Publications in the Traditions section

From icon to casket

P alekh. The name, famous throughout the world for the skill of artists, was not always associated with colorful boxes. According to legend, icon painters from Vladimir and Suzdal fled to the forests on the banks of the Paleshka River. They settled and built on the site of the burnt forest. Before the revolution, icons were painted, but the new government, which was harsh on religious themes, forced us to take up secular motifs - fairy tales, legends, epics. They began to paint miniatures on boxes. We invite you to recall 10 facts from the history of the fishery with Natalya Letnikova.

In the traditions of the first masters. "Palekh - village-folk academy"- said Georgy Filimonov, custodian of Christian and Russian antiquities in the first Public Museum in Moscow, and head of the archive of the Armory Chamber in 1863. The Palekh style is based on the traditions of many icon painting schools. Palekh icons are distinguished by their special subtlety of writing, soft smooth lines and restrained colors. Clothes and ornaments shine with gold - a symbol of light. The color of precious metal in Palekh miniatures is not just a painting technique. In Christian symbolism, it is light that is the prototype of divine grace.

Palekh, Ivanovo region. Photo: russia-open.com

Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Palekh, Ivanovo region. Photo: sobory.ru

Palekh, Ivanovo region. Photo: venividi.ru

Iconographic roots of Palekh painting. Surrounded by forests and away from major roads, along the picturesque Paleshki River. They lived separately in the village, and merchants practically never visited. This is how icon painters preserved their traditions from generation to generation. Only in the middle of the 17th century did rumors about Palekh masters reach Moscow. And only then the artists themselves ended up in Belokamennaya. The Paleshans applied their skills to the Faceted Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Novodevichy Monastery.

New time, new images, new craft. After the October Revolution, artists had to leave biblical images for a long time in search of other themes. The revolution did not favor icon painting. Then the modern Palekh style and papier-mâché boxes in the likeness of Fedoskino appeared. Former icon painters painted boxes and caskets with scenes from folk tales, genre scenes, pictures of rural life and landscapes.

"Artel of Ancient Painting". The artists transferred tempera painting to boxes and united into an artel. In 1924, on the initiative of a group of talented icon painters with the support of art critic and professor Anatoly Bakushinsky, the “Artel of Ancient Painting” was formed. Maxim Gorky, who supported the artists, became an honorary member of the association. Masters painted caskets, boxes, teapots, snuff boxes and powder compacts. At first, blanks were purchased in Fedoskino, but soon they established their own production.

Mikhail Parilov. Nicholas the Wonderworker. End of the 19th century GMPI

Nikolai Korin. John the Baptist in the desert. 1806. GMPI

Ivan Safonov, Mikhail Nefedov. John the Theologian in silence. Beginning of the 20th century GMPI

Talents and fans. Palekh icons were admired by Nikolai Nekrasov, Nikolai Leskov, and Anton Chekhov. In 1814, Johann Goethe showed particular interest in the works of Russian icon painters. The German poet even received from the Vladimir governor as a gift two icons painted in Palekh - “The Twelfth Feasts” and “The Mother of God”. In 1930, a large exhibition of Palekh miniatures was held at the State Russian Museum. The works of Palekh masters became an export item. The painted boxes were bought by Vneshtorg and sold for foreign currency.

Dynasties and secrets of the trade. The artel was famous for its dynasties. The secrets of mastery are a family matter. The painters raised themselves from childhood. One of the oldest Palekh families is the Belousovs. Leonid Ivanovich Belousov - icon painter. He started working in the artel in 1926. Lacquer miniatures became the work of life for his great-grandson, Evgeniy Belousov. And there are many such glorious families in Palekh. The Golikovs, Kotukhins, Sivyakovs... The history of the trade and the secrets of the craft were once kept within the family circle. They even married their own people, Palekh people, protecting the secrets of painting.

Palekh lacquer miniature. Photo: palekh.narod.ru

Palekh lacquer miniature. Photo: kanon-tradition.ru

World recognition. The first works of Palekh icon painters in the new genre of lacquer miniatures, commissioned by a handicraft museum, received a first-degree diploma at the exhibition of the Academy of Artistic Sciences. In 1924, Palekh boxes made a splash at the Venice Art Vernissage. The Italians even asked to send craftsmen to organize the school. The artists refused to leave Russia. And a year after the formation of the artel, Palekh painting received a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris.

Palekh paints are not for battle scenes. It just so happened that Palekh is more and more pictures from rural life and fairy-tale motifs. But this is in peacetime. When the whole country lived with a single thought about Victory, the Battle of Stalingrad became a source of inspiration for artists: “People's Avengers”, “In the Footsteps of the Enemy”, “Attack”, “People's War”. Working in the rear, the craftsmen maintained their craft even during the war. Only old people and pre-conscription youth worked. The art school of the “village academy” - as Palekh was called - did not close either.

P aleh has been famous for its icon painters since pre-Petrine times. Palekh icon painting reached its greatest flourishing in the 18th - early 19th centuries. The local style developed under the influence of the Moscow, Novgorod, Stroganov and Yaroslavl schools.

Palekh miniature, which arose as a result of social and cultural changes that occurred in Russia after 1917, managed to preserve the centuries-old traditions of icon painting and transfer them to new forms. From icon painting, the Palesians took the materials and method of painting with tempera emulsion paints, compositional techniques, the style of stylization of human figures, architecture and landscape, the skills of linear drawing with paints, created gold, but at the same time they embodied them in new forms and with new subjects of secular content on the themes of modern rural life, history, epics, fairy tales, classical Russian literature.

In 1918, former icon painters created the Palekh artistic decorative artel, which was engaged in painting on wood. The founder of the Palekh style is considered to be I. I. Golikov, who in 1922, having become acquainted with the products of Fedoskino masters, created the first work in the so-called Palekh style.

The people of Palestine began to master a new material - papier-mâché, which was the basis for Fedoskin's lacquer miniatures. Palekh masters transferred to papier-mâché the traditional technology of tempera painting for ancient Russian icons and the conventional stylistics of the image. An expensive semi-finished product - papier-mâché blanks - was initially purchased from the Fedoskino artel, but soon they established their own production.

For the first time, Palekh miniatures on papier-mâché, commissioned by the Handicraft Museum, were presented at the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition in 1923. At the end of 1924, Palekh artists united in the Artel of Ancient Painting, and already in 1925, Palekh miniatures were exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris, where they created a real sensation and enjoyed great success. In 1935, the artel was transformed into the Palekh Artists' Association, and in 1954 the Palekh art and production workshops of the USSR Art Fund were formed.

Already from the first years of the existence of the Artel of Ancient Painting, the question of training specialists arose. In 1928, a vocational school of ancient painting opened in Palekh. In 1935, it was transformed into the Art College, which later became known as the Palekh Art School named after A.M. Gorky.

The assortment and shapes of objects painted by Palekh masters was quite large: brooches, bead holders, chests, boxes, cigarette cases and snuff boxes, eyeglass cases and powder compacts and much more. The Palekh miniature of the pre-war period has a pronounced ornamental beginning, while it lacks vivid images and a developing storyline. The most successful and popular compositions of that period were battles, shepherdesses, hunting and folk festivals.

In the first post-war decades, many masters of Palekh miniatures depicted in their works various battle scenes from both the end of World War II and other great battles that glorified the Russian army.

In the 1950s, lacquer miniatures in Palekh experienced a clear crisis, which was caused by the tendency of many artists towards excessive realism, pretentiousness and monumentality, which displaced from the products the romance and sublime sophistication characteristic of the works of previous years. In the 1960s, poetry and allegory returned to the works of Palekh artists. During this period, Paleshan artists, in search of themes for their works, turned to folklore sources and works of classical literature, as well as to modern songs. At the same time, socially significant events, such as, for example, human flight into space, are also reflected in the products of craftsmen.

Having survived the difficult 1990s, the Palesians did not abandon their traditional craft. The Palekh Art School annually graduates young masters who carefully preserve the traditions and features that make Palekh miniature so interesting. Today there are several artels and family businesses that produce traditional lacquer products in Palekh.

Palekh painting, like any other folk art formed in a particular area, has its own distinctive characteristics and traditions. The Palekh style differs from other folk schools of lacquer painting in the following features: writing with egg tempera paints; use of dark backgrounds; gold painting; variety of color transitions; general soft tone of the letter; patterned ward writing; a variety of rainbow lights; miniature (small) multi-stamp letter; variety of composition elements and their picturesqueness; miniature painting; patternedness and ornamental richness of the design; careful detailing of each element; elongation and fragility of human figures; the subtlety of drawing people's body parts.

Palekh is characterized by multilayer tempera painting based on a pattern outlined in white. First, color spots are applied, then miniatures and details are painted, then gold and the so-called space are introduced, when paint is applied to the light parts in several stages, increasing the amount of white in the main tone. Paleshians, as a rule, resort to a complex painting technique - glazing or "floating" painting, which consists of multi-layered writing with transparent strokes, when the lower layers of the painting are visible through the upper ones.

Work on a product begins with the creation of a blank. Cardboard plates are greased with flour paste made from wheat or peklevanny (a mixture of rye and wheat) flour and glued one on top of the other on a table or horizontal board. The number of layers depends on the required thickness of the product and ranges from 3 to 30. The sides of caskets, boxes, cases and other items are made by wrapping strips of cardboard onto round or rectangular blanks (up to 12 layers).

Then the blanks are pressed. The compressed semi-finished products are dried in a dry, dark room for 3–15 days. After drying, the workpiece is soaked in heated linseed oil, in a vat with which it remains for about a day. After this, the blanks are dried for two to three days in a sealed cabinet at a temperature of +100 degrees.

A semi-finished product made in this way becomes as strong as the strongest types of wood, and lends itself well to carpentry and turning: it can be sawed and planed, it can be turned into various shapes on a lathe, and hinges and locks can be inserted into it.

Each blank is made for four products at once. Then they are sawed. Then the workpieces are carefully selected and handed over to carpenters, who process the workpiece with a file, and round products are finished on a lathe. The bottom of the products is made separately, glued into place and adjusted with a plane. Then the workpiece is ground on a sanding wheel and finished with an emery brush.

After carpentry, the products go to the painting preparation workshop, where they are smoothed with sandpaper and primed. The soil consists of river silty clay mixed with soot and ground with boiled oil (linseed oil) on a stone slab with a smooth stone chime. The primer is applied three times with a bristle brush and leveled with a flat board or spatula. After applying each layer of primer, the products are thoroughly dried in the oven, cleaned with sanding blocks and water and dried again. Then all the outer sides are painted with soot dissolved in oil varnish, and the inner parts are painted with cinnabar mixed with carmine dissolved in the same varnish. After this, the black surfaces are coated three to four times with black varnish. At the end of the preparation, the product is coated with light varnish: black surfaces once, and red internal ones - three times. After each operation with varnish, the products are dried well in the oven, and the last time for at least 12 hours. This long process of processing products for painting creates a durable and even tone on all its planes. In this form they go to the artist, who decorates them with his painting.

When the semi-finished products are ready, they are handed over to the artists. Paints in Palekh are diluted traditionally - using egg emulsion. In the old days, and later in lacquer miniatures, artists prepared paints themselves. They were made with egg yolk diluted with table vinegar or bread kvass (less often with beer or rainwater), and they were called “egg” or “yolk”. To do this, carefully separate the yolk from the white, since even an insignificant amount of it will interfere with the artist’s work (the white will hang on the brush and will not allow thin lines to be drawn). The chicken egg was carefully broken from the blunt end, the punched hole was leveled and the white was released through it. Then they rolled the yolk into the palm of their hand, washed the shell well and, having broken the film on the yolk, poured it back into the now clean shell, into which more vinegar was poured. Mix everything together well with a round spatula. The liquid prepared in this way is a solvent for dry paints. The egg yolk serves as a binder in it, and the vinegar turns the paint powder into a liquid mass and eats up the excess fat content of the yolk.

The painting of the product is carried out in several stages. First, the drawing is transferred to it. To do this, the reverse side of the drawing is rubbed with dry chalk powder or whitewash with a finger; then the drawing is superimposed on the surface of the object and carefully translated with a finely sharpened pencil. To prevent the design from shifting or warping during translation, its upper corners can be temporarily glued to the surface of the object with some light glue. When the drawing is removed, a clear imprint remains on the surface of the object. The remaining white powder is brushed off with a quill pen so that the contours of the design remain clean.

The next stage is bleaching preparation, which is done so that the color of the paints on the varnish stays stronger. The artist, working on the composition, thinks about where and what tones to put, and according to this, the whitening preparation is done. The lightest places are prepared with thick white, tones of medium brightness - less thick, and darker ones - with liquid white; very dark places are left without bleaching preparation. It is melted cleanly and softly, without roughness, in strict accordance with the drawing. With properly performed bleaching preparation, the work looks like it is almost finished, done according to the principle of a light silhouette. Serious preparation with white helps to speed up the artist’s work in its further stages.

Next, the artist begins painting with paints - applying colored spots. For coating, as well as for preparing with white, use a medium-sharp brush. From the prepared paints, tones of different densities are compiled on a palette. One of the techniques of revealing is when all the elements of painting are revealed in a fluid manner, each with its own main tone. This technique reveals human clothing, animal figures and some other elements of painting. With such an opening, the evenness and transparency of the melt is maintained, while the revealed elements do not look like they were painted with pure paint, and each melt plays with a lively tone. When fluffed, it creates the impression of volume of the element. Since paints tend to settle (their light parts settle down, and the dark ones rise to the top of the melt), the larger the paint layer, the more dark particles of paint appear on the surface, and if the artist covers it unevenly with the melt, then the coating appears in dark spots. A well-versed artist knows how to use this property of paints. The opening of the heads and naked parts of the human body - sankir - is compiled according to the type chosen by the artist: it can be light yellow, for a tanned face - brownish, for a pale one - yellow-greenish, etc. The opening and sankir are made at the same time.

The next stage is painting - drawing in a dark tone all the contours and details: the contours of tree trunks and branches, the general shapes of leaves, mountain ledges, the pattern of waves, the contours and folds of human clothing, the contours of animals, buildings and their details, as well as all other elements compositions. For painting, a dark tone is made, in most cases from burnt umber, which is diluted with egg thinner, and then the painting is done with a sharp squirrel brush. The artist does the painting not with the same lines, but with soft, smooth, dark, living lines of different thicknesses and different strengths, thereby revealing the volumes of the images. It is important that the lines of the painting do not look separate from the roofing, but merge with it in the overall tone.

After painting, the shadow and light parts of all elements of the composition are fused with a medium-sharp brush in order to further emphasize the volume. The shadow parts are melted in tones somewhat darker than the cover, and on the light parts in tones somewhat lighter than it, so that the tone of each element looks more sonorous and more picturesque. The result is a play of several different tones, and the overall tone becomes more sonorous.

The subsequent final finishing of clothes, human figures and all landscape objects with paints aims to further enhance the conventional volume of all elements and give them completeness. On some clothes and human figures, gaps are made - most of them in gold, a smaller part in paint. The space is painted on clothes, the highest places of the human body (on the shoulders, chest, stomach, knees) or the body of an animal, which emphasizes their shape. The space is often done in three tones, consonant with the covering, painting and shadow fusion. The space has a main spot called the snare, from which there are strokes that emphasize the shape of the body parts. The first tone of the space is wider and slightly lighter than the flare, the second is somewhat lighter and narrower than the first, and the third tone, lighter, is made in one line, which emphasizes the second tone and is called the revitalization of the space. For a better sound, space bars are placed on warm tones with cold tones, and on cold ones with warm tones. All finishing with paints is done softly, does not break out of the tones of the overlay and fusion, organically connects with all the surrounding tones and gives completeness to the entire painting.

Next comes the smelting (registration with liquid paints) of the head. The melting is done in several stages with a medium-sharp brush. During the first melt (ohrenia), convex places on the face, neck, ears, arms, legs are melted in a flesh tone in such a way that it shines through the subsequent melts. After drying, the second melt follows - applying blush, composed of cinnabar, on the cheeks, brow ridges, end of the nose, lips, earlobes, on the bends of the fingers and toes, on the elbows, palms and knees. The third melt is when burnt umber melts the pupils of the eyes, eyebrows, mustaches, and dark hair. The fourth melt - the lining - is made up of ocher and cinnabar and is designed to combine all the previous melts with sankir, so that the light parts of the face and figure are shrouded in a light halftone. The tone of the fifth fusion - the fusion - is compiled according to the tone of the depicted face chosen by the artist. It should be applied so that the previous melts can be seen through it. Finally, the sixth and last step is the overlay of highlights. Next comes the final finishing of the heads and naked parts of the body with the restoration of the drawing - inventory. To do this, take a sharp brush, create a dark brown tone (from burnt umber) and use it to draw all the facial features with thin, lively lines. With these lines, the artist reveals a certain image of a person, his psychological state and character. At the same time, the hair on the head, beard, and mustache is combed in a tone slightly lighter than the applied highlights. The pupils of the eyes and eyelashes are marked with soot.

All that remains is to paint the entire work in gold and silver, but first it is necessary to secure all the work done with varnish. You cannot paint with gold on a loose painting: the paints absorb the gold. An object painted with paints is coated with copal varnish twice. Dry thoroughly after each coating. Before painting with gold, the varnish surface is rubbed with pumice until matte, since gold does not stick to the varnish. Pumice powder is brushed off the wiped surface with a goose feather.

Gold leaf is carefully crushed and rubbed with fingers. Gum arabic (transparent acacia resin) is used as a binder. Gold painting is also done with the finest brush. Sometimes silver or aluminum powder is used. Gaps with gold and aluminum are applied on clothes in those places where gaps in color are not applied: in dark tones - in gold, in light tones - in silver. They also make all the ornamental decorations. Painting with gold and silver on miniatures is used in three types: “in bristles”, with inoculation and ornamental painting.

In order for the gold applied to the product to acquire shine, it must be polished. A wolf tooth was used for this because it has a particularly smooth surface.

After the artist has signed the piece, it is varnished and dried, and then polished on a mechanical wheel covered in plush or velvet. The final finishing touches during polishing are done only by hand. The surface is covered with lard and treated for an hour with a palm moistened with water. From friction, the surface of the varnish heats up, becomes completely leveled and acquires a mirror shine.

Palekh painting, sparkling with semi-preciousness, seems to splash on the black surface of boxes, boxes, caskets, forming a colorful pattern covered with the finest golden touches and ornaments on clothes, trees, buildings. In the compositions, reality is intricately combined with fantasy. People, houses, trees, observed in real life, but depicted with special plastic sharpness, coexist with fantastic “slides”, “chambers”, “trees”. The subject compositions on the top and side surfaces of objects are decorated with thin gold ornaments of a wide variety of never-repeating patterns.

Palekh painting originates from the Vladimir-Suzdal land in Ancient Rus'. Since ancient times, local residents have been famous for their painting skills. Their icon paintings decorated many churches. In addition to traditional art, the population of the village began to try their hand at painting, taking part in the restoration and painting of cathedrals and churches. These frescoes on biblical themes still decorate the vaults of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the Novodevichy Convent, and the Faceted Moscow Kremlin. After the October Revolution, during the struggle against religion, the masters of Palekh were forced to move away from their traditional subjects and created the Palekh art artel.

How to create a lacquer miniature

Palekh lacquer miniatures are painted on papier-mâché using tempera. Typically, pre-made brooches, boxes, egg capsules, caskets, panels, trays, etc. are used.

In order to create a Palekh miniature, you first need to make papier-mâché. This is done using cardboard and glue. When the base of the future product is ready, it is opened with several layers of varnish, each layer must be thoroughly dried in an oven. Only after this the master can begin the painting process.

Palekh artists create all the paints that are used to paint products according to ancient recipes. They contain natural minerals ground with egg yolk, adding vinegar and water. In addition, working on a miniature is impossible without the finest squirrel brushes.

Features of Palekh products

The artistic style of Palekh masters is distinguished by smooth and subtle patterns on a black background. There is an abundance of fine gold ligature, refined clarity of silhouettes, and a high density of patterns that can completely cover the product. The decorativeness of the landscape, the graceful proportions of human figures, and the color scheme of green, red and yellow were taken by the artists from ancient icon painting. The entire composition is usually decorated by the author in gold with the finest ornamentation.

The most famous products of Palekh craftsmen include caskets and boxes of various sizes and shapes. Local artists also paint portraits, postcards and icons. In addition, special emphasis is placed on souvenirs - lacquer panels, ashtrays, brooches and badges, which are an excellent gift, despite the rather high price. The main themes of the products of Palekh artists are characters from Russian folk epics and fairy tales, ancient rituals, folklore and views of the unique nature of Russia.

The history of Palekh goes back to ancient times. In the 15th century, the village of Palekh was part of the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. According to the Spiritual Testament of Ivan the Terrible in 1572, the village of Palekh was in the local ownership of his son Ivan. In 1616, Palekh was listed as the estate of Vasily Ivanovich Ostrogubov and the widow of Yuri Ivanovich Ostrogubov. Soon it was granted patrimonial ownership to Ivan Buturlin “for the Moscow siege of the prince,” that is, for participation in the war against the Polish-Lithuanian intervention. According to the scribe books of 1628-1630 of the Vladimir district of the Bogolyubsky camp, Palekh is the patrimony of Ivan Buturlin and his children.

There is also a legend - “Palekh arose in those violent years of deep antiquity, when countless Tatar hordes marched on Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'. The devastated population fled into the dense forests and swamps and took icons with them. The Tatars burned forests. “There was a great Palikha” - from here and the name Palekh came about.
When describing Palekh lacquer miniatures, the following terms are rightly used: “world-famous”, “refined”, “exquisite”, “precious”, and many others.

By creating small-circulation, and often unique, one-piece works, Palekh’s craftsmen contrast industrial production of objects and souvenirs for mass consumption with handcrafted items that preserve the individual characteristics of the work of a living master and ancient technologies for processing traditional materials. It is precisely such products, being self-sufficient and valuable works of applied art, that can satisfy the tastes of an individual person, decorate his life and, at the same time, fully fulfill their utilitarian functions.

The possibilities of using Palekh art are not limited only to boxes and caskets, icons and jewelry. These include printing, portrait painting, interior design with lacquer panels and canvases, as well as the production of badges, original business souvenirs, and much more.

Turning to the best examples of ancient Russian and Russian icon painting, Palekh masters introduced into their works the decorativeness and bright colors of nature, characteristic of the traditions of folk art. Given the established commonality of stylistic manifestations, each master has his own personal, recognizable handwriting.

The traditional motifs of Palekh artists were initially considered to be fairy-tale and literary subjects, historical events and everyday scenes, and folklore. However, after a short time, themes of industrialization and the collective farm movement, battles of the Great Patriotic War, and space flights appeared in the work of the miniaturists.

Each time inevitably presents its own demands to the artist, forcing him to analyze what has been accomplished and stimulating him for further development. Today, simultaneously with the revival of icon painting, talented artists have appeared in Palekh, creatively comprehending the art of modernism, the Russian avant-garde, the pictorial heritage of the East, and other classical and modern movements.

The name of the fishery comes from the name of the village of Palekh.

The art of Palekh painting is still very young, it is only a little over 70 years old.

Palekh icon painters painted churches and temples throughout Russia with wonderful frescoes. Even in the Moscow Kremlin, in the “golden”, as it was sometimes called, the Faceted Chamber, masters from Palekh, the Belousov brothers, worked.

But as time passed, Palekh’s art suddenly turned out to be of no use to anyone. Many artists were offended and left their homes in search of a better life. “Palekh is already dying or dying out, it cannot be resurrected,” A.P. wrote back in 1901. Chekhov.

The art of lacquer painting on papier-mâché boxes brought new glory to Palekh. And the traditions of ancient icon painters are alive.

The scarlet cloak of the hero who defeated the villain curls; the ship of Prince Guidon is sailing on the blue sea with full sails; in a high mansion, a beautiful maiden is waiting for a daring young man... Under the master’s brush, landscapes of the native land are born - and the golden sun is shining, fast rivers are flowing...

Palekh painting originated in the village of Palekh, Ivanovo region, from where it got its name. This type of decorative and applied art is truly unique, because, despite the fact that it has existed for many centuries, the technologies and techniques for creating compositions do not change - the master himself prepares the object that he will paint from beginning to end. Therefore, it is impossible to find two identical items painted in the Palekh style. The peculiarities of Palekh painting are the elegance of the figures, the clarity, subtlety and delineation of the drawings, a dark background, and a large amount of shading done in gold.

As a rule, souvenirs and objects that serve as interior decoration are painted with Palekh miniatures - boxes, caskets, panels, ashtrays, brooches and similar items.

Artists do not create individual ornaments or figures, but draw entire pictures depicting certain subjects. All the figures in the Palekh artist’s drawing are elongated - people, horses, and animals. The characters in the paintings are always on the move, as evidenced by clearly defined folds of clothing and waves of hair. The masters took and take the theme for miniatures from everyday life, fairy tales, songs, epics and fables, and thanks to the variety of colors and small details, the effect of lightness and celebration is created.

The peculiarities of Palekh painting are related to the fact that it was born from icon painting and is based on its traditions and techniques; even as a paint, masters still use egg tempera, which is used to paint icons.

For Palekh painting, a black or dark background is used, which symbolizes darkness, from which, in the process of painstaking and complex work, life and color are born, moreover, it has an internal volume, which gives the paintings a special depth.

The technique of applying, fixing and processing the design has been passed down from ancient times from generation to generation, thanks to which unique things made using the Palekh technique are popular all over the world and are part of the culture not only of our country, but of the whole world.

We study the technology of making Palekh painting in miniature

Cardboard is used as a blank for Palekh miniatures. The master cuts it into shapes and, using flour paste, glues it together in several layers (depending on the thickness of the product). Then the workpiece is pressed and thoroughly dried for several days.

After drying, the semi-finished product is impregnated with linseed oil - for this, it is immersed in a vat of hot oil for a day, after which it is dried in an oven for 2 days at a temperature of 100°. After this, the product is treated with an emery brush, sanded and the necessary fittings are attached.

At this stage, the product is primed with a special composition of a mixture of oil, soot and red clay and varnished - 2 - 3 layers of black varnish on the outside and oil varnish with cinnabar on the inside. Then another seven (!) layers of light varnish are applied, making sure to dry each layer in the oven. Only after all these preparatory manipulations does the product become suitable for painting - the master lightly walks over the surface of the product with pumice, draws the contours of the design and then paints it with a thin squirrel hair brush. Individual drawings in a composition are so small that craftsmen have to use a magnifying glass.

It is noteworthy that the master makes all the tools and materials himself - paints, brushes, varnishes with primers, and other compounds necessary for high-quality work.

At this stage, the painted product is dried and the pictures are fixed with a special varnish. After this, the master begins painting with gold and silver leaf, polishing it all with agate or wolf’s tooth (for additional shine). Then all products are again coated with several layers of varnish, dried and polished to a mirror shine. Due to the large number of varnish layers that cover the product during the work process, Palekh painting is also called lacquer miniature.

Due to the brightness of the colors and the vividness of the images, drawings in the style of Palekh painting are used to illustrate children's books with fairy tales. For children, these images are very interesting, since the drawing represents not just a static picture, but a whole story or plot of the work. But the photo below shows illustrations for some children's fairy tales, made in the Palekh style.

Video on the topic of the article

In order to get better acquainted with Palekh painting, we suggest watching several videos that present various options for lacquer miniatures and tell in detail about the stages of creating these unique and amazing images.