lat. - to decorate): the art of creating household items designed to satisfy both the practical and artistic and aesthetic needs of people. Decorative and applied art arose in ancient times and developed over many centuries in the form of folk art crafts. The aesthetic qualities of a thing are determined by its purpose, the characteristics of the material from which it is made, and the manufacturing technique. Products can have a utilitarian purpose (painted cups, fabrics, inlaid furniture); here the dependence of their decorative elements on the form and practical purpose is most obvious. Decorative finishing, painting of the facades of buildings and interiors allow much greater freedom in the use of figurative and expressive means. A decorative panel, a decorative statue, being part of an architectural ensemble, can also be considered as independent works of art. That is why in aesthetics and art history, along with the concept of "decorative art", there is the concept of "monumental decorative art". With the development of design, designed to improve the aesthetic qualities of the objective world, the production of decorative and applied art products is increasingly limited to the creation of small series or even individual works.
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ART AND APPLIED ARTS
from lat. decoro - I decorate) - a type of art that serves the everyday needs of a person and at the same time satisfies his aesthetic needs, bringing beauty to life. To D.-p. And. include products made from a variety of materials (traditionally - from wood, clay, stone, fabric, glass, metal). Since antiquity, man in the created products not only satisfied his urgent utilitarian needs, but also created "and according to the laws of beauty" ( Marx). The beauty of products D.-p. And. achieved due to the decorativeness of their form. Ancient a type of decoration is an ornament (lat. Ornamentum-decoration) - a pattern applied to a product in rhythmic repetition or being its structural basis. The appearance of ornamented objects in primitive art is associated with labor activity and a magical rite. As a kind of artist. creativity D.-p. And. finally takes shape when the craft is singled out as an independent branch of production (artistic craft). The further social division of labor, already at the stage of manufacture, led to the fact that the usefulness and beauty, function and decoration of the manufactured objects became the concern of various specialists. Before the industrial revolution, the entire product was made by hand by the master and his apprentices - blacksmiths, potters, seamstresses, who, according to Gorky, were the founders of art at the time of its separation from the craft. In the period of mechanization of industry, in order for products not to be deprived of aesthetic value, an artist is invited, whose functions include not the production of the product as a whole, but only its decoration: the artist began to “apply” his art to the finished product. So, with the expansion of industrial production, an art industry arises, where the method of applied art finds a place for itself - finishing products with painting, carving, inlay, etc. But the beauty of an object is not only in decoration, although this also requires a lot of art. The object should be expressive as a whole - in its design, proportions and details. That is why the term "applied art" in its modern. application is inaccurate. The method of applied art is productive only in relation to the field of creating household products (for example, painting cups, fabrics or inlaying the shape of a hunting rifle, dagger, worked out for centuries). The term “decorative art” is wider in scope and more accurate, since it characterizes the produced object in terms of its artistry. sign and captures the area of architectural interior design (decorative design art). With the advent of design as a new type of aesthetic activity in the field of industrial production, successfully solving the problem of satisfying the mass demand for consumer goods with certain aesthetic characteristics, the application of the method of applied art associated with manual labor is usually limited to the creation of small series of products. Besides, at this new stage the possibility of freer development of D.-p. and., not associated with the requirement of utility, expanding and deepening its spiritual significance in the life of the society, rising to the level of easel and monumental art. This general process of development D. - the item. And. testifies to overcoming the age-old gap between "pure" and "applied" claims. Decorative art is closely connected with the design of the architectural interior (decorative paintings, decorative sculpture, reliefs, plafonds, vases, etc.). In this case, it is presented in synthesis with other arts, primarily with monumental art. The most striking manifestation of this synthesis are such varieties of fine arts as panels, mosaics, frescoes, stained-glass windows, tapestries, carpets, and stucco decorations. It is no coincidence that some artists and art theorists (for example, V. I. Mukhina, Yu. D. Kolpinsky) introduce the concept of “monumental and decorative art” into aesthetics. One more area D. - the item. And. connected directly with the decoration of the person himself - the artist. made clothing (Costume) and jewelry, D.-p. And. is classified not only in functional terms, but also on other grounds: by material (metal, ceramics, glass, etc. or more differentiation: silver, bronze, porcelain, faience, crystal, etc.) and by technology (painting, carving, chasing, casting, etc.). Included in the daily life of people, D.-p. and., along with architecture and design, is a permanent factor in their aesthetic education.
ART AND APPLIED ARTS
Arts and Crafts- a type of creative activity in the creation of household items designed to meet the utilitarian and artistic and aesthetic needs of people.
Decorative and applied arts include products made from a variety of materials and using various technologies. The material for the subject of DPI can be metal, wood, clay, stone, bone. The technical and artistic methods of manufacturing products are very diverse: carving, embroidery, painting, chasing, etc. The main characteristic feature of the DPI object is decorativeness, which consists in imagery and the desire to decorate, make it better, more beautiful.
Decorative and applied art has a national character. Since it comes from the customs, habits, beliefs of a certain ethnic group, it is close to the way of life.
Folk arts and crafts is one of the time-tested forms of expression of a person's aesthetic perception of the world.
An important component of decorative and applied arts is folk art crafts - a form of organizing artistic work based on collective creativity, developing a local cultural tradition and focused on the sale of handicrafts.
The key creative idea of traditional crafts is the assertion of the unity of the natural and human worlds.
The main folk crafts of Russia are:
Woodcarving - Bogorodskaya, Abramtsevo-Kudrinskaya; (illustrations 2-8)
Painting on wood - Khokhloma, Gorodetskaya, Polkhov-Maidanskaya, Mezenskaya,
Decoration of products from birch bark - embossing on birch bark, painting;
Artistic stone processing - processing of hard and soft stone,
Bone carving - Kholmogory, Tobolsk. Khotkovskaya,
Miniature painting on papier-mache - Fedoskino miniature, Palekh miniature, Msterskaya miniature, Kholuy miniature,
Artistic processing of metal - Veliky Ustyug black silver, Rostov enamel (painting with enamel on metal), Zhostovo painting on metal,
Folk ceramics - Gzhel ceramics, Skopinsky ceramics, Dymkovo toy, Kargopol toy,
Lace making - Vologda lace, Mikhailovsky lace,
Painting on fabric - Pavlovian scarves and shawls,
Embroidery - Vladimirskaya, Color interlace, Gold embroidery.
In Russia, there are more than 80 types of folk applied art, revived and traditionally substantiated. These are: artistic embroidery, Russian artistic varnishes, ceramics, artistic painting on fabric, clay, wood, etc. Today in Russia there are 12 educational institutions that train students in the most complex traditional areas of folk applied culture, these include: , the Ural School of Arts, the Lomonosov School of Bone Carving, the Torzhok School of Gold Sewing, the Mstera School of Industrial Art, etc.
Decorative and applied art. Folk art.
1. Since ancient times, it has been human nature to strive for beauty in
the objective (material) world surrounding it. For this purpose, embroidered patterns were applied to simple fabrics, and ceramics were decorated with ornaments. Metal products were cast in figured molds, covered with embossing and notching. The pattern, decoration, as it were, was “applied” to the object, and it became more beautiful, richer, more elegant. It retained its utilitarian (practical) fundamental principle, its usefulness, but now one could just admire it, show it as a landmark. And such an object was already valued not only because it was simply useful, but also for its pattern, for the skill of decoration, the nobility of the material and subtlety. Later, in the 19th century, this area of artistic development of the objective world was defined as “applied art”.
applied arts serves a practical purpose and at the same time
decorates our life, creates a certain emotional mood.
Decorative art. Spread during the era
slavery. It is the desire of people to adorn themselves with necklaces, bracelets,
rings, pendants, earrings, etc. Later there were also objects
clothing decorations, and then home decorations, such as carpets, on
which they no longer sat or reclined, but hung on the wall for beauty, or floor vases - also not for flowers and not for water or wine, but for
front hall decorations. Here beauty comes first. Their
The only "benefit" was that they were beautiful. This is art in the 18th and 19th centuries.
called decorative(from the French words "decor" - "decoration"). Products
decorative arts exist only to decorate the room,
clothing or person. If design objects are produced in the millions
circulations, applied art - in the thousands, then decorative products -
tens or even units. In them, the artist shows, first of all, his
individual taste. The most important thing in the works of decorative
art - the general artistic expressiveness, the beauty of the thing as a whole. Applied and decorative arts demonstrate the taste and imagination of the artist, they reflect the material and spiritual interests of people, national traits.
Applied and decorative arts in many cases complement each other.
friend. In this case, one speaks of arts and crafts.
Decorative art is one of the types of plastic arts.
Decorative art is a work that, along with architecture,
artistically forms the material environment surrounding a person and
introduces into it an aesthetic, ideological and figurative beginning.
Types of decorative art: arts and crafts,
design, theatrical and decorative, monumental and decorative,
decoration.
Folk art.
Behind these words stands a great and important phenomenon: folk poetry and
theatre, music and dance, architecture and visual arts. Folk art is the foundation on which the building of world artistic culture has grown.
Distinctive features of folk art:
1. Folk art is different beauty and benefit.
2. Skills of technical mastery and found images are transferred from
generation to generation. Because of this, fixed for centuries
tradition selects only the best creative achievements.
3. Collective creativity . Everything in the work is dictated
centuries-old tradition: the choice of material and methods of its processing,
the nature and content of the decoration.
The amazing cheerfulness of folk art comes from consciousness
own strength, because behind every thing is the talent, work and unanimity of many people, ideally a whole people. Beauty also comes from this source. And of course from native nature, from which the master learns.
Folk art can also be a source of ideas and inspiration
professional artists.
3. Ornament
Great importance in folk art is given to the ornament, which
decorates an object or is its structural element.
Ornament (from the Latin "ornamentum" - "decoration") - a pattern,
built on rhythmic alternation and combination of geometric or
pictorial elements. The main purpose of the ornament is to decorate
the surface of the object, emphasize its shape.
Types of ornament: geometric, natural, animalistic.
The works of arts and crafts show
material and spiritual interests of people, national traits.
DECORATIVE AND APPLIED ART, an art form, the creation of products that combine artistic and utilitarian functions. Works of arts and crafts are associated with the everyday needs of people, they form an integral part of the human environment. The basis and source of arts and crafts is folk art. The sphere of arts and crafts includes products of traditional arts and crafts, art industry and professional author's art. The term “applied art” originated in the 18th century in England and was applied mainly to the creation of household products (painting dishes, fabrics, weapon finishing). In the 20th century, the term “arts and crafts” was approved in Russian art history as a designation for the section of decorative arts, which also includes theatrical and decorative art and design.
A specific feature of works of arts and crafts is the inseparable connection between the utilitarian and the artistic, the unity of utility and beauty, function and decoration. Utility allows us to classify works of arts and crafts according to their practical purpose (tools, furniture, utensils, etc.); the function of an object clearly determines its constructive scheme. The quality that gives the object of arts and crafts the status of a work of art is decorativeness. It is realized not only in decorating an object with some particular details (decor), but also in its general compositional and plastic structure. Decor has its own emotional expressiveness, rhythm, proportions; he can change shape. The decor can be sculptural-relief, picturesque-painted, graphic-carved (see also Engraving); he uses both an ornament (including decorative inscriptions - hieroglyphs, calligraphy, Slavic script, etc., revealing the meaning of images), and various pictorial elements and motifs ("world tree", birds and animals, plants, etc.) in accordance with a certain decorative and stylistic system (see also Bukrany, Griffin, Rose, Sphinx). In the lamellar system of arts and crafts, there is the possibility of using the so-called pure form as an antithesis to any decor: it can manifest itself in the inherent beauty of the material, revealing its structural, plastic, color qualities, harmony of proportions, elegance of silhouette and contours.
Vessel. Painted ceramics. 3rd millennium BC. Yangshao (China). Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts (Vienna).
Another fundamental feature of arts and crafts is synthesis, which implies the combination of different types of creativity (painting, graphics, sculpture) and different materials in one work. Synthetic in its inner nature, a work of arts and crafts is often involved in the synthesis of arts, in an ensemble of artistic objects, and may depend on architecture (furniture, decorative sculpture, panels, tapestry, carpet, etc.). As a result of this dependence, arts and crafts in all eras sensitively and clearly followed changes in style and fashion.
In arts and crafts, the image of a thing is determined by the relationship between its aesthetic form and functional purpose. On the one hand, there is the concept of the utilitarian and non-pictorial nature of arts and crafts as “making things”: a purely practical task does not imply creating a full-fledged image (for example, the goal of pottery or basket weaving is not to depict things, but to create the thing itself). However, other examples (anthropomorphic ceramics, etc.), bearing a mimetic beginning, allow us to speak of imagery as the primary task of creativity in decorative and applied art, manifested primarily in associations and analogies (the shape of an object can resemble a flower bud, a drop, a figure of a person or an animal, a sea wave, etc.). The dualism of aesthetic and functional tasks determines the figurative specificity of arts and crafts (limitation of the concreteness of images, the tendency to abandon chiaroscuro and perspective, the use of local colors, the flatness of images and silhouettes).
Decorative and applied art as a kind of artistic activity is associated with the manual labor of the master, which has emerged as an independent branch of production. Further social division of labor leads to the replacement of handicraft production by machine production (manufactories, factories, plants); functional design and decoration become the work of different specialists. This is how the art industry arises, where the methods of “applied art” find their place - the decoration of products with painting, carving, inlay, embossing, etc.
The question of the ratio of manual and machine labor in the manufacture of objects of decorative and applied art was especially acute in the 2nd half of the 19th century, in the context of the problem of “depersonalization” (in the words of W. Morris) by the production of artistic crafts and the theories of limited application popular in this era machines as prerequisites for the revival of national traditions. Contrasting folk handicrafts and mass production, Morris at the same time suggests ways of their synthesis, which allows creating a new type of arts and crafts. Design, which has become a new type of artistic activity in the field of industrial (mass) production since the middle of the 19th century, limited the arts and crafts mainly to the creation of small-circulation series of handicrafts (see also Production art).
Typology. Each field of arts and crafts has a wide variety of forms; their evolution is directly related to the development of technology, the discovery of new materials, the change in aesthetic ideas and fashion. Works of arts and crafts differ in functionality, form and material.
One of the oldest types of arts and crafts is tableware. Its forms varied depending on the material (wooden, metal, earthenware, porcelain, ceramic, glass, plastic) and purpose (ritual, domestic, dining, decorative; see also Artistic vessels). Decorative and applied art also includes: cult accessories (gonfalons, salaries, lampadas - in Christianity; Muslim vessels for ablution, prayer rugs "namazlyk", etc.; Judaic menorah candlesticks; Buddhist lotus thrones and temple incense burners); interior items (furniture, lighting fixtures, vases, mirrors, writing instruments, caskets, fans, snuff boxes, tiles, etc.); home craft utensils (spinning wheels, rollers, ruffles, rubels, spindles, etc.); works of glyptics; Jewelry Art; means of transportation (wagons, chariots, carriages, sledges, etc.); weapon; textiles (see also Batik, Embroidery, Lace, Heel, Weaving; textiles also include carpets, tapestries, tapestries, kilims, felt mats, etc.); clothes; partly - small plastic (primarily a toy).
The materials used in products of decorative and applied arts are just as diverse. The oldest are stone, wood, bone. Hard woods were used to build a dwelling, to make furniture, household products [pine, oak, walnut (in the art of the Renaissance), Karelian birch (in the era of Russian classicism and Empire), maple (especially in the modern era), mahogany, pear] ; soft varieties (for example, linden) - for the manufacture of dishes, spoons. From the 17th century, imported exotic woods began to be used in Europe.
Clay processing techniques such as freehand modeling and molding were decisive in the creation of clay products at the initial stages. In the 3rd millennium BC, a potter's wheel appeared, allowing the manufacture of thin-walled dishes.
Ceramics (fired clay) includes terracotta (plain and lacquered), majolica, semi-faience, faience, opaque, porcelain, biscuit, the so-called stone mass. The main ways of decorating ceramics are moldings, burnishing, polishing, color painting, engraving, glazing, etc.
Fabrics have been widely used since the Neolithic era. Outstanding examples of decorative and applied arts are ancient Egyptian multi-colored linen fabrics, in the technique of batik heeling - Coptic; Chinese silk fabrics, Indian muslins, Venetian damask.
Masters of arts and crafts often used precious, semi-precious and colored ornamental stones: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, jade, lapis lazuli and carnelian, malachite, jasper, etc. (amber also belongs to ornamental materials). Among the various types of processing, cabochons (rounded stones) dominated for a long time, then faceted stones appeared. There are complex techniques - the so-called Florentine mosaic (images made of marble and semi-precious stones), Russian mosaic (pasting the rounded surface of vases with plates of colored stones), etc.
Box with the image of the crucifix and angels. Wood, silver, enamel. 1st quarter of the 13th century. Limoges (France). Hermitage (St. Petersburg).
Among metals, precious (gold, silver, platinum), non-ferrous (copper, tin), alloys (bronze, electr, pewter), as well as steel, cast iron and aluminum are distinguished. Along with noble metals, almost all ancient civilizations processed copper, bronze, and later iron. Gold and silver were originally the main metals in arts and crafts, and their shortage was compensated by various techniques (electroplated silver and gilding; from the middle of the 19th century - electroplating). The main metal processing techniques are niello, granulation, chasing, shotting, artistic casting, artistic forging, basma (a type of jewelry technique that imitates chasing), embossing.
A special technique and at the same time a material is enamel, the oldest samples of which are found in China. Enamel, as a rule, was used as an integral part of complex works of arts and crafts (for example, the technique of covering images engraved on metal with multi-colored transparent enamel or decorative painting with enamel paints).
Salary of the so-called Gospel from Lorsch. Ivory. 9th century Aachen. Victoria and Albert Museum (London).
According to its technological parameters, glass is divided into transparent and opaque, colorless and colored, etc. There are also original forms made of free-blown, blown glass (“winged” Venetian glasses), cut English crystal, pressed crystal (appeared in 1820 in the USA), colored laminated or milky glass, filigree glass, engraved, carved polished or with color. Glass processing techniques include interglass gilding, painting, millefiori, artistic etching, iridescence.
The birthplace of artistic varnishes is the Ancient East. In Europe they have been known since the 16th century; in the 17th century, Dutch craftsmen began to paint wooden boxes with gilded ornaments on a black background. Later, the production of painted varnishes arose in many countries. Lacquered papier-mâché products appeared in Europe in the 18th century and reached their peak of popularity in the 19th century, especially in England, Germany and Russia. In the 20th century, Russia became the main center of lacquer art (Fedoskino, Palekh, Kholuy and Mstyora).
The use of tortoiseshell and ivory began in antiquity; then their use was revived in European art in the Middle Ages and, especially, at the end of the 18th century (English and French snuff boxes and tea caddies, Kholmogory bone carving). Mother-of-pearl came into fashion in the 1st half of the 19th century for decorating papier-mâché and lacquer items, and finishing cutlery.
Historical essay. The first artistically processed objects appeared in the Paleolithic era. During the Neolithic period, pottery became widespread. Different cultures create vases with virtuoso graphic art solutions, expressive sacral and mythological plot, painted ceramics with ornamental and other motifs (for example, Chinese vessels of the Neolithic period, 5th-3rd millennium BC; ceramics from Susa, 4th millennium BC; Trypillian ceramics, late 3rd millennium BC).
The most ancient eastern civilizations in the development of decorative and applied arts reached the same high level as in the field of architecture and sculpture (artistic processing of stone, metal, wood, jewelry, ivory carving, etc.). Jewelers of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia owned various finest techniques for processing precious metals. Ancient Oriental art produced unsurpassed examples of polychrome glazed ceramics; in Egypt, faience products (based on silica) were produced - architectural details, sculpture, necklaces, bowls and goblets. The Egyptians (along with the Phoenicians) also made glass objects (around the 3rd millennium BC); the heyday of glass workshops, like other crafts, falls on the New Kingdom (vessels of various shapes made of blue or polychrome glass, etc.). Egyptian furniture was made from local ebony (ebony) wood and imported species (cedar, cypress), decorated with blue and black faience inserts, covered with gold leaf and inlaid with ivory and painting (some of its forms subsequently strongly influenced the European Empire style). In many parts of China, thin-walled vessels (bowls, vases, jugs, and goblets) have been found that are distinguished by their stylistic originality, variety of shapes, and bizarre zoomorphic images. In India, the highly developed urban civilization of the Bronze Age left behind expressive household items, painted pottery, fabrics discovered during excavations at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. In Western Iran, in Luristan, a culture developed, represented by Luristan bronzes.
The originality of the arts and crafts of the Aegean world (see Aegean culture) influenced the art of other countries (Egypt of the New Kingdom, the Middle East) - jewelry, chased goblets and bowls, rhytons. The leading type of artistic craft is ceramics (polychrome with a stylized pattern, plant motifs, with images of marine animals and fish). Among the highest achievements in the history of decorative and applied arts is ancient Greek ceramics - first of all, red and black-figure lacquered vessels, where the form is organically connected with the plot painting and ornament, has a clear tectonics, richness of the rhythm of lines and proportions (see Vase painting). Ceramics and jewelry of Greek work were exported to many countries of the world, thanks to which the Greek artistic traditions were widely expanded. In the arts and crafts of the nomadic tribes of Asia and Europe, the Thracians, the Celts, and some Finno-Ugric tribes, various forms of the animal style developed; in the middle of the 1st millennium AD, its peculiar form appears among the Germans, the traditions of the animal style were preserved in medieval art.
The Etruscans, being under strong Greek influence, were able to create an equally distinctive culture with their "buccero" ceramics, painted terracotta, and jewelry. Their craving for demonstrative luxury embodied in objects of decorative and applied art was passed on to their successors - the ancient Romans. They borrowed from the Etruscans relief ceramics, decoration of fabrics, from the Greeks - forms and ornaments. In the Roman decor there is a lot of excessive, devoid of Greek taste: lush garlands, bucrania, griffins, winged cupids. In the era of the empire, vases made of semi-precious stones (agate, sardonyx, porphyry) came into fashion. The highest achievement of Roman arts and crafts was the invention of glass blowing (1st century BC), the production of transparent, mosaic, engraved, two-layer, imitating cameo, and gilded glass. Among the metal products are silver vessels (for example, the treasure from Hildesheim), bronze lamps (found during excavations of the city of Pompeii).
The stability of traditions distinguishes the Far Eastern and Indian cultures as a whole, where characteristic types and forms of decorative and applied arts were preserved in the medieval era (ceramics and varnishes in Japan, wood, metal and textile products in India, batik in Indonesia). China is characterized by stable images and traditions of stone-cutting, pottery and jewelry, a variety of materials: silk, paper, bronze, jade, ceramics (primarily the invention of porcelain), etc.
In ancient (pre-Columbian) America, there were several civilizations (Olmecs, Totonacs, Maya, Aztecs, Zapotecs, Incas, Chimu, Mochica, etc.), which had a high material culture. The main crafts were pottery, artistic processing of stone, including semi-precious rocks, using the original technique of turquoise mosaic on wood, textiles, and jewelry. Ceramics is one of the best achievements of ancient American art, unlike others that did not know the potter's wheel (burial urns of the Zapotecs, Toltec vases, Mixtec polychrome vases, vessels with engraved Maya ornaments, etc.).
A characteristic feature of the medieval art of the countries of the Middle East, North Africa (Maghrib) and regions of Europe inhabited by Arabs is a craving for colorfulness, for self-valuable decor, geometric ornament (with floral motifs stylized to abstraction, see Arabesque); in the decorative and applied arts of Iran, the pictorial tradition was also preserved. The main types of decorative and applied arts of the Muslim countries were ceramics, weaving, production of weapons and luxury goods. Ceramics (mainly ornamental, covered with a chandelier or polychrome painting on a white and colored background) was produced in Iraq (Samarra), Iran (Susa, Ray), medieval Egypt (Fustat), Syria (Rakka), Central Asia (Samarkand, Bukhara). Hispano-Moorish ceramics (faiences of Valencia) had a great influence on European arts and crafts of the 15th and 16th centuries. Blue-white Chinese porcelain influenced the ceramics of the Golden Horde, Iran, etc. In the 16th century, Turkish polychrome faience from Iznik flourished. Muslim culture also left many examples of artistic glass, metal (decorated with engraving, chasing, enamel), and weapons. The Islamic world has traditionally used carpets more than furniture; they were produced in many countries (in the Caucasus, India, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Central Asia); The leading place in carpet weaving belongs to Iran. In Egypt, they produced multi-colored woolen trellis fabrics, linen fabrics, and heels; in Syria, in Spain during the time of the Caliphate of Cordoba and Arab craftsmen in Sicily - silk, brocade; in Turkey (in Bursa) - velvet; in Iran (in Baghdad) - silk draperies; in Damascus - the so-called Damascus fabrics.
Byzantium became the heir to many artistic crafts of antiquity: glassmaking, mosaic art, bone carving, etc., and also masterfully mastered new ones - the technique of cloisonné enamel, etc. Cult objects and (under the influence of Eastern cultures) luxury items became widespread here; accordingly, the style of Byzantine arts and crafts was refined, decorative and opulent at the same time. The influence of this culture extended to the states of Europe (including Ancient Rus'), as well as the Transcaucasus and the Middle East (in Russia, reminiscences of this influence were preserved until the Russian-Byzantine style of the 19th century).
In Europe, new forms of arts and crafts developed during the Carolingian Renaissance under the influence of Byzantium and the countries of the Arab world. In the culture of the Romanesque era, monasteries and urban guild corporations play an important role: stone and wood carving, the manufacture of metal products, forged doors and household utensils were practiced. In Italy, where the traditions of late antiquity continued to be preserved, bone and stone carving, the art of mosaic and glyptics, and jewelry art developed; in all these areas the masters have achieved the highest perfection. Gothic inherited many crafts characteristic of that era; the features of the Gothic style were clearly manifested in ivory and silver products, in enamels, tapestries and furniture [including wedding chests (in Italy - cassone, decorated with carvings and paintings)].
In ancient Rus', special achievements belonged to jewelry art, wood and stone carving. The characteristic types of Russian furniture were caskets, tower-tables, case-cases, chests, tables. The authors of the picturesque compositions in the form of a "grass pattern" were icon painters - "signners", they also painted chests, tables, boards for gingerbread cakes, chess, gilded chariots, etc.; the decorative "carving" of the 17th century was called "fryazh herbs". Utensils, dishes, tiles, religious objects were produced in the workshops of Kiev, Novgorod, Ryazan, Moscow (Patriarchal workshops, the Silver Chamber, from the 2nd half of the 17th century - the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin), Yaroslavl, Kostroma, also in Kirillo-Belozersky, Spaso -Prilutsky, Sergiev Posad monasteries. Since the 2nd half of the 17th century, the rapid development of folk crafts (tile production, wood carving and painting, lace weaving and weaving, silversmithing and pottery) began in Russian arts and crafts.
In the Renaissance, artistic craft acquires a fundamentally authorial and predominantly secular character. New types of arts and crafts appear, genres and techniques forgotten since ancient times are being revived. The most significant changes are taking place in the production of furniture (wardrobes with a folding front board, a chest-bench with a back and armrests, etc.); the decor uses a classic order and a characteristic ornament - grotesques. Silk weaving of Genoa, Florence and Milan, Venetian glass, Italian majolica, glyptics, jewelry art (B. Cellini), artistic metalworking ["lobed style" in Dutch and German silver (Jamnitser family)], enamels, glass and French ceramics (production of Saint-Porcher; master B. Palissy).
The decorative and applied art of the Baroque era is characterized by a special pomp and dynamics of compositions, an organic connection between all elements and details (dishes and furniture), preference is given to voluminous, large forms. In the production of furniture (wardrobes, cabinets, chests of drawers, sideboards, etc.), polished wood, gilded bronze fittings and Florentine mosaics, inlay (laid bronze, marquetry using ebony, metal, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, etc.) were used. - in the products of the workshop of A. Sh. Bul). Tapestry manufactories of Europe were influenced by the Flemish carpet art (Brussels manufactories); Genoa and Venice were famous for their woolen fabrics and printed velvet. Delft faience arose in imitation of Chinese. In France, the production of soft porcelain, faience (Rouen, Moustier) and ceramics (Nevers), textiles (manufactory in Lyon), the manufacture of mirrors, and tapestries are developing.
In the Rococo era (18th century), fragile and intricately asymmetric lines predominate in the forms and decorations of objects. In England, silverware (P. Lamery), candelabra, etc. are produced. In Germany, among metal products, magnificent rocaille forms (I. M. Dinglinger) are found. There are new forms of furniture - a bureau (desk-desk, bureau-plates and bureau-cylinder), various types of tables, a soft, upholstered bergere chair with a closed back, a dressing table of 2 parts; pictorial panels, marquetry, inlay are used for decoration. New types of fabrics appear (moiré and chenille). In England, T. Chippendale made furniture in the Rococo style (chairs, tables and bookcases), using gothic and chinoiserie motifs. At the beginning of the 18th century, the first European porcelain manufactory was opened in Meissen (Saxony) (sculptor I. Kendler). The chinoiserie style penetrates both European porcelain (Meissen, Chantilly, Chelsea, Derby, etc.), and Russian (Imperial Porcelain Factory near St. Petersburg), as well as textiles, glass and furniture ((French varnishes of the Martin brothers). In the 1670s, a new composition of lead glass (the so-called English crystal) appeared in England; the technique of its production was widely spread in the Czech Republic, Germany, and France.
The arts and crafts of the classicism era of the 2nd half of the 18th century, later and the Empire, were influenced by archaeological excavations in the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii (see Pompeian style). The style created by the Adam brothers (England), which affirmed the unity of external decor and interior decoration, breathed new life into arts and crafts, in particular, into furniture (works by J. Hepplewhite, T. Sheraton, T. Hope, brothers Jacob, J. A Riziner), plastic jewelry (French gilded bronze by P.F. Tomir), artistic silver (cups and dishes by P. Storr), carpets and fabrics, jewelry art. Simplicity and clarity distinguish the glass decanters of the Cork Glass Company, baccarat vases, and crystal cascade chandeliers. In porcelain, by the end of the 18th century, Meissen ceded the status of the main European porcelain manufacturer to French Sèvres porcelain, and outstanding examples began to be created at factories in Vienna, St. Petersburg and Berlin. In England, the factory of J. Wedgwood "Etruria" appears, producing ceramics in imitation of antique cameos and vases. In Russia, many prominent architects were involved in the creation of works of decorative and applied art (A. N. Voronikhin and K. I. Rossi designed furniture and vases, M. F. Kazakov and N. A. Lvov designed chandeliers).
In the era of Biedermeier, works of arts and crafts reflected the desire for a comfortable life, which led to the appearance of comfortable simple furniture of rounded, unsophisticated forms from local types of wood (walnut, cherry, birch), elegant faceted glass jugs and glasses with elegant painting (works by A. Kotgasser and etc.). The period of eclecticism (mid-19th century) manifested itself in the stylistic diversity of the historical styles used, as well as in the unification of approaches and artistic techniques. The Neo-Rococo was inspired by the decor of 18th century art; in Russia, it manifested itself in the porcelain products of the A. G. Popov factory with its polychrome flower painting on a colored background. The revival of Gothic (Neo-Gothic) was due to the desire of artists to bring a romantically sublime style into decorative and applied art and only indirectly reproduced truly Gothic motifs; rather, elements of ornament were borrowed rather than forms of Gothic art (Bohemian glass by D. Biman, works in porcelain and glass for the palace of Nicholas I "Cottage" in Peterhof). The Victorian style in England was reflected in the creation of heavy furniture and the wide distribution of its "small forms" (whatnots, umbrella holders, gaming tables, etc.). Unglazed porcelain imitating marble became popular again. New types and techniques appeared in glass (primarily in Bohemian glass) - laminated colored "flash" glass, cameo opaque and black (chialite) glass imitating litialyl precious stones. Since the mid-1840s, in France, at the glass factories of Baccarat, Saint-Louis and Clichy, and later in England, Bohemia and the USA, a new direction has appeared (the creation of millefiore paperweights, etc.). The fusion of elements of various styles determined the development of furniture and the emergence of new industrial technologies and materials: forms made of glued and bent wood (M. Thonet), papier-mâché, carved wood and cast iron.
The protest against eclecticism, initiated in the UK by the Arts and Crafts Society, contributed to the formation of the Art Nouveau style at the end of the 19th century; it has blurred the boundaries between decorative, applied and fine arts and has taken different forms in many countries. Art Nouveau decor is most often likened to ornamental motifs of natural forms; curved lines, wavy contours, asymmetric designs were widely used (furniture by V. Horta, L. Majorelle, E. Guimard, artistic laminated colored glass with floral and landscape motifs by E. Galle, O. Daum, L. Tiffany, jewelry by R. Lalique ). The artists of the Vienna Secession, like the Scot C. R. Mackintosh, on the contrary, used symmetry and restrained rectilinear forms. The works of J. Hoffmann, often made in collaboration with G. Klimt (furniture, glass, metal, jewelry), are distinguished by elegance and sophistication. In the European production of porcelain, the underglaze paintings of the Copenhagen Royal Manufactory occupied a leading position. In Russian modernity, in its national-romantic branch, the neo-Russian style manifested itself - especially in the activities of the Abramtsevo art circle (works by V. M. Vasnetsov, M. A. Vrubel, E. D. Polenova), the Talashkino workshop of Princess M. K. Tenisheva, workshops of the Stroganov School.
The newest history of arts and crafts begins not only with the revival of handicrafts (W. Morris and others), but also with the appearance at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries throughout Europe and the USA of a new type of creative activity - design and its further active development in 1920s (Bauhaus, Vkhutemas). Art Deco design became the basis of almost all home interiors that cultivated understated luxury and comfort (geometric shapes, stylized and simplified ornamentation, exotically veneered rectilinear furniture, functional dinnerware and flower vases).
Russian art after 1917 developed on a new ideological and aesthetic basis.
Artists tried by means of art to convey the spirit of the era (the so-called propaganda porcelain), to create a complex rational environment for the general population. Since the late 1950s, in Soviet arts and crafts, along with the active development of the art industry (porcelain factories in Leningrad, Verbilok, Dulevo porcelain factory, Konakovo faience factory, Leningrad glass factory, Gusevsky crystal factory, etc.) and folk crafts (Gzhel ceramics , Zhostovo painting, Skopinskaya ceramics, Dymkovo toy, etc.; see Artistic crafts), the author's art also reached a high level.
The development of arts and crafts in the 20th century is due to the coexistence and interpenetration of traditional and avant-garde principles. Subtle expressive possibilities of new materials, imitation and creative quotation acquired great importance. In the era of postmodernism, a special attitude arises towards a decorative artifact as an autonomous entity that is demonstratively “not interested” in serving a person, alienated from him. As a result, this led to a "crisis of self-identification" of arts and crafts, caused by the emergence of competition from related arts (primarily design). However, this crisis paradoxically opens up new prospects for arts and crafts in terms of expanding and revising its own figurative specificity, mastering new genres and materials (ceramic plastics, fiberglass, textile plastics, mini-tapestry, mosaics in wooden frames, etc.).
Lit.: Molinier E. Histoire generale des arts appliqués à industrie. R., 1896-1911. Vol. 1-5; Arkin D. The art of everyday things. Essays on the latest art industry. M., 1932; Fontanes J, de. Histoire des métiers d'art. R., 1950; Baerwald M., Mahoney T. The story of jewelry. L.; N.Y., 1960; Kagan M. About applied art. Some questions of theory. L., 1961; Russian decorative art / Edited by A. I. Leonov. M., 1962. T. 1-3; Saltykov A. B. Izbr. works. M., 1962; Barsali I. B. European enamels. L., 1964; Kenyon G. H. The glass industry of the Weald. Leicester, 1967; Cooper, E. A history of pottery. L., 1972; Davis F. Continental glass: from Roman to modern times. L., 1972; Moran A. de. History of decorative and applied arts. M., 1982; Osborne N. The Oxford companion to the decorative arts. Oxf., 1985; Boucher F. A history of costume in the West. L., 1987; Nekrasova M. A. The problem of the ensemble in decorative art // Art of the Ensemble. Artistic subject. Interior. Architecture. Wednesday. M., 1988; Illustrated encyclopedia of Antiques. L., 1994; Makarov K. A. From the creative heritage. M., 1998; Materials and techniques in the decorative arts: an illustrated dictionary / Ed. by L. Trench. L., 2000.
T. L. Astrakhantseva.
"Applied" art -
artistic value in practical life
Definition
Applied art is usually understood as a kind of creative activity in which the artistic function of the work is to some extent combined with the utilitarian one. Therefore, a work of applied art can be perceived as an artistic value for its use in practical activities.
The complexity of such a definition lies in the fact that the artistic quality is also a transformed utility (utility), the result of a spiritual, ideal rethinking of the practical needs of a person.
Therefore, art (as a skillful activity in general) becomes artistic to the extent that a person succeeds in transforming his practical needs into ideal values. "The artistic image is spiritual in its modality, it is a form of ideal subjective reality, localized in the human mind." However, in art there is a constant transformation of the ideal spiritual content into a material form: "the materialization of the spiritual and the spiritualization of the material." The result of this process is the penetration of artistic thinking into the spheres of utilitarian activity - into the craft, into technology, into construction, and, conversely, technical creativity is being introduced into artistic creativity.
However, the phrase "applied art" should be applied, in order to avoid confusion of concepts, only to those phenomena of creative activity that carry artistic and figurative content. Such areas as design, decorating art, fashion design, the main content of which are not artistic, but aesthetic values, should not be called applied art. Contrary to the literal reading of the term, art is not applied anywhere, it exists by definition. Artistic value is not attached to the material, but one goes into the other. Therefore, all varieties of applied art have a mobile, asymmetric functional structure, in which the ratio of values changes historically.
A bit of history
In the art of the ancient world, there was no applied art, since all its functions were inseparable. In ancient art, the concepts of "technique" and "art" were also not separated, both were designated by the concept of Techne. In Ancient
In Greece, statues were not admired in museums, they always did something with them: they worshiped them, decorated them with flowers and fruits, dressed them in expensive fabrics, brought food and drinks to them and made requests.
All works of art served as attributes of the mythological-religious way of life. In the works of Pliny the Elder and Pausanias, enthusiastic evaluations of works of art are given for the illusion and subtlety of technical execution. Therefore, the use of the term "applied art" in relation to antiquity is unacceptable. In medieval art, the specialization of masters increased, along with the Greek Techne, the Latin word Arsis (“free labor”) is found. However, in the Middle Ages, the area of "pure art", free from utilitarianism, was not yet defined, since painting and sculpture developed within the architectural composition. Hence such an inorganic sound of definitions like: “applied art of Byzantium” or “applied art of medieval France”. In the Middle Ages, there was a special area of artistic crafts, but their functional structure is different from the applied art of the New Age. Given this circumstance, experts tend to use other terms: "artistic crafts" or "small forms of art." For example: small forms of art of Ancient Greece, "small forms" of traditional art of China and Japan. Metamorphoses of meanings, meanings, functions of works of ancient art reveal well the history of their existence and the myths associated with them. In the historical development of forms of artistic thinking, bifunctionality should also be distinguished from decorativeness, a quality that arises as a result of an artistic rethinking of the connection between a work of art and its environment.
Works of decorative and applied arts have different functions and therefore represent different types of art, but in the process of historical development they interact. In sacral art forms, artistic and religious functions interact, but because of this they cannot be called “applied”. After the era of the Italian Renaissance, when there was a delimitation of architecture, painting and sculpture, easel art was formed - a painting, sculpture, not associated with a specific place in the architectural environment. Since that time, we can talk about a separate area of decorative and applied art.
The main quality of an “applied” work is its materiality. For example, the portrait genre belongs to polyfunctional art, since the actual pictorial content of the portrait is supplemented by non-artistic content - documentary, factual. The same thing happens in the classical genre of painting on a historical theme. But we do not call such works applied, because outside the artistic part of their content does not yet turn them into a thing.
Another example: in the Wallace collection in London, a cast bronze image of a snake curled up in a ball is exhibited, executed in a frighteningly naturalistic way. The work was created in Northern Italy around 1600 and served as a paper press. But when looking at this snake, there is no feeling of a “thing”, its “portrait” is too strong. Due to the complexity of their functional and figurative nature, such works can hardly be attributed to a certain kind of art.
In the middle of the 19th century, in connection with the success of the World Exhibitions, under the influence of the growth of industrial production, museums of applied art were created in different countries.
In 1857 such a museum was established in London (see the Victoria and Albert Museum in London). In 1859 the Royal Museum of Art and Industry opened in Vienna. In Russia, "manufactory exhibitions" were held, since 1870 the name "art industry" was established.
Forms of "forced applied art"
In the art of the 20th century, in addition to design, architectural design, the existence of traditional folk crafts and artistic crafts, forms of “forced applied art” appeared. The artist turned to the applied kind of creativity from pragmatic or commercial considerations. The result of the "blurring" of artistic creativity in the field of commercial activity covering it is the appearance of the disparaging term "craft" - virtual reality; kitsch; clip; comic "commercial art"; “materialization of the spiritual and spiritualization of the material”; computer graphics; Mass culture; pop art, etc.
In the 1960s-1970s. artists began to leave the field of applied art in the sphere of "pure objectivity", they created objects, but not things. Outwardly similar to products that have a utilitarian function, such objects seemed to depict themselves. There was a double reflection effect. Some critics considered this phenomenon a "crisis of applied art", others announced the emergence of a new way of creativity - "the art of the objective world".
Types of "applied" art
Applied art is divided into types according to the utilitarian function: furniture, utensils, clothing; on varieties depending on the material used: ceramics, glass, metal, wood. The specialization of an applied artist depends on the technique of processing the material, for example, a wood carver, a metal chaser, a porcelain painter. Such masters, according to the classical tradition, combine the skills of an artist (draughtsman, composer, fashion designer) and an artisan, technologist.
The interaction of art forms in the "frontier areas" gave rise, in particular, to applied graphics. It includes a poster, a poster, book graphics, ex-libris, epigraphy, emblematics (applied or decorative graphics should be separated from design graphics, where the aesthetic method is the leading one, and not the artistic-figurative method). The terms “applied painting” or “applied sculpture” are unacceptable, because, interacting with the architecture or composition of decorative and applied art, painting is transformed into painting, and sculpture into decorative plastic, or into monumental and decorative sculpture.
Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts — section of decorative arts; covers a number of branches of creativity that are devoted to the creation of artistic products intended mainly for everyday life. Works of arts and crafts can be: various utensils, furniture, fabrics, tools, vehicles, as well as clothing and all kinds of jewelry. Along with the division of works of arts and crafts according to their practical purpose in the scientific literature since the second half of the 19th century, the classification of branches of arts and crafts by material (metal, ceramics, textiles, wood) or by technique (carving, painting, embroidery, print) has been established. , casting, chasing, intarsia, etc.). Works of decorative and applied art are inseparable from the material culture of their contemporary era, are closely related to the way of life that corresponds to it, with one or another of its local ethnic and national characteristics, social group and class differences.
Possessing their own emotional expressiveness, their own rhythm and proportions, often contrasting in relation to the form, as, for example, in the products of Khokhloma masters, where the modest, simple shape of the bowl and the elegant, festive painting of the surface are different in their emotional sound.
The means of fine arts and ornament serve in arts and crafts not only to create decor, but sometimes also penetrate into the shape of an object (furniture details in the form of palmettes, volutes, animal paws, heads; vessels in the form of a flower, fruit, figure of a bird, beast, person). Sometimes an ornament or an image becomes the basis for the shaping of a product (lattice pattern, lace; weaving pattern of fabric, carpet).
Unity and differences of artistic and utilitarian function
In the unity of the artistic and utilitarian functions of the product, in the interpenetration of form and decor, fine and tectonic principles, the synthetic nature of decorative and applied art is manifested. Works of applied art are designed for perception by sight and touch. Therefore, revealing the beauty of the texture and plastic properties of the material, the skillfulness and variety of methods of its processing acquire the significance of especially active means of aesthetic influence in decorative and applied art.
Having arisen at the earliest time in the development of human society, arts and crafts for many centuries was the most important, and for a number of tribes and nationalities, the main area of artistic creativity. This trend has persisted in traditional folk art up to the present day. But with the beginning of the class stratification of society in the stylistic evolution of decorative and applied art, its special branch begins to play a leading role, designed to serve the needs of the ruling social strata and meet their tastes and ideology. Gradually, interest in the richness of material and decor, in their rarity and sophistication, is becoming increasingly important in decorative and applied art. Products that serve the purposes of representativeness stand out (items for cult rituals or court ceremonies, for decorating the houses of the nobility), in which, in order to increase their emotional sound, craftsmen often sacrifice the everyday expediency of building a form.
However, until the middle of the 19th century, the masters of decorative and applied arts retained the integrity of plastic thinking and the clarity of the idea of aesthetic connections between the object and the environment for which it is intended. The formation, evolution, and change of artistic styles in decorative and applied art proceeded synchronously with their evolution in other forms of art. The tendencies of eclecticism in the artistic culture of the second half of the 19th century lead to a gradual impoverishment of the aesthetic quality and the figurative and emotional content of arts and crafts.
The connection between decor and form is lost, an artistically designed object is replaced by a decorated one. The dominance of bad taste and the depersonalizing effect on the arts and crafts of mass machine production, artists tried to oppose the unique objects made according to their designs in the conditions of handicraft (workshops of W. Morris in the UK, the "Darmstadt Artists' Colony" in Germany) or factory labor, to revive the figurative-emotional integrity and ideological content of the artistically meaningful environment.
Rebirth and fall
The revival of folk crafts in the USSR and awakened in the 1930s. interest in the Russian artistic heritage played a role in the development of the best technological and artistic traditions of the past by Soviet masters of arts and crafts. However, the approach to the works of arts and crafts with the standards of easel art, the pursuit of splendor of products, which made themselves felt especially strongly in the first years after the Great Patriotic War, noticeably hampered the development of arts and crafts.
Since the mid 1950s. in the USSR, along with the search for functional and artistic-expressive forms and decor for everyday household items produced in a factory way, true artists were busy creating unique works in which the emotionality of the image is combined with a variety of processing techniques for the simplest materials, with the desire to reveal all the richness of their plastic and decorative possibilities. But such works are intended to serve only as visual accents in a mass artistically organized environment formed by factory-made products and objects that were created on the basis of a unified design design.
Decorative and applied art is an extensive section of art, covering various areas of artistic activity and focused on the creation of utilitarian items. The aesthetic level of such works, as a rule, is quite high. The collective term combines two types of art - applied and decorative. The first has signs of practical application, the second is designed to decorate the human environment.
Creativity and utility
Applied art - what is it? First of all, these are objects whose characteristics are close to the artistic style, and their purpose is quite diverse. Vases, jugs, dishes or sets made of fine porcelain, as well as many other items decorate living rooms, kitchen sets, bedrooms and children's rooms. Some items may be works of genuine art and yet belong to the category of applied art.
Wide scope of activities
Applied art - what is it from the point of view of the master? A labor-intensive creative process or a simple craft made from improvised materials? a work of art that deserves the highest praise. The utilitarian purpose of the product does not detract from its merits. Decorative and applied art is a wide field of activity for artists and sculptors, designers and stylists. Exclusive works of art created in a single copy are especially appreciated. At the same time, mass-produced products are classified as souvenirs.
Decorations in the house
Decorative and applied art - what is it, if we consider it as part of the aesthetic filling of the domestic environment? It is safe to say that all products and objects located around reflect the tastes of people who are in close proximity to them, as a person tries to surround himself with beautiful things. Decorative and applied art makes it possible to decorate housing, office space, recreation area. Particular attention is paid to the design of rooms for children.
And, finally, applied art - what is it in the understanding of the public? These are exhibitions, vernissages, fairs and many other public events that introduce people to culture. Fine arts and crafts increases the level of human development, contributes to the formation of his aesthetic taste. In addition, visiting the expositions broadens the general horizons. Each exhibition of applied art is an acquaintance of the general public with new achievements in the field of artistic creativity. Such events are of particular importance in the education of the younger generation.
A bit of history
Folk arts and crafts originates in Russian villages. Simple crafts by homegrown craftsmen are often classified as products in the category of "folk arts and crafts". A good example of the folklore style is the so-called - painted cockerels, figurines, red clay ornaments.
The fishery is rooted in the past, it is more than four hundred years old. Ancient applied art appeared thanks to the national holiday "Whistle", when the entire female population sculpted clay whistles for this day in the form of chickens, lambs, horses. The party went on for two days.
Over time, the holiday lost its significance, and folk arts and crafts continued to develop. Currently, Dymkovo art products are being replicated in the Vyatka Toy production association. Products are traditionally covered with whitewash and painted with bright, rich colors.
fine arts
Products of folk art in their original form, as a rule, become the basis for fairy-tale characters invented by the inhabitants of Russian villages, are displayed in the famous Palekh caskets, Zhostovo trays, and Khokhloma wooden products. The applied art of Russia is diverse, each direction is interesting in its own way, the products of Russian masters are in high demand among foreign collectors.
"Demand gives rise to supply" - this wording perfectly reflects the state of affairs in the field of folk art crafts in Russia. For example, art products in the Gzhel style have been popular all over the world for several centuries. The famous white and blue vases, plates, and tea bowls are desirable in every home, and especially valuable specimens are the pride of collectors. It is still unclear what applied art is - work, craft or artistic creativity. In fact, each product requires some effort to create it, and at the same time it is necessary to give the image an artistic value.
Applied art in the children's room
In certain cases, the subject of artistic creativity can be addressed to the younger generation. Of particular value are products made by children's hands. The spontaneity inherent in boys and girls of preschool age, naive fantasy mixed with the desire to express their innermost feelings give rise to real masterpieces. Children's arts and crafts, represented by drawings, plasticine figurines, cardboard little men, are the most real artistic creativity. Today, competitions are held throughout Russia, in which small "artists" and "sculptors" participate.
Modern Russian applied art
Photographs, daggerotypes, etchings, engravings, prints, as well as many other examples, are also artistic creations. Products can be very different. At the same time, they are all united by belonging to social and cultural life under the common name - decorative and applied art. Works in this area are distinguished by a special folklore style. It is not for nothing that all art crafts originated in the Russian hinterland, in villages and villages. There is a homegrown unpretentiousness and a complete absence of that pretentiousness that is sometimes found in works of fine art in the products. At the same time, the artistic level of folk art is quite high.
In Russia, arts and crafts is part of the economic power of the country. Below is a list of the main areas of folk art crafts that have received worldwide recognition and are exported in industrial volumes.
- Lacquer miniatures on a wooden base (Palekh, Mstyora, Fedoskino).
- Zhostovo art painting on metal, Limoges enamel, enamel.
- Khokhloma, Gorodets, Mezen art painting on wood.
- Gzhel, Filimonovo toy, Dymkovo toy - artistic painting on ceramics.
Palekh
Palekh folk art craft appeared in Russian open spaces at the beginning of the 20th century. The art of lacquer drawing originated in a small village in the Ivanovo province called Palekh. The craft was a continuation of the icon-painting art, which is rooted in pre-Petrine times. Later, the masters of Palekh participated in the painting of the Moscow Kremlin, the Novodevichy Convent, the cathedrals of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
The revolution of 1917 abolished icon painting, the artists were left without work. In 1918, the craftsmen created a Palekh art artel, in which wooden handicrafts were painted. Then the craftsmen learned how to create papier-mâché boxes and paint them in miniature style using traditional icon-painting techniques.
In 1923, lacquer miniatures were presented at the All-Russian Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition, where they received a diploma of the 2nd degree. And two years later, the Palekh caskets were exhibited in Paris, at the World Exhibition.
The success of unusual art products became an incentive for the creation of the organizations "Union of Palekh Artists" and "Palekh Art Workshops" under the Art Fund of the USSR.
Fedoskino
This word is associated with Russian lacquer painting with the use of craft appeared in the village of Fedoskino near Moscow in the second half of the 18th century. The drawing was applied to papier-mâché products and then varnished in several layers.
The beginning of the art of the Fedoskino miniature was laid by the Russian merchant P. I. Korobov, who visited the German city of Braunschweig and adopted technologies for creating snuff boxes, beads, caskets and other items decorated with picturesque pictures there.
The Fedoskino lacquer miniature is painted with oil paints in four stages: first, a sketch of the drawing is made (“painting”), then a detailed study (“repainting”), glazing - coating with transparent paints, the last process - glare, which conveys highlights and shadows in the image.
The Fedoskino drawing technique involves the use of a tint layer of reflective components: metal powder or gold leaf. In some cases, the master can make a mother-of-pearl lining. Transparent glazing paints together with the lining create a unique deep glow effect. The ink layer is underlined by a black background.
Mstera
This was the name of the Russian folk craft, which appeared in the middle of the 18th century in the Vladimir province. It all started with "petty letters" - miniature icons with the smallest details. After the revolution of 1917, when there was no need for icon painting, mstyora switched to caskets and boxes made of papier-mâché. The pattern was applied mixed on egg yolks. By the middle of the 20th century, the technologies of the lacquer miniature of the mstyora were finally formed.
The basic principles of drawing a picture are to transfer the general contours from tracing paper to the surface of the product, then "opening" follows, drawing the picture itself. The next step is detailed painting. And finally "melt" - the final coloring with glare, which includes created gold (the smallest gold powder). The finished product is covered with transparent varnish in six layers with intermediate drying, then polished.
The characteristic features of Mstyora painting are carpet decoration, a sophisticated play of shades and three color schemes used in coloring: yellow ocher, red and silver-blue. The theme of the drawing is classical: fairy tales, historical monuments, architecture.
Zhostovo
The folk craft of Zhostovo is metal trays painted in a special style. Zhostovo art was born at the beginning of the 19th century, in the villages of the Trinity volost, in the Moscow region. Residents of three villages (Ostashkovo, Zhostovo and Khlebnikovo) began to make painted items from papier-mâché. And in the workshop of the Vishnyakov brothers, they began to make trays from tin with a colorful pattern.
The Vishnyakovs' price list included two dozen different items made of metal and papier-mâché, all of them painted, colorfully designed and in high demand at fairs, while the painted tray was always in the forefront.
Zhostovo painting is a floral theme in several versions: a garden bouquet, random flowers, a garland, a wicker wreath. Field plants constituted a separate composition.
Bouquets on a tray look natural due to the careful study of small details. In this case, the color palette is used as saturated as possible. The background, as a rule, is black, the edges of the tray are decorated with openwork ornaments, vegetative or stylized as a wood structure. The Zhostovo tray is always hand-painted and is an exclusive work of art.
Khokhloma
This name was given to Russian folk craft, dating back to the beginning of the 17th century. Khokhloma painting is the most complex and expensive of all currently existing techniques. Artistic applied art is a long creative process associated with wood processing, multi-layer priming and painting with oil paints.
The process of making Khokhloma products begins with blanks. First, the craftsmen, that is, chop wooden bars with an ax. Then the workpieces are processed on machines to the desired size and shape. The processed blanks are called "linen". After grinding, they are coated with special liquid clay and dried. Then the already primed workpieces are covered with several layers of linseed oil with intermediate drying. This is followed by tinning, or rubbing aluminum powder into the surface, after which the product becomes a white-mirror color. At this stage, it is already ready for painting.
The main colors of Khokhloma are black and red (soot and cinnabar), auxiliary colors are gold, brown, light green and yellow. In this case, very thin brushes are used (made exclusively from squirrel tails), since strokes are applied with a barely noticeable touch.
The thematic content of the picture is rowan berries, viburnum, strawberries, small foliage, thin, slightly curved green stems. Everything is drawn with bright, intense colors, the contours are clearly marked. The image is built on the principle of contrast.
Gzhel
This is the most popular folk craft, a traditional Russian center for the production of artistic ceramics. It occupies a vast region, consisting of 27 villages, under the general name Gzhel Bush, 60 kilometers from Moscow.
From time immemorial, Gzhel places have been famous for deposits of high-grade clay suitable for apothecary vessels. In 1770, the Gzhel volost lands were assigned to the Pharmaceutical Order. At the same time, in the Gzhel villages, they launched the production of bricks, pottery pipes, stove tiles and children's toys for Moscow.
Dishes made of Gzhel clay were especially good, light and durable. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were 25 factories for the production of tableware in the parish. The proximity of Moscow stimulated the development of the production of clay products; a myriad of bowls, plates, dishes and other kitchen utensils were sold at the capital's fairs.
Gzhel toys at that time were made from waste utensils. No matter how much clay was left, all of it was used to model cockerels, hens, lambs and goats. Initially, handicraft workshops worked chaotically, but soon a certain line in production was outlined. Raw materials began to be harvested specifically for souvenirs, craftsmen also specialized in the profile of the most sought-after products.
White shiny horses and figurines were painted in different colors until cobalt, a universal paint, appeared. The intense bright blue color is the best match with the snow-white enamel of the workpiece. In the 50s of the last century, artists completely abandoned all other colors and began to use glazed blue cobalt coloring. At the same time, the motives of the drawing could be very different, on any topic.
Other crafts
The range of Russian folk art crafts of arts and crafts is unusually wide. Here is artistic Kasli casting and embossing with interspersed elements. Intarsia and marquetry technologies allow you to create magnificent paintings and panels. Russian applied art is a vast cultural layer of the country, the property of society.
