Two weeks - from Christmas to Epiphany, in the old days (and not so) were filled with festive festivities, feasts and fortune-telling, songs and dances, carols and visits. And all this period was called Svyatki, and foreigners called the festivities these days the Slavic carnival. Well, let's continue carnival!)))
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883) Mummers. 1873
Vyacheslav Lyuiko (Kazakhstan, born 1963) Christmas time. 2011
Hertz Yuriy Dmitrievich (Ukraine, born 1931) Christmas in Verkhovyna. 1997
Roldugin Igor Nikolaevich (born 1959) Christmas time.
Chizhevsky Yaroslav (Ukraine) Christmas. 2014
Christmas time
Month - affectionate magician -
I got up, and clear and handsome,
And in the village - revelry and songs, -
The youth is gone!
Snow crunch ... Fuss and jokes,
Splattered with snow dust...
- What is the name? .. - Name - Zovutkoy!
- And you? - Me - Bovoy!
Will you give me a ring?
- I will give, but not for everyone! ..
With a dance, the mummers came out, -
Oh, die! Squeal and laugh!
Moon, gentle wizard,
Starts a trick...
And in the village - revelry and songs
And guessing about fate...
Alexander Shiryaevets
1916-1922
Aksenov Yuri Alekseevich (born 1950) Christmas time. 2013
Danilich Taras Fedorovich (Ukraine, born 1945) Carol-makers.
Ilko Ivan Ivanovich (Ukraine, born 1938) Christmas Eve. Carolers.
Sipovich Tatyana Mikhailovna (born 1957) Mummers (New Year's hair).
Christmas time
A blizzard is circling in the winter waltz,
The days are getting shorter!
Closer to Christmas time... and to leisure
Turn back time.
The year has passed in labors, worries -
Carnival life!
Thank God, not bankrupt ...
What did he give us?
Let's live, love, laugh -
Let's just live!
Wonder at the peace of God -
Less, friend, to sin.
Let's spin in music -
Christmas is coming soon!
Winter waltz... Let it all happen
Fairy tales are magic!
Dalkevich Mechislav Mikhailovich (1861-1941) Christmas time in the village. Drawing from the magazine "World Illustration". 1881
Shamota S. Christmas. Goat driving through the Polish countryside. Drawing from the magazine "World Illustration". 1882
Tkachenko Nikolai Ivanovich (1866-1920) Mummers in Little Russia. Drawing from the magazine "World Illustration". 1896
Ploshinsky Sergey Fedorovich On Christmas night.
Christmas ditties
For Christmas holidays
The day is almost off the gulkin's nose..
I'll play hide and seek with a cute one -
He has not grown up to love!
Who is knocking at our door at Christmas time?
And how mad screams?
He came to us to carol
Your friend, vigorous mother!
I have many cuties
In Christmas time everyone is asked to love!
The wife promises strictly
Cut something off for me!
Polovnaya-Vasilyeva Elena (Ukraine) Carols.
Kalinina Irina Pavlovna (born 1948) Christmas time. 2003
Muravyova Daria, member of the People's Studio of Decorative Petrikovskaya Painting (DOEC) Christmas. 2013
Pavlova Vera Vladimirovna (1952-2015) Illustration for the book by E. Levkievskaya "Russian Holidays". 2008
***
The new year has matured
Christmas time passed bravely,
The moment of fortune-telling has flown by,
All the carols are sung.
There is no better time to find
Passions boiled away
Epiphany night on the way!
The fonts are waiting!
Lyudmila Egorycheva, 2014
Svyatki is a Slavic folk holiday that falls in the winter. Holy week for Orthodox Christians lasts from January 7 to January 19, starting from the Nativity of Christ until the Baptism of the Lord. The Catholic holiday falls on the period from December 25 to January 6.
Story
This event has been celebrated since ancient times. In the 6th century, there was a scripture that speaks of holidays when it is not supposed to celebrate a wedding and bow. In 567, the Second Turonian Assembly celebrates the days from the Nativity of Christ to the Epiphany as holidays.
In the Roman Empire, the unspoken law on caroling and divination was often violated during this period, despite the rules of the Ecumenical Council. In Rus', there was even a law prohibiting ancient idolatry giving, various superstitious games and dressing up as idols to follow. Also in Rus' during Christmas time it was forbidden to arrange grandiose festivities with songs and dances.
Traditions and customs
Despite the law, people celebrated Christmas time in their own way. On the first day of the holiday, it was customary to visit relatives and relatives, as well as to pay attention to the poor, disadvantaged and beggars. Many families in Rus' helped the destitute by feeding them. They also visited orphanages, orphanages, and hospitals. Even the kings, disguised as commoners, visited prisoners in prisons and served alms on the street to those who begged.
There was a tradition of giving gifts that came from paganism - it echoed the offering of gifts to the Gods. People gave gifts to acquaintances and friends, ranging from penny souvenirs to expensive presents.
The key moment in the celebration of Christmas time was considered a family meal. Women got up early to prepare the table and clean the house. Various dishes were prepared: kutya, sweet pancakes, cookies with nuts, sbiten, poppy seeds, oatmeal jelly. The table was laid for all those present, adding additional appliances for relatives who died in the past year.
The completion of Christmas time was the preparation for Baptism. Tall men from all over the village gathered together and went to the reservoirs. They cut a hole for the upcoming ablution. Usually this was done on the last two days of Christmas time.
celebration
Fortune-telling was an invariable attribute of Christmas time, when young girls gathered and found out their future. The rituals were different, each village had its own divination rules and its own attributes necessary for the ritual. They mostly guessed at suitors, wanting to know the name of the betrothed, his age or appearance. Sometimes they guessed at the date of marriage and the number of children. Adults limited themselves to the signs by which they tried to determine the prosperity in the family in the new year.
Carols, where young people frolicked, were also an obligatory element. Guys and girls dressed up in new clothes, which were previously made before the holiday. During the day, they walked the streets, bawling carols or singing church hymns. They also looked into neighboring houses, where they received treats from hospitable hosts for the songs they performed. During Christmas time in Rus', there was a belief that the well-being of the family in the coming year directly depends on gifts to carolers. Therefore, the owners did not skimp on treats to uninvited guests: they gave sweets, homemade pies, cookies, and pastries. With the onset of night, gatherings were organized where they told each other stories, played the balalaika or accordion.
There were other activities during Christmas time, such as dressing up. Women sewed beautiful sundresses, men prepared the uniform of soldiers, polished their boots. On Christmas Eve, the great dressing up began - the men dressed in women's clothes, and the girls in uniform. The action was relevant for a trip to neighboring villages, where you could fool rustic guys or lure romantic people. Often, girls in military uniforms managed to seduce gullible young ladies from a neighboring village and even persuade them to marry. The jokes ended the next day, but for a whole year the youth then remembered their achievements and successes in dressing up during Christmas time.
Lonely women often rented out their huts for young guys and young ladies who want to have fun during the festivities. To prevent teenagers from going wild, elderly people were sent to such houses, whose task was to keep order. But the youth dodged, watered the elders and arranged fun to the fullest, with songs and dances until the morning.
The church never approved of such amusements, but it was useless to forbid. She struggled with excessive fun, recalling humility between the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany, but she could not completely eradicate folk festivals.
However, there were also “good” traditions – fasting and subbotniks. Fasting took place at the very beginning of Christmas time, when it was customary to pray with the whole family and cook kutya, grain porridge, as the main lenten dish for a meal, the grain of which symbolizes eternity. Subbotniks are ordinary bridesmaids for unmarried girls and free boys. All young people not burdened by marriage gathered in one hut. There, many got acquainted, started relationships and even got married after the subbotnik.
Appeal to the topic of Christmas carols, which are usually held after Christmas and last almost two weeks, is most likely associated with childhood memories. Two weeks of winter holidays, from Christmas Eve (January 6) to Epiphany (January 19), were in ancient times a time of rest and “visiting”, which is why they organized trips with congratulations at this time, and on long winter evenings they guessed at the betrothed.
Now you will no longer meet merrily laughing mummers who go from house to house with an accordion, sing and sentence rhymed wishes and congratulations to the owners, beg for treats and continue on their way. However, such a pastime was not particularly accepted in Russia; Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles and Bulgarians were famous for this. These traditions are still preserved there, transformed into new forms - from concerts and street processions to competitions and folk festivals. This is a fine line between Church Christmas and Christmas, as a tribute to the traditions of the people, born back in paganism.
In the Internet publication "Orthodoxy and the World" I found an interesting article by Seraphim Orekhanov, which I am happy to quote, since it contains a detailed history of the holiday and customs, and thoughts and reflections that are consonant with mine.
Mikhailo Moroz Carols.
Trutovsky Konstantin Alexandrovich (1826-1893) Carols in Little Russia 1864
Chumakov-Orleansky Vladimir Viktorovich (born 1962) Kolyada.
origins
The tradition of celebrating Christmas time is rooted in such deep antiquity that even oral traditions have not remained from those times. When Prince Vladimir threw pagan idols into the Dnieper, the custom was already five hundred years old. And even when Rurik founded Novgorod, Christmas time was no longer young.
Employees of the Russian Ethnographic Museum claim that in pre-Christian Rus', Christmas time was associated with the name of the god Svyatovit. What kind of god is this and why he was given a special two-week holiday, scientists are still arguing. It is believed that "Svyatovit" is simply one of the names of the supreme god Perun. Be that as it may, the Slavs did their best to appease this god, primarily so that he would send a bountiful harvest. At Christmas time, Svyatovit was supposed to leave some festive food, which was thrown into the oven especially for him. The Slavs believed that at the beginning of winter, the spirits of the gods and the souls of their ancestors descend to earth, and at that moment they can “beg” for a plentiful harvest, and a handsome husband, and money, and anything in general.
Pimonenko Nikolai Kornilyevich (1862-1912) Carols 1880s
Selivanova Elena Illustration for the book by Olga Pershina "Christmas Outside the Window".
Marina Yandolenko Carols 2008
Church of Christmas
The Christian tradition of celebrating Christmas time has also been known since antiquity.
Back in the 4th century, Greek Christians rested, had fun and purely celebrated for two weeks after Christmas (according to one version, the word “Christmas” comes from the verb “sanctify”, since people “hallow” at Christmas time, that is, they glorify Christ and the Birth of Christ) . Particular attention was paid to ensuring that everyone had a joyful mood: the poor, slaves, prisoners. In Byzantium, it became a custom to bring food and gifts to prisons and hospitals at Christmas time, to help the poor. Mentions of Christmastide, as a special post-Christmas celebration, can be found in the writings of Ambrose of Milan, Gregory of Nyssa and Ephrem the Syrian.
With the advent of Christianity, Christmas time in Rus' began to take on a new meaning. Nevertheless, the attitude of the Russian Church to Christmas celebrations has always been ambiguous. Many hierarchs spoke out not only against fortune-telling, but also against caroling and the custom of “dressing up” on the basis of the decision of the VI Ecumenical Council, which reads: “Those who resort to magicians or others like them to learn something secret from them, let them be subject to the rule of six years of penance ( i.e., they are removed from Communion for six years) ... dances and ceremonies performed according to an old and alien rite of Christian life, we reject and determine: none of the husbands should dress in women's clothing that is not characteristic of a husband; don't wear masks."
Then the supporters of the Christmas time came up with a witty "solution" to the problem: on Epiphany, an ice hole in the shape of a cross was made in the ice of a river or lake, and the entire population of the village dipped into it, washing away the sins committed at Christmas time.
Over time, the religious meaning of pagan traditions was completely forgotten, and Christmas time became a time when people especially glorify Christmas and the mercy of the Lord who sent Jesus Christ to Earth. From the ancient pre-Christian Christmas time, only winter, purely Russian irrepressible fun remains.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883) Slavers-policemen. 1867
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883) Slavers-policemen. 1872
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883) Slavers-policemen.
Christmas time
Alla Goncharuk Kolyada. 2005
Chestnyakov (Samuilov) Efim Vasilievich (1874-1961) Kolyada (detail).
Zelenchenko Tatyana Borisovna (Ukraine, born 1951) Melanka.
Reference:
Generous evening (in Ukrainian Shchedry Vechir, in Belarusian Shchodryk, in Russian Vasiliev evening) is a folk holiday of Ukrainians, Belarusians and the South Russian population bordering on Ukrainians. It's an evening on New Year's Eve. Its celebration comes from an ancient, probably pre-Christian custom. According to the Christian calendar, this is also the day of St. Melania (Melanka, Malanka, Milanka). Milanka-Water comes to the Generous Evening together with Vasily-Luna to inform the hosts about future celebrations and to stay, the people call it Melanka's guests. In the Ukrainian folk tradition, both holidays are combined into the Generous Evening, or Melanka's holiday.
carols
Where the word "kolyada" came from is extremely difficult to establish. In different parts of Russia, this word has a different meaning. In the north, it's just "Christmas Eve", in the villages of the Novgorod region "kolyada" - gifts received at Christmas. In Belarus, "caroling" means "praise Christ." But ethnographers believe that the ancient Slavs called this word the holiday of the winter solstice.
In our understanding, carols are something like Winnie the Pooh's chants, in which the owner of the house is praised and through which treats are begged from this very owner.
Songs were often composed on the go, but there were traditional rules in this art, coming from ancient times. The owner, for example, was called only “bright moon”, the hostess - “red sun”, their children - “clear stars”.
However, those who knew how, came up with more expressive magnifications: “The owner of the house is like Adam in paradise; mistress in the house - like pancakes on honey; little kids - like red-green grapes ... ”The carolers promised a rich harvest and a happy life to those who give treats, and all sorts of disasters to the miserly. Sometimes even threats sounded in the songs: “Whoever does not give a pie, we will bring the cow by the horns, whoever does not give ham, we will split the iron…” All this, of course, is a joke. Sometimes they sang absolutely, even deliberately meaningless sentences. The hosts received guests, gave what they could.
Sychkov Fedot Vasilyevich (1870-1958) Christoslavs (Children of the old village). 1935
customs
In ancient, pre-Petrine times, it was customary to light a fire in every village on Christmas Day, which, with its spark in the darkness of a winter night, symbolized the Star of Bethlehem and burned until the very baptism.
Another Christmas custom is to gather with the whole family in the evenings, invite guests (as many as possible), tell tales and make riddles (as complex as possible). This tradition, like caroling, lived not only in the villages, but also among the urban nobility.
Literary critic Yu. M. Lotman, in his comments on "Eugene Onegin", writes that it was customary to separate "holy evenings" and "terrible evenings" (the first and second weeks after Christmas, respectively). On "holy evenings" they arranged cheerful nightly gatherings, on "terrible evenings" they guessed.
The youth was going to dance, during the day - to ride a sleigh, play snowballs. By the way, there have always been many weddings after Christmas. “In gatherings, fortune-telling, games, songs, everything is directed towards one goal - to the rapprochement of the betrothed. Only on holy days, boys and girls easily sit hand in hand, ”wrote the folklorist I. Snegirev in the book“ Songs of the Russian people ”.
Konstantin Prusov Carols. 2010
Shvetsova Anastasia Anatolyevna (b. 1982) Carols 2010
Hooliganism sanctified by tradition
The most "anti-social" Christmas tradition is "pampering". Children and teenagers gathered at night in large gangs and played pranks as best they could. The classic joke was to board up a gate in a house from the outside, or stir up a pile of firewood.
Another entertainment is the ritual abduction of something. Anything could be kidnapped, but always with noise and songs, and not secretly. In Soviet times, despite all the prohibitions, collective farm tractors were often "kidnapped". Immediately after the holidays, of course, they were returned to their place. The last days of Christmas time were devoted to preparation for Baptism. The best village craftsmen cut a cross-shaped hole in frozen ponds and decorated it with ice patterns.
Gorelov Gavriil Nikitich (1880-1966) Mummers in the village. 1906
Ivan Lysenko Kolyada.
Christmas traditions in Rus'
The history of the state regulation of Christmas festivities is very diverse. The first legislative acts on this subject were issued under Peter I. “Tsar Peter was very fond of caroling and he himself went from house to house with pleasure in the company of mummers. And those who refused to take part in this fun were ordered to be whipped, ”say the employees of the Russian Ethnographic Museum. After the death of Peter I, the attitude towards caroling changed dramatically. In the second half of the 18th century, caroling and disguising were even forbidden: “It is forbidden on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and during Christmas time to start, according to ancient idolatrous legends, games and, dressing up in idol robes, dance along the streets and sing seductive songs,” the imperial charter read. .
Most likely, the authorities were simply afraid of mass drunkenness and hooliganism, and were not worried about the moral character of the mummers. Be that as it may, it was probably one of the most frequently violated laws of the Russian Empire, and it was soon forgotten about.
After the revolution, there were no special decrees on this matter, however, Christmas time, like other holidays of a religious nature, was constantly pursued, so they soon left the cities for distant deaf villages.
Elena Revutskaya Christmas 2007
New birth of old traditions
What do we do during holidays? At best, we visit each other. And most Russians generally spend their winter holidays watching TV, listening to New Year's greetings from show business stars. True, some parents try to arrange a home holiday for their children these days. But after all, Christmas time is not really reduced to a children's matinee - our ancestors celebrated them with the whole family, from young to old.
After all, there are a lot of Christmas customs that make this time especially joyful. Why not remember them?
In Kolomna, for example, there were enthusiasts - artists of the Pilimgrim folklore theater, who managed to organize real city Christmas festivities. Since the early 1990s, every year they go caroling along the streets of old Kolomna. First they were joined by the students of the Kolomna Sunday schools, then by the parishioners of nearby churches. And in 2008, several hundred adults and children participated in such caroling.
You can meet carolers not only in Kolomna. The author of the article talks about how children gather and, under the guidance of adults, go caroling with a bag on all floors in an ordinary multi-storey Moscow building in which he lives.
Elena Revutskaya Christmas song 2005
Elena Revutskaya Christmas song 2010
The author ends the article with a question: Why don't you try to organize something similar where you live? Believe me, nothing cheers you up like two dozen cheerful and toothless kids, out of tune shouting something congratulatory.
Serafim Orekhanov
Christmas painting "Kolyada".
Author: Kapitonova Olga Fedorovna. Educator MBDOU No. 1 "Rucheyek" GO "Zhatai" The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the city of Yakutsk, the village "Zhatai".Let me bring to your attention a master class on making a Christmas picture for preschool children.
In my work I use mixed media of fine arts - gouache, pastel.
Purpose: Christmas decoration for a group, Christmas crafts, a picture can be hung on the wall, decorate a corner for parents in the hallway, give for the Christmas holiday, for the competition.
Description: This master class is intended for educators, teachers of additional education, methodologists and parents.
According to church tradition, on the night of January 7 (December 25, old style), Jesus Christ was born. The feast of the Nativity of Christ is considered the greatest, universal and most joyful. Christmas is preceded by a forty-day fast that ends with Christmas Eve, or Christmas Eve. And since the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian, winter Christmas time has also been celebrated, which begin a week before Christmas and continue until Epiphany itself. It has long been customary to call the first week of Christmastide Holy Evenings, and the second evening Terrible or called Kolyada. As soon as the first holy day of the Terrible Evenings arrived, little outfits appeared on the street, teenagers dressed up at dusk, and by nightfall adults were already dancing, singing and introducing themselves. The girls liked to dress up in men's clothes, and the young men in women's. Faces were painted over with soot, home-made “tow-hairs” were put on their heads, teeth cut from turnips were inserted into their mouths, and ox horns were attached to hats, sometimes turning a mummer into a terrible devil.
Kolyada is the god of the ancient Slavs, who brought the calendar to people. The name "calendar" consists of two words: Kolyada Dar. This means that it was a gift to the people of Kolyada himself. Also, the god Kolyada taught people to look at the stars and see their patterns, from which the science of astrology was subsequently formed.
The time of winter holidays and Christmas in our time used to be a time when people glorified Kolyada and sang little songs to him in order to receive other happy gifts from him. At this time, children and adults used to go to the yards of their neighbors and simply sing songs glorifying the onset of the new year, new life, songs of thanks to the gods.
During carols, it was customary to welcome the carolers with joy, and after the performance of the carols, to give various Christmas gifts and sweets - mostly sweets, cookies and other Christmas sweets. Not only did the poor go caroling, but also many wealthy city and country people loved to sing Christmas carols on these holidays. Some relatives organized a kind of competition, who would bring the most gifts received for Christmas caroling - this was considered a good good sign for the coming year. If the carol-maker received many gifts in response to his songs, then this meant that he would have a rich and prosperous year. It was also considered a good sign to give gifts to carolers on Christmas - in this case, God himself will take care of the donor and bestow his gifts, which in all respects surpass the gifts of people given during Christmas carols. In this case, God will generously return the donor with all the blessings that he will need in difficult times - either health, or a happy occasion, or a necessary meeting.
Target: Drawing the plot Christmas holiday "Kolyada" in mixed media.
Tasks:
Educational - to teach to draw the figures of children, distinguishing their characteristic features; draw in different ways of painting; to acquaint with the history of the Russian traditional holiday "Christmas".
Developing - to develop creative abilities, imagination, the ability to embody plots of a festive mood in a drawing.
Educational - to form interests in the traditions of the native land, to evoke an emotional response to the plot picture.
For work we need:
White paper in A-3, A-2 format - 2 pieces;
Gouache;
brushes No. 2, No. 3;
oil crayons (pastel);
Simple pencil;
eraser;
black marker;
cotton pads;
double sided tape;
stationery knife;
ruler 40 cm;
palette;
scissors.
Painting "Kolyada".
Stages of work1. Preliminary work: Choose a drawing from a children's reader, on a Christmas theme.
2. Draw the silhouettes of children on the A-3 format paper with a simple pencil, on the left side of the paper.
3. On the right side of the drawing paper, draw a church.
4. After the silhouettes of the children and the church are drawn, circle the drawings with a black felt-tip pen so that the outlines of the drawing are clearly visible.
5. Then we decorate the silhouettes in different color shades.
6. After the silhouettes are painted, draw stars, and paint with gouache in blue.
7. We make a background for our picture, take blue crayons and color the whole drawing.
8. Then we rub the whole picture with cotton pads.
9. It turned out to be an almost finished drawing, but in order to make the picture more beautiful, I make a passe-partout.
10. To do this, I take A-2 format paper and cut out a frame for my picture, make marks on the back of the paper according to the size of the future passe-partout. Using a simple pencil and ruler.
11. Using a ruler, draw a square, connect the corners of the square diagonally with straight lines. We make cuts along the drawn lines with a knife.
12. Cut out the inner square. We bend the edge inward so that the edges are even.
13. After our frame is ready, I decorate it in the same way as the background of the picture, but I only select light colors, since the plot of the picture is evening, then the frame should be brighter so that it is not too dark. We choose colors in accordance with the picture, I chose a bright yellow color.
14. The last step remains - to connect the mat, drawing and frame. First, using double-sided tape, stick the image on a sheet of whatman paper the size of a passe-partout so that it is just inside the “window”. Along the perimeter on the inside of the passe-partout, stick double-sided tape, cutting it into 1 cm pieces. You need to glue the tape strictly in the middle of the passe-partout.
15. Then carefully glue the picture to the mat. It is best to fix the horizontal sides first, then the vertical ones. Carefully unfold the paper and remove the protective strips from the adhesive tape.
16. After the picture has been glued, glue adhesive tape at the corners of the inner passe-partout, glue a frame around the perimeter of the passe-partout, then add more pieces of adhesive tape on the sides.
17. Align the picture. But if the inner light frame of the passe-partout could not be made the same on all sides, take a knife or scissors and very carefully correct these irregularities - cut the inner passe-partout.
Nativity. The Patriarch hails the Sovereign in the Golden Chamber.
Buchholz Fedor (Theodor Alexander Ferdinand) Fedorovich (Gustavovich) (1857-1942).
Illustration for the Niva magazine. Engraved by Schübler
Christmas market.
Genrikh Matveevich Manizer. Canvas, oil.
Omsk Regional Museum of Fine Arts. M. A. Vrubel
Christmas market.
Buchkuri Alexander Alekseevich (1870 -1942). 1906
Preparatory drawing for the painting "Christmas Market". 1918
Kustodiev Boris Mikhailovich
Christmas market.
Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. 1918 Oil on canvas. 98x98.
Krasnodar Regional Art Museum. F. Kovalenko, Krasnodar
Canvases on the themes of festive provincial life are distinguished by a special, only for Kustodiev, characteristic brightness, multicolor and vitality of the smallest details. Folk holidays and festivities are reflected in many works of the artist of different years. While still a student of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, Kustodiev chose a painting on a similar plot as the theme of his thesis work. He traveled through the villages, wrote sketches - portraits of peasants, landscape sketches, genre scenes. The "Christmas Market" - a work created by the artist in 1918 - also belongs to the same topic.
Singing the life and customs of the Russian provinces, Kustodiev surprisingly combined painting with verbal and musical folklore - with a song and a fairy tale. An attentive, thoughtful viewer not only sees, but also "hears" the artist's work. Painted, most likely from memory, the picture does not have an exact geographical address - this is Rus' in general, and not the Astrakhan or Kostroma Christmas tree market. The action on the canvas takes place as if "in a certain kingdom, in a certain state." The spacious sky and the gilded domes of the church above the bustling human anthill - who is not among this motley crowd! The real is wonderfully combined with the fantastic: a colorful fairy tale, full of vivid details, appears before us. And the artist, like a real storyteller, emphasized all the funny, toy that is in this simple story, hiding all the serious that can be hidden in it. The Christmas tree market is depicted by the artist as a festive spectacle. The space of the picture resembles a stage. The arrangement of the figures, at first glance, is given chaotically: the image can be continued both to the right and to the left. The openness of the composition, its peculiar fluidity further enhance this overall impression.
A large place is given to the landscape in this genre scene - church domes seem fabulous against the backdrop of a snowy sky, spruce trees - the main subject of bargaining at the fair - are dressed in elegant winter clothes. The artist made the brushstroke on the canvas easily, smoothly, even somehow delicately. Kustodiev attached great importance to line, drawing, and the play of color spots. Chiaroscuro in this case is not of great importance, the light becomes very conditional. Local color spots form a harmonious decorative whole. The sky covered with clouds has no depth, the domes of the church are intense in color, due to which the difference in plans is reduced to almost nothing.
On the one hand, Kustodiev noticed and transferred to the canvas the true types of the Russian provinces, conveyed the real atmosphere of New Year's fuss, and on the other hand, the artist himself plays a festive performance, a costume performance with beautiful scenery. A joyful, incomparable feeling of fullness of life and movement permeates the canvas. Life in this work is visible everywhere: people are bustling, rejoicing and fussing, snowy winter draws its intricate patterns in the sky, and all this action is enveloped in the fresh coniferous aroma of beauty spruce.
The world in Kustodiev's picture is like a magic lantern with constantly changing pictures - you can endlessly watch his diverse, so simple, uncomplicated and at the same time life full of deep meaning. The blue and pale white colors of the picture pacify, delight, as if lulling, creating a gentle and poetic atmosphere of waiting for a miracle on the eve of the holiday - timeless, always modern. They remind us, always busy and in a hurry somewhere, that everything in this world is beautiful, that life is amazing just because it is life.
From the book: T. Kondratenko, Y. Solodovnikov "Krasnodar Regional Art Museum named after F.A. Kovalenko". White city, 2003.
Behind the trees
Return from the Christmas market.
MM. Germashev (Bubello). Card
Preparing for Christmas.
Sergei Vasilyevich Dosekin (1869-1916). 1896
Christmas tree.
Korin Alexey Mikhailovich.1910
Christmas tree.
Nikolai Ivanovich Feshin (1881-1955). 1917
Christmas tree.
Alexander Moravov. 1921
New Year's Eve meal.
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanova (sister of Emperor Nicholas II). 1935
Christmas day. In the monastery.
Ivan Silych Goryushkin-Sorokopudov. Illustration in the magazine "Niva"
Slavilshchiki-city.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich 1867 Oil on canvas
Glorifiers.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich 1868 Oil on canvas.
State Russian Museum
Slavilshchiki.
State Vladimir-Suzdal Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve
Slavilshchiki.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich Canvas, oil.
Odessa Art Museum
Slavilshchiki.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich 1872 Oil on canvas. 40.3?51.5.
Ulyanovsk Art Museum
City-Christoslavs.
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837-1883). 1872 Oil on canvas.
Perm State Art Gallery
Solomatkin Leonid Ivanovich (1837 - 1883) attended the classes of the Imperial Academy of Arts and received a small silver medal for the paintings "The Name Day of the Deacon" (1862) and "The City Slavers" (1864), which V. V. Stasov welcomed as "a wonderful fresh offspring of the Fedotov schools." The last plot was subsequently repeated several times, at least 18 author's replicas are known, although the first version has not been preserved. Art catalog
In the painting "In the Cellar at Christmas Week" Solomatkin depicts his favorite characters - itinerant musicians. Is talent a burden or a gift, a blessing or a curse? Talent is destiny. Talent did not make the artist and his heroes happy, but they fulfill their mission with dignity. The musicians depicted in the picture have known better days. The cello played by the old man is a professional instrument that allows the musician to claim some kind of specialness, testifying to a certain level of life left in the past. The old man is accompanied by a boy who plays along with him on the pipe. Apparently, for the sake of this boy, carefully covered with a warm scarf, the old man has to wander with a heavy tool from the tavern to the tavern, earning a living. There is a Christmas tree decorated with toys in the room, and masks and masquerade costumes hang on a hanger, giving everything that happens a phantasmagoric shade. Art Gallery of the Generations Fund of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug of Yugra
With a star
Reproduction from a painting by M. Germashev, published by the company "Richard", printed in the printing house of the partnership "R. Golike and A. Vilborg". Petrograd, 1916
Christmas card based on a drawing by Boris Zworykin
Carols.
Nikolai Kornilovich Pimenko. Deut. floor. 1880s. Canvas, oil. 170x130.
Donetsk Regional Art Museum
museum-painting.dp.ua
Holiday riding.
Buchkuri Alexander Alekseevich (1870 -1942). Canvas, oil.
