hardened at the touch of a brush, giving life to wonderful leaves and herbs. Juicy strokes and light strokes are extremely arbitrary and contain only a hint of form, but they immediately conjure up a vivid and vivid image of a flowering plant in our imagination.
In these fiery bursts of cinnabar - the generosity and richness of the soul of a Russian person, in them - a living sense of nature and the peasant's dream of beauty, his desire to turn a modest blade of grass into an outlandish plant, winding with bizarre curls. The same is sung in folk wedding songs: “golden yar-hops” curl, “azure flowers” bloom on the way of the groom to the bride, “silk grass” leans.
The grass ornament was the most favorite among the peasants, but there were also compositions without “grass”, “under the leaf”, an image of leaves on branches that were simple in pattern, or those where “grass” was an addition to the main pattern. For example, a "pole" with large flowers and leaves, curly antennae.
"Horse" writing is one of the Khokhloma paintings, associated with the tradition of free brush paintings that existed in the Volga region in the 17th-18th centuries. Other techniques and decorative principles are developed by the “background” writing that emerged in the middle of the last century.
Its execution is more complex: the artist outlines the contours of the drawing with a thin black line, then paints over the red background, and unsubscribes the left silver pattern, i.e., enlivens with light strokes, sets off with hatching. After varnishing and hardening in the oven, golden flowers and leaves will sparkle against a festive scarlet or deep black background.
So they wrote “kudrin - an ornament formed by golden curls. They, following each other, like crests of waves, create an elegant golden border. Such a strip was liked to be placed along the edges of bowls and stands.
Often the motif of the "curl" is a large branch with succulent leaves, reminiscent of the floral patterns of house carvings. These patterns, according to the stories of the old master N. G. Podogov, Khokhloma artists altered in their own way, changed the composition, adapting it to the convex surfaces of chiseled dishes, giving the leaves a more rounded shape.
"Kudrina" was liked by its generality, the play of flat golden spots. Bowls and spoons were decorated with such a painting, but it was especially good on large objects - large bowls, arcs, round stools. On arcs made in the middle of the last century, there are also patterns with smaller branches, intercepted rings and curly leaves. They resemble the ornaments of ancient handwritten books preserved by the Old Believers.
Obviously, these drawings influenced the composition of the “curly hair” motifs, and possibly determined the graphic nature of its techniques: instead of rich strokes of “grass”, giving rise to the impression of picturesqueness, volume, a contour line, a flat golden spot, a subtle stroke in the elaboration of details dominate here. However, the complex and time-consuming "background" letter was apparently executed only on gift items or on special order. Few such things have come down to us, and often they were signed or had inscriptions: This arc of the peasant Simeon Ivanov Grishina der. Retkino 1853.
The technique of "riding" writing, due to the ease and laconicism of its techniques, remained the main one in decorating mass-produced dishes, which were sold in lots of a thousand pieces. Light, durable, elegant and cheap Khokhloma bowls, spoons, setters and dishes were widely dispersed in Russia and exported abroad. The main trade route was the Volga.
In the spring, as soon as the river was cleared of ice, barges loaded to the top with "chip goods" sailed to Gorodets or to Nizhny Novgorod and Makariev, famous for their fairs, and from there to the Saratov and Astrakhan provinces. Through the Kyrgyz steppes, Khokhloma dishes were delivered to Persia, India, and Central Asia. From Nizhny Novgorod she went to Siberia, to the White and Baltic Seas. The British, Germans and French bought it in Arkhangelsk. Travelers met Khokhloma cups in remote cities of America, Africa and Australia.
Despite the growing popularity of Khokhloma painting, at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the craft experienced a severe crisis caused by an increase in the cost of timber and increased competition for factory-made dishes. Handicraftsmen had to develop the cheapest types of dishes, the painting degenerated into rough, careless strokes. Professional artists sent by the Nizhny Novgorod Zemstvo to teach handicraftsmen new drawings introduced an element of cold stylization into the painting.
The Great October Socialist Revolution opened a new page in the art of Khokhloma. In the first decrees of the Soviet government, concern for the protection and development of folk art was felt. An important role in his fate was played by the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. signed by V. I. Lenin and M. I. Kalinin on April 25, 1919. "On measures to promote the handicraft industry." Khokhloma handicraftsmen, as well as masters of other crafts, received the necessary financial support and raw materials. They united in artels and went to work from cramped dye houses to bright and spacious public workshops. In 1918, a Khokhloma painting school was opened in Semenov.
The exhibition of works of peasant art, organized in 1921 in the halls of the State Historical Museum, showed its true beauty and significance, prompted Khokhloma artists to turn to the study of the rich heritage of the past. The time of the revival of the truly folk character of the painting was the 1920-1930s. Its best traditions were preserved and passed on to the younger generation of artists by the old masters: S. S. Yuzikov, the Krasilnikov brothers, A. M. Serov, P. F. Raspopin, the Pologov family and others.
However, the traditions of the pre-revolutionary art of Khokhloma were rethought in the spirit of the times. As a result, at the Exhibition of Folk Art, which took place in 1937 at the State Tretyakov Gallery, new original works by Khokhloma artists appeared. In these works, on the basis of the old "grass" writing, various variants of floral patterns were created. Artists began to place flowers, patterned leaves, strawberries, currants, raspberries, spikelets of rye among flexible grasses, to depict birds, and sometimes fish in stains of algae grasses. For the first time, the joyful feeling of life was vividly embodied in the Khokhloma ornament, and its content became rich and emotional.
The following decades were full of intense searches: the art of Khokhloma was enriched with new discoveries. The highest creative achievements are associated with the current stage in the life of the industry. Excellent results are brought by the work of Khokhloma masters in collaboration with employees of the Moscow Research Institute of the Art Industry - V. M. Vishnevskaya. 3. A. Arkhipova, A. V. Babaeva. E. I. Vorontsova.
In the experimental laboratories opened at the Khokhloma factories, artists create a rich assortment of products that are becoming increasingly popular today. There is a variety of dishes, and decorative vases, ladles, panels, and sets of collapsible children's furniture, light and comfortable coffee tables. Among the novelties of souvenir products are graceful vases, powder boxes, a set of three miniature sets nested one inside the other and painted with “grass”, “curly” and “under the background”.
In developing the plastic qualities of new products, the authors strive to make fuller use of the specifics of wood. Taking as a basis the types of traditional Russian wooden utensils - bowls, brothers, stands, tubs, large mugs for kvass - the artists interpret the form in their own way, giving it a sharper expressiveness, emphasizing harmony and lightness or, on the contrary, massiveness and squatness. This is achieved by changing the proportion, silhouette, original solution of details - handles, covers.
Thanks to the new decorative purpose of Khokhloma products, the aesthetic basis of Khokhloma was further developed. Khokhloma painting today has become unusually subtle, virtuoso, emotional. Perfectly mastering all types of writing, artists create endlessly diverse options for ornaments. And in any composition one can feel the bright individuality of the master. Even, it would seem, in monotonous, at first glance, herbal patterns, we can easily distinguish large juicy "grass" by A. I. Kurkina from the delicate "grass" by N. A. Denisova or light dynamic, as if bowed by a gust of wind, scarlet "herbs » E. N. Dospalova.
The colorful gamut of painting became more complex and richer. Masters are looking for new interesting combinations within the limits of the traditional coloring, decomposing the main colors into similar shades: yellow-orange highlights appear on red berries, and greenish-brownish tones play on the leaves, softly combined with gold. The Khokhloma palette seems to absorb the colorful richness of the autumn forests, among which the painting was born.
The saturation of the Khokhloma patterns is set off by the artists with golden stripes, chiseled decorative rings, grooves, which give the product a special elegance. In modern Khokhloma art, two directions have been identified.
In the Koverninsky district, where craftsmen work in villages lost among dense forests, the figurative structure of the painting is largely determined by direct life impressions. The prevailing motifs here are “grass”, modest wildflowers, birch leaves and catkins, lindens, wild berries. The rhythms of the drawing are smooth, unhurried, but the brush strokes are picturesque and bold. "We love living berries, freedom in painting", say kavernnian artists.
Each of them has its own special style of performance. Fine lyricism distinguishes the work of L. I. Maslova. The gentle, friendly image of nature is embodied by her in compositions with a gooseberry motif. On flexible branches, she depicts patterned pale green leaves, striped golden yellow berries. Through their shaggy skin, golden veins-strokes seem to shine through in the sun.
Paintings by K. V. Mosnnaya with raspberries, mountain ash and currants are akin to a cheerful peasant song. It emanates from them a freshness of feeling, a purely folk understanding of color - sonorous, bright, full-blooded. Thin lines coexist here with a daring stroke and a “poke”, (“bobblehead”), which is applied with the end of the brush. With such “pokes” the craftswoman writes blackberries and raspberries, the crown of a tree, clover flowers.
O. P. Lushnna stands out among other craftswomen with her picturesque temperament. She often builds compositions on the play of large spots of color, abandoning the traditional flexible stem or bush. On the golden background of bowls and vases, the artist boldly scatters fiery red leaves. These bright juicy spots, like sonorous musical chords, give the figurative structure of the painting a special elation and major.
Modern "background" writing has become extraordinarily effective. The floral patterns that are performed in this technique, thanks to special techniques, received a new original interpretation: either in A.T. sky, golden flowers-rosettes in the works of O. L. Veselova. Master P. A. Novozhilova loves the red background, which gives the image a special festiveness. The drawings of Kovernin's "curl" are soft and plastic. True, they are performed less frequently here than in the city of Semenov.
The city of Semyonov is another major center of Khokhloma, where this art develops somewhat differently. Although both Semenov and Kovernin artists are fine connoisseurs of all types of writing, both have their favorite motives and techniques. Differences in the nature of their painting have been outlined for a long time. In 1937, at the exhibition "Folk Art" in the Tretyakov Gallery, two decorative panels aroused particular interest. One of them belonged to the Koverninsky master A. G. Podogov.
Using the ancient motif of the “polewood” composition, he depicted screaming starlings among fresh greenery and fluffy bird cherry flowers. He managed to create a poetic and at the same time lifelike image of spring Russian nature. The work of the Semenov artist A.P. Kuznetsova fascinated with its fabulousness: on a lush branch with magic apples, an elegant Pava bird with fiery golden-orange plumage.
Semenovtsev were also later attracted by complex and lush compositions with fantastic birds, flowers and bizarre leaves, which they performed in a light graphic manner.
Recently, the Semenov masters have been working a lot and willingly on the Kudrina ornaments, writing them in small, with jewelry subtlety.
Peculiar, unusual motifs of "curly hair" by M. F. Sineva. They vary the image of an exotic flower formed by golden curls and reminiscent of an oriental fan.
If the craftswomen of Kovernnia each try to preserve their individual "handwriting", then in the city of Semenov talented artists A.P. Savinova, N.P. Salnikova, N.V. Morozova, N.I. Ivanova, M.M. Gladkova, creating new compositions often work together. Each can always continue or finish the work of the other. Especially good are the table sets made by a team of craftsmen under the guidance of I. K. Sorokin.
Rare in beauty patterns are painted on various objects. You can endlessly admire the filigree ornament of small golden leaf curls on a flexible stem. Whimsically curving, golden branches lie on the red background of cups, brothers and ladles with elegant openwork lace. The magnificent solemn painting corresponds to the purpose of the festive dishes. The works of Semyonov and Kovernino artists perfectly complement each other, giving an idea of the rich and varied possibilities of modern Khokhloma painting.
