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In which museum is the Permian wooden sculpture. Perm wooden sculpture

In which museum is the Permian wooden sculpture. Perm wooden sculpture

10.02.2019

January 17th, 2016

in Perm art gallery the hall of wooden sculpture occupies the most the best place. Under the dome. The building of the gallery is the former Transfiguration Cathedral. IN Soviet time the cathedral was rebuilt art gallery. Probably, it was this cathedral that saved. They did not begin to adapt it to any technical needs, they did not begin to demolish it. They simply divided the huge inner space of the temple into three floors. Built partitions between floors and stairs.
And thanks to the gallery, a huge, probably twenty meters high wooden gilded iconostasis was preserved. Interfloor ceilings were built so that they did not reach the iconostasis. If the building of the cathedral had been given for something else, then the unique iconostasis would certainly have been destroyed. The redevelopment of the cathedral was done according to the project of the architect N.A. Shvarev. Perhaps it is to him that we owe the fact that the iconostasis has been preserved. However, I will write about the iconostasis later separately.

Opposite the hall of Perm sculpture is the largest upper part of the iconostasis.

You probably know how Permian wooden sculpture was born. Just in case, I'll remind you. Before the arrival of the Russians, the Zyryans, the ancestors of modern people Komi. They were idolaters. Their idols were wooden. "Cut out with a cutout," as a Russian monk said about it.
But then the Russians came to this region. And they came first to the North Perm Territory. Why north is understandable. To the south were lands occupied by Tatars and Bashkirs. overcome these warlike peoples The Russians were not yet capable of it. And together with military people and Christian missionaries came to the Perm region as merchants. The first of them was Stephen of Perm, a contemporary and associate Reverend Sergius. True Perm, he was only in name. He did not reach the lands where the current Perm Territory is now located. The pulpit of St. Stephen was on the territory modern republic Komi.

Perm the Great or Parma in ancient times was called this whole wooded region. And its center was the city. In ancient times, it was called the Great Perm - Cherdyn. The very same town with the name Perm was built much later than Cherdyn. It was founded by the same Vasily Tatishchev at about the same time as Yekaterinburg.
Alexei Ivanov has such an episode in "Heart of Parma". Bishop Jonah arrived in Cherdyn. And I saw that Christianity here, on the edge of the world, was strongly mixed with paganism. And he ordered to burn all "Christian idols" as not meeting the canons. These very "idols" were Permian sculptures. The novel takes place in the 15th century. So according to Ivanov, they already existed then.

The real, unimagined first Permian bishops were wiser. And they didn't burn anything. If the people of Parma believe in Christ, even if "cut out" means so be it. The tradition of carving sacred images from wood became stronger and took root in the northern Perm region for a long time. For centuries. Although later, already in the nineteenth century, the church authorities tried to fight the remnants of paganism in the form of non-canonical sculpture. But this was not successful.
All sculptures from the exposition of the Perm Art Gallery were made between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The face of the Savior, carved by an unknown artist, expresses sorrow and suffering. The faces of the Permian sculptures resemble high cheekbones the zyryans themselves. I remember when Alya and I stood on the pier in Berezniki and waited for the ship to the Komi Okrug, Alya spoke.
- Look at the people around.
And sure enough, many of them were subtly different from us.
Christ is even dressed in national clothes Komi-Permyakov, blue robe - shabur.

And here the face of the Savior was made more of a Russian type.

Here in the face of Christ there is something Tatar. In these statues - all the peoples inhabiting the Urals.

I wanted to find that statue that was in the frame of the film "Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession." Remember where the heroes run away from the guards. Bunsha sat in a niche in the wall opposite the wooden figure of Christ. He sat down and also accurately propped up his hand with his head. The archers ran past and did not notice anything suspicious. Now I look at the pictures - it seems that this statue is not there.

The statues were brought to Perm from different villages and towns in the north of the Perm Territory. In the museums of the North itself - in Solikamsk, Berezniki, Usolye, Cherdyn, there are not so many wooden sculptures, literally a few. Most of them settled here, in the art gallery of Perm. In the twenties, a team of specialists was formed here who understood the value of a unique sculpture. And who had sufficient authority to save this sculpture. This was not easy to do. Scientists had to take out sculptures from the deaf northern towns and villages, where there was no railway. Drive through the forests on carts, sledges or boats to the nearest pier.

The statues came to the museum from the devastated northern temples. Not everything made it to the museum. It's scary to think how many unique works of art were smashed and burned by the zealous Komsomol members of those years. Most likely, scientists had to literally snatch them from the hands of the zealots of atheistic propaganda. They took only what experts considered the most valuable. Everything "less valuable" was destroyed.

Look here. All Perm statues of Christ have similar poses. This is because the statues were the centers of similar compositions "Christ in the dungeon". Christ was surrounded by the dungeon itself - a cramped, dark room. This "dungeon", in spite of the fact that the prison was not supposed to decorate, was nevertheless decorated. Beautiful carved reliefs, chiseled columns, statues of angels with the instruments of the Passion of Christ. Each of the seated statues of Christ had a similar setting. The statues of Christ have survived, but all their rich carvings have been lost.
Only later did scientists realize the value of the entire composition. And one of the "dungeons" was brought to Perm entirely. This "dungeon" for a long time, literally decades, was restored, collecting pieces of broken wood bit by bit.

For some reason, these figures reminded me of antiquity. Powerful, expressive generalized images, though not marble, but wooden. By the way, the ancient Greeks also painted their sculptures, it's just that time washed away all the paint from them.
However, among the Permian sculptures there are monochromatic, almost monochrome figures.

And I also thought that maybe it would be worth reviving this ancient and unique for Russia tradition of Perm sculpture, just like many folk crafts were reviving.

Cult wooden sculpture is a striking phenomenon in Russian art. Along with icons and works of arts and crafts, she was part of the artistic ensembles of churches and chapels. The first monuments that have come down to us date back to the XIV-XV centuries. The heyday of ancient Russian wooden sculpture falls on the 16th-17th centuries. In the 18th century, along with other types of cult art, sculpture acquires new features and characteristics.

These faces make a stunning impression. They attract the eye, make you stop nearby, feel the suffering of the person sitting in front of you and feel the faith that fills his eyes.

The evolution of Russian sculpture is also reflected in the unique collection of the Perm State Art Gallery - one of the most famous museum collections in Russia, formed in the 1920s-40s of the 20th century thanks to expeditions to the north of the Perm Territory. This work was started by A.K. Syropyatov, who soon left for Moscow, and continued and developed by N.N. Serebrennikov.

Today, the gallery has almost 400 sculptures.

Russian man - he is talented. Having once peeped how the local population worshiped their idols, he immediately remade it in his own peasant way - he began to carve wooden sculptures.

In churches, sculptures were located in a dark place. They were illuminated only by the weak light of the lamp, so it seemed that they could nod, frown, blink. They changed their clothes - in days " holy week"They wore black on them, and light on Easter. And they made sure to make new shoes - after all, they go at night, and the shoes wear out.

This figure of the Savior from Usolye (XVIII century) is carved from pine. In the inventory of the collection it is written that "the carver made Christ look like a rural priest, perhaps an old priest, whose quiet and calm life seemed to the sculptor the ideal of a Christian life in this world."

Other sculptures (there are 20 monuments with a similar plot in the gallery) have much more modest dungeons: they are simply knocked together from blue-painted boards or, at best, slightly decorated around the edges with patterned gilded carvings. And near this dungeon, carved columns are generously twined with branches and fruits; openwork basement walls; high reliefs in the center of the cornice; small statues of angels with attributes of the "torture of Christ" on the columns... The Savior sits inside this baroque building.

The "living" Christ was almost always depicted at the same moment of his life - sitting in a dungeon before his execution. In the Gospel of Matthew, an episode was described when a crown of thorns was placed on the bound Christ, they put on a purple robe, gave a cane in his hand and, taking it, they beat him on the head. This touching gesture right hand(in the picture - a sculpture from Solikamsk, XVIII century) means that Jesus closes himself from the so-called. humiliation is a humiliating punishment. Left hand sometimes covers a wound on the chest.

Christ from the village of Pashia, 18th century

The Savior sitting in the dungeon from the Kanabekovskaya chapel in the Pashiysky factory differs sharply from the others with his calmly crossed arms. 1840s

This Savior from the village of Ust-Kosva (XVIII century), sitting in a dungeon, is dressed instead of purple in the national Permian clothes - a blue shabur. The nameless carver subtly conveyed typical Permyak features and clothing, moving, in fact, from the image of God to a man "created in his own image and likeness."

According to legend, this famous crucifixion of "Christ the Tatar" from the Church of the Frontier sailed in 1755 from above the Kama to Usolye and stopped in front of the church. Prior to this, the crucifix was in the Pyskorsky monastery.

Nikola Mozhay (as the Permians called St. Nicholas of Mozhaysky) from the village of Zelenyaty (XVIII century), perhaps the most famous. Like all "Permian gods", this sculpture is wrapped in a whole ball of mystical legends. The statue did not want to accept a new color. A priest from The palace, where Nikola was transferred, reported that "the paint on the figure was not accepted." This Nikola also loved to travel - eight pairs of shoes changed on him during the time that he stood in the temple. Worn-out "boots" certainly became sacred.

Nicholas the Wonderworker

Fragments of the crucifixion of the 18th century. from the city of Solikamsk - the Mother of God, John the Theologian, Mary Magdalene, centurion Longin.

"Descent from the Cross", p. Shaksher, 18th century On the stairs on the left is Nicodemus, holding the body of Christ by a piece of cloth, part of which has not been preserved. Just as the figure on the stairs to the right has not been preserved - only a hand remains of it. At the bottom left is Mary Magdalene with her hands folded on her stomach. Next to her is the Mother of God and one of the myrrh-bearing women, Maria Kleopova, who knelt down. On the right is John the Evangelist.

An absolutely amazing relief image of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa with the upcoming - the holy great martyrs Catherine and Barbara. The village of Nyrob, XVII century (! The statue of St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa is the oldest in the collection. Her face is stern and gloomy, and there are some magic icons on the statue itself. The statue of St. Paraskeva is rarely taken outside the Perm Territory, and there are reasons for this - St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa does not "like" being disturbed. Gallery workers say that when one of the researchers tried to get to know the sculpture better and just wanted to redraw the magic icons on her robe, a hurricane of unprecedented strength flew through the city. They say something similar It was when the statue was taken to France.Perhaps for this reason, they try to bother Saint Paraskeva less, and they don’t even include her image in booklets and albums.

An authentic iconostasis is visible in the background, as the gallery is located in the Transfiguration Cathedral

“More than forty years have passed, but I distinctly remember that incident. It happened in the village of Ilyinsky, Perm province, in 1922. I was walking tired then to my house. not only the shutters, but also the doors, rattle against custom.

Reluctantly I turned to see what was the matter and suddenly saw something that amazed me greatly. The main wall in the chapel was occupied by five wooden sculptures. But they were not supposed to be here - sculptural images are not accepted in Orthodoxy. I was especially surprised by the figure of Christ with the face of a Tatar. I went to the local executive committee, quickly received permission to transfer the sculptures to the regional museum, and, as the head of the museum, did it without delay" - this is how Nikolai Nikolaevich Serebrennikov, who at that time worked as the director of a small museum of local lore, began to collect the collection.

They still say long years peasants from remote villages came to the gallery and, having found their "god," they prayed for a long time before him, as they once did in church.

They say they are watching us, invisibly accompanying everyone who comes to them.

They say they walk around the gallery, talking to each other.

They say they live their own, hidden, invisible life.

But they don’t change their clothes and no one has been sewing shoes for a long time.

**** ****

The collection of the Perm State Art Gallery, numbering 350 inventory numbers, has been completed by the gallery staff for 60 years. The collection of monuments was most active in the pre-war period. Only from 1923 to 1926 N.N. Serebrennikov and A.K. Syropyatov (the first director of the gallery) carried out six expeditions along the most difficult routes. 412 individual figures were purchased. In subsequent years, the collection was replenished by another third.

Merit N.N. Serebrennikov, a collector and researcher of Permian wooden sculpture, are invaluable.

Most of the sculptures were found on the territory of Verkhnekamye. Only individual samples. The circumstance is obviously connected with the earlier development of the north by Russian settlers, with the earlier rooting of Russian culture here. The oldest surviving works date from the end of the 17th century to the beginning of XVIII century. This is the heyday of Kama architecture, the beginning of intensive stone construction. IN late XVII centuries, urban ensembles of Cherdyn, Solikamsk, Kungur were created, church buildings of remarkable beauty and decoration were built.

The evolution of Perm sculpture styles sensitively reflects historical development the edges. Artworks early XVIII century - "Paraskeva Pyatnitsa" from the village of Nyrob, "Nikola Mozhaisky" from the village of Pokcha, "Crucifixion" from the city of Solikamsk - both in form and in plots are connected with the traditions of ancient Russian carving. The compositions of these sculptures are frontal and symmetrical, the volumes are extremely generalized, the multi-layered painting has an icon-painting structure. The manufacturing technology of the sculpture also resembles the icon one. Of the tree species, the craftsmen preferred pine and linden. They worked wood with an ax and a knife. In the 18th century, adzes, chisels, chisels, saws, drills, plows and road builders were also used. For painting, gesso (chalk primer) was applied to the surface of the wood. The painting was done in egg tempera, often complemented by gilding (sheet or "created" gold) and silvering. In the 19th century, sculptures began to be painted with oil paint.

A grandiose work of baroque carving - the iconostasis of the first half of the 18th century from the Pyskorsky monastery, the richest and oldest in the region. Unlike ancient Russian high iconostases, it is not divided into tiers and is a huge continuous surface, dissected by pictorial inserts. The “wall” of the iconostasis is decorated with two-layer carvings (one layer is in gesso, the other one is laid on) and sheet gilding.

The 19th century is represented in Permian sculpture by a number of diverse groups, the greatest interest of which call the work of masters from the village of Gabova - N.T. Filimonov and his student N.M. Kiryanov, who created a bright version of the folk primitive. Filimonov's work is represented by Kiryanov N.M. An angel from the village of Gabova. 19th century

One monument (the head of a cherub), the work of Kiryanov - a whole ensemble of sculptures created for a village chapel.

Perm wooden sculpture was shown to the audience already in the twenties. The first expositions were complex. The existing exposition of wooden sculpture shows chronologically a number of works that make up one fourth, but the best part the entire collection. The sequence of exhibits also reflects the development of styles. Particular attention is paid to the exposition of works of a realistic nature: the central location is occupied by the figures of Christ in prison, crucifixes from Usolye, Pashia.

The single-tier construction, rare placement, individual backgrounds and pedestals organize the exposition space in such a way that the monuments do not interfere with each other. But they do not line up in a boring rhythmic row either, since the hall is an almost square room, opened towards the iconostasis and cut through by a stairwell in the center. Such architectural feature allowed a number of sculptures requiring multidimensional perception to be arranged in central space. The enviable height of the room eliminates the dependence of the exposition on architectural divisions and at the same time creates the freedom of space necessary for sculpture.

Statues of Nikola from the village. Dubrovskoye and Paraskeva Pyatnitsy from the village. Nyrob are made in the old Russian traditions. Both of them are straight, motionless. They are dominated not by volume, but by plane. The point of view is supposed to be one, frontal. And this is the main, fundamental difference between them and classical European sculptures, which are always revealed in a variety of points of view, with a circular walk.

But it is precisely this stiffness, generalization of the early Permian sculptures that makes them especially expressive. A peculiar law of conservation of energy operates here - external immobility and straightness are fraught with tremendous spiritual power. That is why every hint of movement, every bend of the form, or, in particular, huge expressive eyes, as if penetrating into the depths of the soul, make a special impression in such a sculpture. “The zealots of a naturalistic understanding of form will probably find lifelessness in the extremely generalized figure of Paraskeva, but she is life itself, taken not in a separate passing moment, but in eternity,” writes G.K. Wagner. “Only great feelings, alien to pettiness, which, moreover, passed through the crucible of the most difficult trials, could create such a majestic and tender, internally intense and pure image.”

The sculpture of Nikola Mozhaisky from Pokchi, confirms the long-term relevance of the ancient Russian canons, stands out for its high spirituality. The inviolability of the pillar figure seems to be the result of not physical strength but of great spiritual superiority. The sword and "hail" in the thin hands of the saint have a purely symbolic meaning. The image is painted not in "militant", but in "instructive" tones, which also emphasizes the peculiarity of the dark monastic-restrained painting with a predominance of cold color shades.

The sculpture of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa is the only one in the collection. The figure of Paraskeva herself was made at the beginning of the 18th century. Despite its small size and shortened proportions, it makes a monumental impression. Small figures of the forthcoming Catherine and Barbara are added after a few decades. Still later, the whole composition was remounted and placed on another board. Other sculptures changed in this way, often “renewed” with two or three layers of late, often oil, paint. Many sculptures, including Paraskeva, were placed in icon cases with painted doors. Now almost all the icon cases are lost.

One of the unique works of ancient Russian sculpture is the relief "Cathedral of the Archangels" from the village. Gubdor, which is a rather high "rendered" relief with a three-part composition, as if closed in a circle by the smooth flapping of the Archangel wings. The harmony of color based on the combination of blue and orange flowers. Large color spots accurately highlight the nodes of the composition and echo the "streamlined" relief forms. Light brown shades of curly hair, a slight browning of faces, thin “flying” gaps complement and slightly muffle the main color contrast, so characteristic of northern icon painting, starting with the Ustyug “Cathedral of the Archangels” of the 13th century.

The central image of Perm - and indeed of all Russian wooden sculpture - can be considered the image of Christ, and Christ suffering - crucified or tortured in prison. Crucifixes are very diverse in type, style, and manner of carving. The crucifix from the northern city of Solikamsk is an example of classical Old Russian carving, which has its roots in pre-Mongolian times.

The huge "Crucifixion" from the city of Usolye immediately amazes with its size and, of course, with the extraordinary realism of execution. If crucifixion old Russian tradition are always oriented to the plane, then the Usolsk crucifix can be considered a round sculpture. With its heaviness and massiveness and, at the same time, excellent elaboration of all details and forms, this crucifix is close to European Renaissance plastic. His plastic art marks the initial stage of the tradition of the so-called "spontaneous realism", which spread throughout Russia in the second half of the 18th - the first half of the 19th century. "Worship Cross" from p. Vilgort has a completely different expressive structure. The artist presents the crucified Christ as a small, unsightly peasant with a sad expression on a big-nosed, irregular face. The body, almost pressed into the cross, seems completely incorporeal - the huge head acquires independent meaning and becomes a kind of center of the composition, including Hosts, the Holy Spirit in the form of a white dove in a medallion, little angels flying to the crucifix and wiping tears with handkerchiefs. Obviously, this is the first image in Permian sculpture, made in the spirit of primitivism.

The earthly suffering path of Christ and his closest followers once inspired the masters different countries, different schools and different views on the creation of sculptures of world significance. This commonality of creative impulse, sincerity and humanity of artistic quests are especially obvious here.

Thus, the Ural masters put their whole soul into the Permian wooden sculpture, professional excellence your innermost thoughts and feelings. Therefore, the masterpieces of Permian wooden carving are distinguished by their humanity and charm, the deep features of the original culture of the Northern Urals.

This is how Nikolai Nikolaevich Serebrennikov, one of the founders and collectors of the unique collection of Permian wooden sculpture of the 17th - early 20th centuries, an ascetic and enlightener, described his first meeting with the Komi-Permyak wooden gods. great talent And difficult fate. The son of a priest, who served on conscription in the Kolchak army, managed not only to survive in the era of revolutionary hard times, but also to find the strength and ability to do what he loved, organize scientific expeditions, find and preserve masterpieces of Russian art, Russian culture.

The first expedition, in which N.N. Serebrennikov went with his teacher A.K. Syropyatov, took place in 1923 and its route ran through the villages of the Perm Territory - Vasilyevskoye, Sretenskoye, Kudymkar, Bolshaya Kocha. The researchers examined and registered architectural monuments, searched the church cellars for long-abandoned wooden sculptures that had been removed from the temples as early as the 18th century. Then Serebrennikov began to keep his diaries about the wooden gods. These notes later became the basis for the book. By September 1923, the expedition went to Cherdyn and Solikamsk districts, which are especially rich in ancient monuments.

On October 21, 1923, a note appeared in the local newspaper Zvezda stating that "The Perm Museum delivered to Perm up to 100 pounds of valuable monuments ancient Russian art. The Presidium of the Gubernia Executive Committee allocated 15 chervonets to the Gubernia Museum for the delivery of these monuments. "Behind these phrases was a huge human labor, life-threatening and a phenomenal result: 195 found and rescued wooden sculptures.

Collected during the year was so interesting and unusual that the museum began to prepare an exhibition, which opened in the building of the Hummingbird cinema. The history of the Perm exposition of wooden sculpture began with it, which quickly gained fame and aroused great interest among historians and art critics.

The well-known Russian artist Igor Grabar, People's Commissar of Education A.V. took an active part in the fate of the collection. Lunacharsky came to Perm more than once and enthusiastically spoke about what he saw in the museum: “I will dedicate a special study to this collection, since it made a deep impression on me both in terms of its cultural and artistic and historical value, and in the direct beauty and impressiveness of the works no one led peasant carvers of the 17th-18th centuries. Now I can only say that this Perm collection is in the full sense of the pearl. "

With the help of Lunacharsky, Serebrennikov was able to publish his book Perm Wooden Sculpture, which has now become a bibliographic rarity, which includes his diary entries, materials historical character and a complete detailed catalog of all exhibits in the collection. In 1928, the book was published with a circulation of 1000 copies, becoming significant event in scientific and cultural life Soviet Russia. Lunacharsky not only wrote an introductory article to this book, but immediately after its publication he awarded the prize of the People's Commissariat for Education of the RSFSR.

Looking ahead, I will say that thanks to the efforts of the Perm Art Gallery and the publishing house "Artist and Book", a reprint edition of this unique book has just come out of print. Excellently published catalog album with archival photographs was the first stage of the publishing project "New Reading". Unfortunately, the circulation of this rarity is only a thousand copies, and I am terribly glad that I now have this book, kindly presented to me by the director of the gallery.

Serebrennikov's book could never have been published if he had been late with it by only six months. At the end of 1929, a struggle broke out throughout the country against members of local history societies and circles, which was associated with a change political environment in the country. The director of the Perm Museum, A. Lebedev, was fired on charges that he "turned the museum into a foster home for the 'former'." Lebedev was able to move to Sverdlovsk, but in 1937 he was arrested and shot. The same fate befell Professor P.S. Bogoslovsky, who formed a local history school in Perm and was the director science museum. The artist I. Vrochensky was arrested.

All these people worked together with N.N. Serebrennikov and himself with such a "non-proletarian" origin could easily suffer the same fate. A heavy blow for Nikolai Nikolayevich was the news that his book was going to be published in France - in those years this could have been a verdict in a case of "political treason". The scientist was forced to urgently send a letter to the Uralsky Rabochiy newspaper, to make a statement that he was hearing about a reprint in France for the first time, and "as a self-criticism" to write that "in his book he discovered an error in a number of basic provisions." The planned re-edition of the book in the Moscow publishing house "Academia" did not take place.

The most difficult year was 1938, when slander and denunciations began to be written against the director of the Perm Art Gallery, which led to the appearance of a personal file, which was usually followed by an arrest. Serebrennikov decided to take a desperate step, calling on Glavlit in writing to withdraw his book from public libraries, in connection with the "irregularities" found in it. In a word, the pressure on the scientist was serious, but he somehow avoided serious trouble and continued his scientific activity.

The last "case of N.N. Serebrennikov on ideological work"was filed against the scientist in 1959, a few years before his death. It's amazing how much this man could do in such conditions. The collection and study of Permian wooden sculpture became his life's work, a real human feat.

When you climb the stairs to the third floor of the gallery and enter a small hall, your heart shrinks - six wooden figures of Christ are sitting on low pedestals in the center of the hall - completely alive, in humble poses and with mournful faces. Perm suffering Saviors evoke a feeling of extraordinary self-pity. The "living" Christ was almost always depicted at the same moment of his life - sitting in a dungeon before his execution. In the Gospel of Matthew, an episode was described when a crown of thorns was placed on the bound Christ, they put on a purple robe, gave a cane in his hand and, taking it, they beat him on the head. This touching gesture with his right hand (in the picture - a sculpture from Solikamsk, XVIII century) means that Jesus is closing himself from the so-called. persecution - a humiliating punishment. The left hand sometimes covers the wound on the chest.

Usually such sculptures were in the church inside specially built wooden "dungeons" or simply niches in the walls. Carvers sometimes did not depict purple, but almost always the figure was in a dungeon in clothes of yellow-golden brocade. The faces and figures of the Saviors are Komi-Permyak, with characteristic features, and often with pronounced diseases that local residents suffered from - rickets, arthrosis.

The figures of Nikola Mozhai (as the Permians called St. Nicholas of Mozhai) are one of the most common characters in the history of Perm wooden sculpture. The defender of the Russian land, the Russian God was always depicted with a sword in one hand and a temple in the other. Here is this Nikola from the village of Zelenyaty (XVIII century), which is perhaps the most famous in the picture. Like all "Permian gods", this sculpture is shrouded in a whole tangle of mystical legends. According to legend, she sailed to the village along the Nytva River upstream. This Nikola Mozhay was strict and capricious (look at his face) - when he was transferred from Zelenyat to another village, he himself returned to his old place.

The statue did not want to accept a new color. A priest from The palace, where Nikola was transferred, reported that "the paint on the figure was not accepted." This Nikola also loved to travel - eight pairs of shoes changed on him during the time that he stood in the temple. Worn-out "boots" certainly became sacred. From all around, for hundreds of miles, believers came to this Nikola Mozhay on the day of the saint - July 16th.

It should be noted that the attitude of the Permians towards their saints and God was quite peculiar - they treated sculptures and icons as "living" gods and communicated with them as if they were alive. A Permian peasant, offended by the Lord for some of his failure, could, for example, put an icon that stood in his red corner upside down - to punish, in a word. Nikola Mozhai from Zelyat was escorted to the museum by the whole world - as if they were saying goodbye to a loved one leaving for distant lands.

This Savior from the village of Ust-Kosva (XVIII century) sitting in a dungeon is dressed instead of purple in the national Permian clothes - a blue shabur. The nameless carver subtly conveyed typical Permyak features and clothing, moving, in fact, from the image of God to a man "created in his own image and likeness."

Christ from the village of Pashia, 18th century

This 17th-century crucifix from the village of Vilgort, despite the plot, cannot but cause a smile - Christ on the cross looks like a character from children's cartoon or comics. In any case, I think if such a crucifix appeared in a modern art exhibition now, it would immediately be considered blasphemy or something like that.

An absolutely amazing relief image of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa with the upcoming - the holy great martyrs Catherine and Barbara. Nyrob village, XVII century! The holy ascetic look of the people's favorite, the healer of the most severe ailments, is combined, as Serebrennikov wrote, "with a lush, playful pattern of light relief" in clothes. The cult of Holy Friday dates back to pre-Christian times, so the scientist writes in his book about the struggle that the guardians of Orthodoxy waged with faith in Paraskeva. It is this struggle that Serebrennikov explains the uniqueness of this relief icon in the Permian churches - most likely, others were destroyed.

The image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker differs from St. Nicholas of Mozhaysky - he does not have a sword and a temple in his hands.

Fragments of the crucifixion of the 18th century. from the city of Solikamsk - the Mother of God, John the Theologian, Mary Magdalene, centurion Longin.

The Savior sitting in the dungeon from the Kanabekovskaya chapel in the Pashiysky factory differs sharply from the others with his calmly crossed arms. 1840s

Cathedral of the Archangels from Gubdor (XVIII century) is carved from a whole piece of wood.

Nikola Mozhay (XVII century) from the village of. Pokcha, Cherdynsky district.

Serebrennikov writes that if the sculpture of the Sitting Savior, most revered by the population, replaced the Permian pagans with the previously revered Seated Golden Baba, the statues of Nikola Mozhay were replaced in the original Orthodox churches the idol of Voipel, which, as is known, the inhabitants of the region continued to worship for several decades even after the adoption of Christianity in the 15th century.

This figure of the crucified Christ (the cross has not been preserved) of the 17th century, from the chapel at the cemetery of the Myrrhbearing Women church in the city of Solikamsk, is especially distinguished.

These faces make a stunning impression. They attract the eye, make you stop nearby, feel the suffering of the person sitting in front of you and marvel at the faith that fills his eyes. Perhaps, during those one and a half to two hours spent in this hall, I received such an emotional impression from what I saw that I had not received for many years. It is difficult to express these feelings in words. To understand me, you have to experience them yourself, of course.

By the way, the idea of holding the exhibition "Russian poor" came to S. Gordeev and M. Gelman, according to them, after visiting the exposition of Permian wooden sculptures.

Of course, my experiences in the hall where the collection is located would not have been so complete if this person had not been with us - Nadezhda Vladimirovna Belyaeva, permanent director of the Perm Art Gallery for many years, art critic, Honored Worker of Culture of Russia. In her mouth, the strict Nikolas Mozhaiskys became "nikolushki" - this is how they talk not about the exhibits, but about children - loved ones and relatives. Thanks to her for such a heartfelt story and for the gift - a book by N.N. Serebrennikov, which I have already managed to read from cover to cover.

I recorded the entire conversation with N.V. Belyaeva in the exhibition hall. Those who are touched by this topic can watch excerpts from the director's story. There are very interesting details- I highly recommend it. The story about a falling crucifix and a failed video camera is from the category of completely mystical.

photos: drugoi
archival photographs and information: N.N. Serebrennikov "Perm wooden sculpture", Moscow, 2002

The figures of the Mother of God, the Savior, St. Nicholas of Myra, John the Theologian, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, made of wood… The first inattentive impression from the exposition of the Perm Art Gallery is that this does not happen in the Orthodox tradition, it is “not ours”. But if you carefully look, peer, it turns out that “ours”, only special, unique. It is not for nothing that Permian wooden sculpture is a separate page in the history of fine arts.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, wooden sculptures were kept in churches and chapels in Perm. More than one generation of believers prayed before them.
Masters created sculpture with ethnic features local residents, Komi-Permyaks and Tatars, were depicted in traditional peasant clothes, thereby as if bringing closer Orthodox tradition to his life, inscribing himself, his loved ones, neighbors in the context of the Gospel story. Naturally, doing this from an inner impulse, and not from complex theological reflections.
Some researchers believe that church Permian wooden sculpture is associated with pagan tradition. But when you look at the sculptures, you don't think so. Before you is the desire of the masters not to create an idol instead of the image of God, but to see - how everything happened, to feel, internally, deeply - to sympathize. In a word, to see how the harsh Permian lands are connected with the distant hot Jerusalem.

Cathedral of the Archangels. From the village of Gubdor.

There are several images of Christ in prison in the exhibition. Here, the folk tradition goes beyond the gospel narrative, showing the Savior in prison, thereby, as if further emphasizing His abandonment by everyone. He humbly awaits execution, fearing and accepting it. The artists seemed to put a prayer into His mouth: Father! Oh, that You would deign to carry this cup past Me! but not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42).
Here is what Evgenia Shaburova, head of the department, says about one of these sculptures domestic art Perm State Art Gallery:
“The sculpture “Christ in the dungeon” from the village of Pashiya entered the gallery from the Kanabekovskaya chapel in the Pashiysky factory of the Perm district in 1924. The work is unique in that it is a whole sculptural complex with a complex compositional structure. Such monuments in very rare cases have survived to this day.

The whole complex consists of a glazed dungeon with carved gilded columns at the corners, with magnificent ornamental carvings on the lower panels, with a complex dome in the form of a tent, decorated with eight angels with tools of the Passion in their hands. The instruments of the Passion are objects associated with the torment of Christ, which have become symbolic in the images of various subjects: a bag with thirty pieces of silver, rods, nooses (rooster), a scourging column, nails, a hammer, a spear, a cane and other objects that were associated with these events. .
In wooden sculptures, one can find some connection with Romanesque art, but, as art critic Mikhail Alpatov wrote, “whatever influences we find in Russian folk sculpture, this art is self-original, indigenous, soil. Like folk poetry, folk architecture and folk applied art, the people created sculpture for themselves, for their own needs, in accordance primarily with their own concepts goodness and beauty. This art reflects the simple, sometimes even stagnant way of life of the Russian peasantry in the far corners of the country, especially in the North.

Mother of God, Perm. 18th century

Endowing sculptural images realistic features, own national characteristics, the masters, however, often brought into the work the features of icon painting, as if showing: the voluminous work, located here, in our three-dimensional world, reminds of another, the Mountain.
Face of Saint Paraskeva Pyatnitsa from sculptural composition Paraskeva Pyatnitsa and the upcoming Barbara and Catherine (dated from the 17th-19th centuries, transferred to the gallery from the Nikolskaya church in the village of Nyrob, Cherdyn region) - after all, there are more faces. Facing the audience, the figures of the holy martyrs are actually in some other spiritual dimension, standing before the Lord.
In total, the collection of the Perm Art Gallery contains about 400 sculptures created in the 17th-19th centuries. One of the founders of the collection is Nikolai Nikolaevich Serebrennikov, the son of a priest, who devoted his whole life to the study of Russian art.
From 1923 to 1926, he organized six expeditions, mainly to the northern regions of the Perm region, which resulted in unique finds. The very ones that could have died in the era of the struggle against religion and that art lovers from all over the world come to see.

Muscovites will be able to see Permian sculpture in the State historical museum with the State Historical Museum from December 18 to March 9