Khokhloma painting. Message "history of Khokhloma"

  • 19.10.2019

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. 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 modern interior and made him alive; 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 as if it exudes generosity, Russian hospitality.


But the growing fame of Khokhloma is explained not only by the fact that Khokhloma products are practical and pleasant in the household, they can serve as decorative ornament or original souvenir. In our time, the significance of Khokhloma painting as an original area of ​​​​Russian folk art is becoming clearer. unique phenomenon national culture. 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 the carved light wood cups, cupboards, cauldrons, salt shakers, you never get tired of admiring the strict beauty of 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 concise, 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, among which, due to the abundance of forests, a special place was occupied by wood processing. 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, the house carvings, as well as the carvings on the utensils, were highlighted. But also stronger aspiration peasant artists to bright colorfulness manifested itself in the painting wooden toys, bast boxes, birch bark tues, 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 late 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 folk crafts of the Volga region Khokhloma craft took a special place not only in terms of 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 the metal powder in the decoration wooden utensils was widely used by Nizhny Novgorod masters, 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 icon-painting craft developed in the schismatic hermitages of the Trans-Volga region had an influence on the addition of Khokhloma technology - silver powder for drying oil was used to gild the background of the icons. 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.


The abundance of forests, the proximity of trade routes contributed to the development of fishing. 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 buckwheaters, 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. Skorobogatovskaya volost of the neighboring Kostroma province competed with them, where they were engaged in painting in Big and Small Khryashchi, Semin, Rossadina, Mokushino, 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, she created her own special style, which was largely determined by the tasks of mass production of cheap dishes for peasant use.


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 remarkable decorative flair of the village artist, his ability to fill the surface of an object with a pattern, leaving no voids anywhere, but without clogging the golden background with paint, was reflected. 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. Light openwork pattern, covering golden dishes, kegs, setters, emphasized the beauty of their proportions, 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 grass patterns taken from antiquity, and sometimes unexpectedly boldly recycles, creating endless and variety of 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 there is a sharply curved spiral branch.


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” wind, “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 juicy strokes of “grass”, giving rise to the impression of picturesqueness, volume, a contour line, a flat golden spot, a subtle touch 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 decisions Soviet power 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.


Arranged in 1921 in the halls of the State Historical Museum the exhibition of works of peasant art 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, setters, tubs, large mugs for kvass, artists interpret the form in their own way, giving it a sharper expressiveness, emphasizing slenderness 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 received further development. 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" of A. I. Kurkina from the delicate "grass" of 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. Khokhloma's palette seems to absorb colorful richness 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 determined.


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 Kovernin 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.

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The painting looks bright, despite the dark background. To create a picture, paints such as red, yellow, orange, Little green and blue. Also in the painting there is always a golden color. The traditional elements of Khokhloma are red juicy rowan and strawberry berries, flowers and branches. Birds, fish and animals are also often found.

    Khohloma kovernino.JPG

    Products with Koverinsky Khokhloma painting

    Khohloma set 1996.JPG

    A set of products with Khokhloma painting

    Khohloma box.JPG

    Casket painted under Khokhloma

Story

It is believed that Khokhloma painting originated in the 17th century on the left bank of the Volga, in the villages of Big and Small Bezdel, Mokushino, Shabashi, Glibino, Khryashchi. The village of Khokhloma was a major sales center, where finished products were brought, and the name of the painting came from there. Currently, the city of Semyonov in the Nizhny Novgorod region is considered the birthplace of Khokhloma.

To date, there are many versions of the origin of Khokhloma painting, here are the two most common:

First version

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 Khokhloma 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 excellently mastered turning skills, 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" dishes without the use of gold.

Second version

But there are documents showing otherwise. A method of imitation of gilding on wood, related to Khokhloma, was used by Nizhny Novgorod artisans in coloring 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 Semenovskoye" (the future city of Semenov - 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 the local Volga traditions of utensil craft.

Factors that gave impetus to the development of Khokhloma painting

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 Khokhloma and Skorobogatov villages and villages 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 "wood chips" goods. ships were sent 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 turned, painted wooden utensils and took them for sale to the large trading village of Khokhloma (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.

Khokhloma craft centers

Currently, Khokhloma painting has two centers - the city of Semyonov, where the Khokhloma Painting and Semyonov 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. (the factory is located in the village of Semino). At the moment, the activity of the enterprise is reduced to almost zero. In the village of Semino there is also an enterprise engaged in the production of wooden boxes with Khokhloma painting (Promysel LLC).

Technology

For the manufacture of products with Khokhloma painting, first they beat baklushi, that is, they make rough wood blanks. Then on a lathe or milling machine the workpiece is given the desired shape. The resulting products - carved ladles and spoons, supplies and cups - the basis for painting, are called "linen".

After drying, the "linen" is primed with liquid purified clay - vapa. After priming, the product is dried for 7-8 hours and must be manually covered with several layers of drying oil ( linseed oil). The master dips a special tampon made of sheep or calf skin turned inside out into a bowl with drying oil, and then quickly rubs it into the surface of the product, turning it so that the drying oil is evenly distributed. This operation is very responsible. The quality of wooden utensils, the strength of the painting will depend on it in the future. During the day, the product will be covered with drying oil 3-4 times. The last layer will be dried to a “slight touch” - when the drying oil slightly sticks to the finger, no longer staining it. The next stage is “tinning”, that is, rubbing aluminum powder into the surface of the product. It is also performed manually with a sheepskin swab. After tinning, the objects acquire a beautiful white-mirror shine, and are ready for painting. Oil paints are used in painting. The main colors that determine the character and recognizability of Khokhloma painting are red and black (cinnabar and soot), but others are also allowed to revive the pattern - brown, light-colored greens, yellow tone. Painting brushes are made from squirrel tails so that they can draw a very thin line.

There is a “horse” painting (when a drawing is applied on a painted silver background (kriul is the main line of the composition, elements such as sedges, droplets, antennae, curls, etc.) are “planted” on it in red and black) and “under the background” (first outline of the ornament, and then filled black paint the background, drawing of a leaf or flower remains golden). In addition, there are various types of ornaments:

  • "gingerbread" - usually inside a cup or dish, a geometric figure - a square or a rhombus - decorated with grass, berries, flowers;
  • "grass" - a pattern of large and small blades of grass;
  • "kudrina" - leaves and flowers in the form of golden curls on a red or black background;

Masters and simplified ornaments are used. For example, “speck”, which is applied with a stamp cut from the plates of a raincoat mushroom, or with a piece of fabric folded in a special way. All products are painted by hand, and the painting is not repeated anywhere. No matter how expressive the painting is, as long as the pattern or background remains silvery, this is not yet a real “Khokhloma”.

Painted products are coated 4-5 times with a special varnish (with intermediate drying after each layer) and, finally, they are 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.

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An excerpt characterizing Khokhloma

- Oh my god! Oh my God! How bad he is! mother exclaimed.

When Anna Mikhailovna went with her son to Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhy, Countess Rostova sat alone for a long time, putting a handkerchief to her eyes. Finally, she called.
“What are you, dear,” she said angrily to the girl, who kept herself waiting for several minutes. You don't want to serve, do you? So I will find a place for you.
The countess was upset by the grief and humiliating poverty of her friend and therefore was not in a good mood, which was always expressed in her by the name of the maid "dear" and "you".
“Guilty with,” said the maid.
“Ask the Count for me.
The count, waddling, approached his wife with a somewhat guilty look, as always.
- Well, Countess! What a saute au madere [saute in Madeira] of grouse will be, ma chere! I tried; I gave a thousand rubles for Taraska not for nothing. Costs!
He sat down beside his wife, valiantly leaning his hands on his knees and ruffling his gray hair.
- What do you want, countess?
- Here's what, my friend - what do you have dirty here? she said, pointing to the vest. "That's sauté, right," she added, smiling. - Here's the thing, Count: I need money.
Her face became sad.
- Oh, Countess! ...
And the count began to fuss, taking out his wallet.
- I need a lot, count, I need five hundred rubles.
And she, taking out a cambric handkerchief, rubbed her husband's waistcoat with it.
- Now. Hey, who's there? he shouted in a voice that only people shout, confident that those whom they call will rush headlong to their call. - Send Mitenka to me!
Mitenka, that noble son, brought up by the count, who was now in charge of all his affairs, entered the room with quiet steps.
“That’s what, my dear,” said the count to the respectful young man who entered. “Bring me…” he thought. - Yes, 700 rubles, yes. Yes, look, don’t bring such torn and dirty ones as that time, but good ones, for the countess.
“Yes, Mitenka, please, clean ones,” said the countess, sighing sadly.
“Your Excellency, when would you like me to deliver it?” Mitenka said. “If you please, don’t worry, don’t worry,” he added, noticing that the count had already begun to breathe heavily and quickly, which was always a sign of anger. - I was and forgot ... Will you order to deliver this minute?
- Yes, yes, then bring it. Give it to the Countess.
“What gold I have this Mitenka,” added the count, smiling, when the young man left. - There is no such thing as impossible. I can't stand it. Everything is possible.
“Ah, money, count, money, how much grief they cause in the world!” said the Countess. “I really need this money.
“You, countess, are a well-known winder,” said the count, and, kissing his wife’s hand, went back into the study.
When Anna Mikhailovna returned again from Bezukhoy, the countess already had money, all in brand new paper, under a handkerchief on the table, and Anna Mikhailovna noticed that the countess was somehow disturbed.
- Well, my friend? the countess asked.
Oh, what a terrible state he is in! You can't recognize him, he's so bad, so bad; I stayed for a minute and did not say two words ...
“Annette, for God’s sake, don’t refuse me,” the countess suddenly said, blushing, which was so strange with her middle-aged, thin and important face, taking money from under her handkerchief.
Anna Mikhaylovna instantly understood what was the matter, and already bent down to deftly embrace the countess at the right time.
- Here's Boris from me, for sewing a uniform ...
Anna Mikhaylovna was already embracing her and crying. The Countess was crying too. They wept that they were friendly; and that they are kind; and that they, girlfriends of youth, are occupied with such a low subject - money; and that their youth had passed ... But the tears of both were pleasant ...

Countess Rostova was sitting with her daughters and already with a large number of guests in the drawing room. The count ushered the male guests into his study, offering them his hunter's collection of Turkish pipes. Occasionally he would come out and ask: has she come? They were waiting for Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova, nicknamed in society le terrible dragon, [a terrible dragon,] a lady famous not for wealth, not for honors, but for her directness of mind and frank simplicity of address. Marya Dmitrievna knew the royal family, knew all of Moscow and all of St. Petersburg, and both cities, surprised at her, secretly laughed at her rudeness, told jokes about her; yet everyone, without exception, respected and feared her.
In an office full of smoke, there was a conversation about the war, which was declared by the manifesto, about recruitment. No one has yet read the Manifesto, but everyone knew about its appearance. The count was sitting on an ottoman between two smoking and talking neighbors. The count himself did not smoke or speak, but tilting his head, now to one side, then to the other, he looked with evident pleasure at the smokers and listened to the conversation of his two neighbors, whom he pitted against each other.
One of the speakers was a civilian, with a wrinkled, bilious, and shaven, thin face, a man already approaching old age, although he was dressed like the most fashionable young man; he sat with his feet on the ottoman with the air of a domestic man, and, sideways thrusting amber far into his mouth, impetuously drew in the smoke and screwed up his eyes. It was the old bachelor Shinshin, the cousin of the countess, an evil tongue, as they said about him in Moscow drawing rooms. He seemed to condescend to his interlocutor. Another, fresh, pink, officer of the Guards, impeccably washed, buttoned and combed, held amber near the middle of his mouth and with pink lips slightly pulled out the smoke, releasing it in ringlets from his beautiful mouth. It was that lieutenant Berg, an officer of the Semyonovsky regiment, with whom Boris went to the regiment together and with which Natasha teased Vera, the senior countess, calling Berg her fiancé. The Count sat between them and listened attentively. The most pleasant occupation for the count, with the exception of the game of boston, which he was very fond of, was the position of the listener, especially when he managed to play off two talkative interlocutors.
“Well, father, mon tres honorable [most respected] Alfons Karlych,” said Shinshin, chuckling and combining (which was the peculiarity of his speech) the most popular Russian expressions with exquisite French phrases. - Vous comptez vous faire des rentes sur l "etat, [Do you expect to have income from the treasury,] do you want to receive income from the company?
- No, Pyotr Nikolaevich, I only want to show that in the cavalry there are much fewer advantages against the infantry. Now consider, Pyotr Nikolaitch, my position...
Berg always spoke very precisely, calmly and courteously. His conversation always concerned only him alone; he was always calmly silent while talking about something that had no direct relation to him. And he could remain silent in this way for several hours, without experiencing or producing in others the slightest confusion. But as soon as the conversation concerned him personally, he began to speak at length and with visible pleasure.
“Consider my situation, Pyotr Nikolaevich: if I were in the cavalry, I would receive no more than two hundred rubles a third, even with the rank of lieutenant; and now I get two hundred and thirty,” he said with a joyful, pleasant smile, looking at Shinshin and the count, as if it were obvious to him that his success would always be the main goal of the desires of all other people.
“Besides, Pyotr Nikolaevich, having transferred to the guards, I am in the public eye,” Berg continued, “and vacancies in the guards infantry are much more frequent. Then, think for yourself how I could get a job out of two hundred and thirty rubles. And I’m saving and sending more to my father,” he continued, blowing the ring.
- La balance y est ... [The balance is established ...] The German threshes a loaf on the butt, comme dit le roverbe, [as the proverb says,] - shifting amber to the other side of his mouth, said Shinshin and winked at the count.
The Count laughed. Other guests, seeing that Shinshin was talking, came up to listen. Berg, not noticing either ridicule or indifference, continued to talk about how, by being transferred to the guard, he had already won a rank in front of his comrades in the corps, how in wartime a company commander could be killed, and he, remaining a senior in a company, could very easily be company commander, and how everyone in the regiment loves him, and how pleased his papa is with him. Berg apparently enjoyed telling all this, and seemed unaware that other people might also have their own interests. But everything he said was so sweetly sedate, the naivety of his young selfishness was so obvious that he disarmed his listeners.
- Well, father, you are both in the infantry and in the cavalry, you will go everywhere; I predict this for you, - said Shinshin, patting him on the shoulder and lowering his legs from the ottoman.
Berg smiled happily. The count, followed by the guests, went out into the drawing-room.

There was that time before a dinner party when the assembled guests do not start a long conversation in anticipation of a call for an appetizer, but at the same time find it necessary to stir and not be silent in order to show that they are not at all impatient to sit down at the table. The owners glance at the door and occasionally exchange glances with each other. From these glances, guests try to guess who or what else they are waiting for: an important late relative or food that has not yet ripened.
Pierre arrived just before dinner and sat awkwardly in the middle of the living room on the first chair that came across, blocking everyone's way. The countess wanted to make him talk, but he naively looked around him through his glasses, as if looking for someone, and answered all the questions of the countess in monosyllables. He was shy and alone did not notice it. Most of the guests, who knew his history with the bear, looked curiously at this big, fat and meek man, wondering how such a lump and modest could do such a thing with the quarter.
- Have you just arrived? the Countess asked him.
- Oui, madame, [Yes, ma'am,] - he answered, looking around.

Made in black and red on a golden background. When painting a tree, not gold, but silvery tin powder is applied to the tree. After that, the product is covered with a special composition and processed three or four times in the oven, which achieves a honey-golden color, giving the effect of massiveness to light wooden utensils.

The traditional elements of Khokhloma are red juicy rowan and strawberry berries, flowers and branches. Often there are birds, fish and animals.

Story

It is believed that Khokhloma painting originated in the 17th century on the left bank of the Volga, in the villages of Khokhloma (hence the name of the painting), Big and Small Bezdels, Mokushino, Shabashi, Glibino, Khryashchi. Currently, the village of Kovernino in the Nizhny Novgorod region is considered the birthplace of Khokhloma.

To date, there are many versions of the origin of Khokhloma painting, here are the 2 most common:

1 version

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 Khokhloma 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 "leakers", that is, people fleeing 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 with colorful headpieces, fine painting skills, free brush calligraphy and examples of the richest floral ornament.

In turn, local craftsmen excellently mastered turning skills, 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" dishes without the use of gold.

2 version

But there are documents showing otherwise. A method of imitation of gilding on wood, related to Khokhloma, was used by Nizhny Novgorod artisans in coloring wooden utensils as early as 1640-1650, before the appearance of the Old Believers. (T. Emelyanova, Birth of Khokhloma.j. "Folk Art", N1, 1992, p. 19). In the large Nizhny Novgorod handicraft villages of Lyskovo and Murashkino, in the Trans-Volga "selishka Semenovskoye" (the future city of Semenov - 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. (ibid., p. 20).

Factors that gave impetus to the development of Khokhloma painting

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 Khokhloma and Skorobogatov villages and villages 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 "wood chips" goods. ships were sent 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 turned, painted wooden utensils and took them for sale to the large trading village of Khokhloma (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.

Khokhloma centers

Currently, Khokhloma painting has two centers - the city of Semyonov, where the Khokhloma Painting and Semenov 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. (the factory is located in the village of Semino). At the moment, the activity of the enterprise is reduced to almost zero. In the village of Semino there is also an enterprise that has been producing wooden boxes with Khokhloma painting for 19 years (Promysel LLC).

Technology

How are products with Khokhloma painting created? First they beat the buckets, that is, they make rough wood blanks. Then the master stands up for lathe, removes excess wood with a cutter and gradually gives the workpiece the desired shape. This is how the basis is obtained - “linen” (unpainted products) - carved ladles and spoons, supplies and cups.

Making "linen"

After drying, the "linen" is primed with liquid purified clay - vapa, as the masters call it. After priming, the product is dried for 7-8 hours and must be manually covered with several layers of drying oil (linseed oil). The master dips a special tampon made of sheep or calf skin turned inside out into a bowl with drying oil, and then quickly rubs it into the surface of the product, turning it so that the drying oil is evenly distributed. This operation is very responsible. The quality of wooden utensils, the strength of the painting will depend on it in the future. During the day, the product will be covered with drying oil 3-4 times. The last layer will be dried to a “slight touch” - when the drying oil slightly sticks to the finger, no longer staining it. The next stage is “tinning”, that is, rubbing aluminum powder into the surface of the product. It is also performed manually with a sheepskin swab. After tinning, the objects acquire a beautiful white-mirror shine, and are ready for painting. Oil paints are used in painting. The main colors that determine the character and recognizability of Khokhloma painting are red and black (cinnabar and soot), but others are also allowed to revive the pattern - brown, light-colored greens, yellow tone. Painting brushes are made from squirrel tails so that they can draw a very thin line.

Tinning and artistic painting

The “horse” painting is distinguished (when a drawing is applied on a painted silver background (kriul is the main line of the composition, such elements as sedges, droplets, antennae, curls, etc.) are “planted” on it 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, the drawing of a leaf or flower remains golden). In addition, there are various types of ornaments:

  • "gingerbread" - usually inside a cup or dish, a geometric figure - a square or a rhombus - decorated with grass, berries, flowers;
  • "grass" - a pattern of large and small blades of grass;
  • "kudrina" - leaves and flowers in the form of golden curls on a red or black background;

Masters and simplified ornaments are used. For example, “speck”, which is applied with a stamp cut from the plates of a raincoat mushroom, or with a piece of fabric folded in a special way. All products are painted by hand, and the painting is not repeated anywhere. No matter how expressive the painting is, as long as the pattern or background remains silvery, this is not yet a real “Khokhloma”.

Khokhloma painting with the coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod

Painted products are coated 4-5 times with a special varnish (with intermediate drying after each layer) and, finally, they are 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 - painting of wooden utensils and furniture, which has become a folk craft. It arose at the beginning of the 18th century in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The craft got its name thanks to the village of Khokhloma, where craftsmen and craftswomen sold painted dishes, cups and spoons at the fair.

Khokhloma dishes are varnished, which gives them a matte sheen. Due to the abundance of yellow and orange colors in the painting, Khokhloma dishes began to be called wooden gold. It was made by hand in several stages. First, the dishes were cut out of wood, then the craftsmen soaked it with drying oil and applied a thin layer of aluminum chips to the surface of the product. After that, the dishes acquired a brilliant White color and was ready to paint. The painting was done with oil paints. The main colors were black and red, later other shades were used. Painted items were varnished and hardened in a kiln. This is how "wooden gold" was made.

Khokhloma can be distinguished from traditional handicrafts due to the color palette that is used in its creation. Green, yellow and red berries, flowers and leaves are scattered on a black background. Rarely in the painting there are shades of blue. Khokhloma painting looks especially festive and elegant with the presence of animals, fish, and, of course, birds on it. The patterns of painting have never been repeated, they are applied by the artist manually.

For a long time, the production of Khokhloma was hampered by the high cost of tin. Only a wealthy customer could afford such a painting. In the 18th century, monasteries turned out to be such a customer in the Trans-Volga region. Masters of the Nizhny Novgorod region were called by workers to church parishes to get acquainted with the production of unusual beautiful dishes.

The modern production of Khokhloma is concentrated in Russia in two centers: the city of Semenov, where there are two factories for the production of Khokhloma products, and the village of Semino, Koverninsky district. Their products are valued all over the world. Now the pattern of Khokhloma painting has become so popular and relevant that it can be found on clothes, wrapping paper, and in interior design.

Report Wood Gold

Wooden gold - this term has long been used to call wooden dishes with Khokhloma painting.

Khokhloma or Khokhloma painting first appeared in the 17th century in the Russian village of the same name Khokhloma in what is now the Nizhny Novgorod region. Rightfully deserves the role of an original Russian craft.

A feature of the painting is the color scheme, only a few colors are used, namely red, green, gold, in addition they use orange and a little blue, the last 2 colors are much less common. Wooden utensils, souvenirs and furniture are painted with bright juicy colors. Pre-blanks are coated with black paint. Despite the dark background, the painting looks very rich and majestic.

The traditional elements of the painting include: red berries of mountain ash and wild strawberries, they are elegantly and gently wrapped in golden branches, leaves and flowers, often you can find animal motifs.

Since ancient times, each workpiece for painting was made by hand by a master, this method is traditional. Now there are few masters who go through the entire process of creating a masterpiece by hand. The production is mainly put on the conveyor, but at the same time, the main stages of making masterpieces, such as priming, were retained. wooden blank, painting, coating with a special varnish and long drying in the oven. As in ancient times, dishes with this painting are very much appreciated, since ancient times they were presented as a gift to the closest and dearest guests.

Although Khokhloma is called wooden gold, it has nothing to do with it as a precious metal; gold is not used for painting. A yellowish tint is given by a special varnish based on drying oil, which is used to coat wooden utensils. Khokhloma was called wooden gold for the reason that when painting, the golden color of paint is used much more often than others.

Wooden gold is valued for its indescribable beauty, but it is also valued for its durable lacquer coating, thanks to which the dishes are used for a long time in everyday life, and they do not lose their attractive appearance.

Khokhloma painting is popular not only at home, but also abroad. Foreigners without fail take away spoons, plates, glasses with this famous painting, sometimes you can find Khokhloma as decoration for clothes, at home, and even various cases for smartphones. Painting has become an integral part of Russian culture.

Nizhny Novgorod province, from 1929 to 1936 - the Semyonovsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region of the RSFSR and the Nizhny Novgorod (Gorky) region and from 1936 to 1990 the Gorky region, now part of the Khokhloma village council of the Koverninsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region). It is a decorative painting of wooden utensils and furniture, made in red, green and golden tones on a black background.

painting

The painting looks bright, despite the dark background. Colors are used to create a pattern, such as red, yellow, orange, Little green and blue. Also in the painting is always present gold color. The traditional elements of Khokhloma are red juicy rowan and strawberry berries, flowers and branches. Birds, fish and animals are also often found.

Story

It is believed that Khokhloma painting originated in the 17th century on the left bank of the Volga, in the villages of Bolshie and Malye Bezdeli, 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 products were brought [ ] , hence the name of the mural [ ] .

Since the nearest railway station from Kovernino was the Semyonov station, this type of painting gained significant development there at the beginning of the 20th century [ ] . However, Kovernino is considered the birthplace of Khokhloma [ ], which is reflected in the approved coat of arms of the district.

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, related 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 the 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 trading artery of the Trans-Volga region - also contributed to the development of fishing: laden " chipped"goods, the ships were sent 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 emanated, Andrei crumbled. Since then, the bright colors of Khokhloma have been burning with a scarlet flame, sparkling with gold nuggets.

Modernity

Technology

For the manufacture of products with Khokhloma painting, first they beat baklushi, that is, they make rough wood blanks. Then, on a lathe or milling machine, the workpiece is given the desired shape. The resulting products - carved ladles and spoons, supplies and cups - the basis for painting, are called "linen".

After drying, the "linen" is primed with liquid purified clay - vapa. After priming, the product is dried for 7-8 hours and must be manually covered with several layers of drying oil (linseed oil). The master dips a special tampon made of sheep or calf skin turned inside out into a bowl with drying oil, and then quickly rubs it into the surface of the product, turning it so that the drying oil is evenly distributed. This operation is very responsible. The quality of wooden utensils, the strength of the painting will depend on it in the future. During the day, the product is covered with drying oil 3-4 times. The last layer is dried to a “slight touch” - when the drying oil slightly sticks to the finger, no longer staining it. The next stage is “tinning”, that is, rubbing aluminum powder into the surface of the product. It is also performed manually with a sheepskin swab. After tinning, the objects acquire a beautiful white-mirror shine and are ready for painting.

And then the background is filled with black paint, the drawing of a leaf or flower remains golden). In addition, there are various types of ornaments:

  • "gingerbread" - usually inside a cup or dish, a geometric figure - a square or a rhombus - decorated with grass, berries, flowers;
  • "grass" - a pattern of large and small blades of grass;
  • "kudrina" - leaves and flowers in the form of golden curls on a red or black background.

Masters and simplified ornaments are used. For example, “speck”, which is applied with a stamp cut from the plates of a raincoat mushroom, or with a piece of fabric folded in a special way. All products are painted by hand, and the painting is not repeated anywhere. No matter how expressive the painting is, as long as the pattern or background remains silvery, this is not yet a real “Khokhloma”.

Painted products are coated 4-5 times with a special varnish (with intermediate drying after each layer) and, finally, they are 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.