Exhibition "Defenders of the Fatherland. Military-historical theme in varnish miniature painting"

Russian art has always been sensitive to events in Russian history. The creativity of craftsmen was no exception. The exhibition "Defenders of the Fatherland", dedicated to the anniversary of the Great Victory, is designed to show how the military-historical theme was reflected in the products of the famous crafts of Central Russia - Mstera, Palekh, Kholuy and Fedoskin, where lacquer miniatures successfully and peculiarly developed over the course of the 20th century.

ON. Lyubomudrova. Casket "Hero of a long overdue war." Mstera. 1985. Papier-mâché, varnish, tempera. 6x20.5x14

The exhibition introduces the most striking works of miniature lacquer painting in the collection of decorative, applied and folk art of Russia, which is kept by the State Museum and Exhibition Center "ROSIZO". For the project, in memory of the Great Patriotic War, more than 60 exhibits were selected - caskets and boxes decorated with paintings on the epic battles and real military victories. Among their heroes are commanders from Alexander Nevsky to Georgy Zhukov, and warriors from the "Tale of Igor’s Campaign", and characters from the Old Russian epic - tales of heroes like Ilya Muromets.

N.P. Lopatin. Plate "Dobrynya Nikitich". Palekh, 1980. Papier-mâché, varnish, tempera. 33.5x25.

Inextricably linked with the theme of the glory of the Fatherland and the scene of peaceful life, which is devoted to many products of varnish painting. In the traditional world of ancient painting, genetically related to the canons and plastics of the Russian icon, the masters place images of both prominent contemporaries and ordinary people, be it Red Army soldiers resting in between fights, gray-haired veterans of the Great Patriotic War who share their memories, or participants in the Victory Parade. We see on the faces and lids of the boxes of collective farmers using modern equipment, builders, geologists, and townspeople.

V.D. Lipitsky. Panel "Marshal G.K. Zhukov". Fedoskino, 1985. Papier-mâché, varnish, oil. 31x23x1

Lacquer miniature won the greatest popularity among the products of Russian art crafts. Both in our country and abroad, the names of the ancient Vladimir villages of Mstera, Palekh and Kholui are widely known, where whole dynasties of icon painters have lived since pre-Petrine times. They switched to decorative painting on varnishes in the 1920-30s. and quickly gained international recognition. The example was the workshops in the village of Fedoskino near Moscow, where miniature painters initially, from the end of the 18th century, developed secular subjects in decorative and applied art.

G.N. Kochetov. Box "Star hour". Palekh, 1987. Papier-mâché, lacquer, created gold, tempera. Height 6.5; diameter 9.

In the exposition, the products of different factories are assembled together, without dividing by local schools, this allows the viewer to independently understand the nuances of an individual manner, to notice the similarities and differences in style. The exhibition covers a small segment of the history of “Russian varnishes” - from the 1970s to the 1990s, however, products of this late period give a vivid idea of the features of each of the art centers. Sometimes it’s paradoxical to combine the canonical for the varnish crafts of the “fairy-tale” (and, in fact, “iconic”) aesthetics with the plots from everyday life in the works of the original Vladimir icon painters - Palestinian, Mstrots, and Kholuyts. (Now the villages of Palekh and Kholui are included in the Ivanovo region). In Fedoskino works, in the 19th and 20th centuries, miniature painting initially interacted with the “great style” that was prevailing in secular easel art — realistic.

O.A. Platonov. Plate "Our time has come." Palekh, 1985. Papier-mâché, varnish, tempera. 32x21x0.7

The grace of the drawing and the whimsicalness of the line, the melodious rhythms, the harmonious proportions of elongated figures, the complex harmony of color and the ornamental design of the entire surface of the object remain unchanged in the products of the lacquer miniature, regardless of the era to which the author refers. As before the ancient Russian painters of the 17th century, the modern masters of “Russian varnishes” have a lyrical attitude to man and their native nature, emotional depth and unbridled imagination. The dynamism of the narrative, bizarre writing techniques, the nobility of the general style, sometimes consonant not only with the Russian icon, but also with the creations of the early Italian Renaissance, turn acquaintance with Russian miniature painting into a fascinating journey into the depths of popular consciousness and layers of Russian history.

B.I. Kiselev. Casket "Front and rear". Kholuy, 1985. Papier-mâché, gold, varnish, tempera. 8x7x5.5

For the collection of decorative and applied art of the State Museum and Exhibition Center “ROSIZO”, author’s products of famous historical crafts of the 1970s and 90s purchased by the Ministry of Culture of the USSR and the RSFSR. Today this collection has 410 storage units.

Address of the Exhibition Hall RVIO: Lavrushinsky per., 17, p. 1

The exhibition runs from April 17 to May 31, 2015, daily, except Monday from 11.00 to 20.00.