Decorative and applied arts. Folk arts and crafts: problems of development in the context of reforming society Applied arts and folk art

Folk crafts are exactly what makes our culture rich and unique. Foreign tourists take with them painted objects, toys and textile products in memory of our country.

Almost every corner of Russia has its own type of needlework, and in this material I have collected the brightest and most famous of them.

Dymkovo toy

The Dymkovo toy is a symbol of the Kirov region, emphasizing its rich and ancient history. It is molded from clay, then dried and fired in a kiln. After that, it is painted by hand, each time creating a unique copy. There cannot be two identical toys.

Zhostovo painting

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Vishnyakov brothers lived in one of the Moscow villages of the former Trinity volost (now Mytishchi district), and they were engaged in painting lacquered metal trays, sugar bowls, pallets, papier-mâché boxes, cigarette cases, teapots, albums and other things. Since then, artistic painting in the Zhostovo style has begun to gain popularity and attract attention at numerous exhibitions in our country and abroad.

Khokhloma is one of the most beautiful Russian crafts, which originated in the 17th century near Nizhny Novgorod. This is a decorative painting of furniture and wooden utensils, which is loved not only by connoisseurs of Russian antiquity, but also by residents of foreign countries.

The intricately intertwined herbal patterns of bright scarlet berries and golden leaves on a black background can be admired endlessly. Therefore, even traditional wooden spoons, presented on the most insignificant occasion, leave the recipient with the kindest and longest memory of the donor.

Gorodets painting

Gorodets painting has existed since the mid-19th century. Bright, laconic patterns reflect genre scenes, figurines of horses, roosters, flowers and ornaments. The painting is done in a free stroke with a white and black graphic outline; it decorates spinning wheels, furniture, shutters, and doors.

Ural malachite

Known deposits of malachite are in the Urals, Africa, South Australia and the USA, however, in terms of color and beauty of patterns, malachite from foreign countries cannot be compared with that from the Urals. Therefore, malachite from the Urals is considered the most valuable on the world market.

Gusev crystal

Products made at the Gus-Khrustalny crystal factory can be found in museums all over the world. Traditional Russian souvenirs, household items, sets for the festive table, elegant jewelry, boxes, and handmade figurines reflect the beauty of our native nature, its customs and primordially Russian values. Products made from colored crystal are especially popular.

Matryoshka

A round-faced and plump cheerful girl in a headscarf and Russian folk dress won the hearts of lovers of folk toys and beautiful souvenirs around the world.

Now the nesting doll is not just a folk toy, a keeper of Russian culture: it is a memorable souvenir for tourists, on the apron of which play scenes, fairy tale plots and landscapes with attractions are finely drawn. The matryoshka doll has become a precious collectible that can cost hundreds of dollars.

Vintage brooches, bracelets, pendants, which quickly “entered” modern fashion, are nothing more than jewelry made using the enamel technique. This type of applied art originated in the 17th century in the Vologda region.

Masters depicted floral patterns, birds, and animals on white enamel using a variety of paints. Then the art of multi-color enamel began to be lost, and monochromatic enamel began to supplant it: white, blue and green. Now both styles are successfully combined.

Tula samovar

In his free time, Fyodor Lisitsyn, an employee of the Tula Arms Factory, loved to make something out of copper, and once made a samovar. Then his sons opened a samovar establishment where they sold copper products, which were wildly successful.

The Lisitsyn samovars were famous for their variety of shapes and finishes: barrels, vases with chasing and engraving, egg-shaped samovars, with dolphin-shaped taps, with loop-shaped handles, and painted ones.

Palekh miniature

Palekh miniature is a special, subtle, poetic vision of the world, which is characteristic of Russian folk beliefs and songs. The painting uses brown-orange and bluish-green tones.

Palekh painting has no analogues in the whole world. It is done on papier-mâché and only then transferred to the surface of boxes of various shapes and sizes.

The Gzhel bush, an area of 27 villages located near Moscow, is famous for its clay, which has been mined here since the mid-17th century. In the 19th century, Gzhel craftsmen began to produce semi-faience, earthenware and porcelain. Of particular interest are still items painted in one color - blue overglaze paint applied with a brush, with graphic detailing.

Pavlovo Posad shawls

Bright and light, feminine Pavloposad shawls are always fashionable and relevant. This folk craft appeared at the end of the 18th century at a peasant enterprise in the village of Pavlovo, from which a shawl manufactory subsequently developed. It produced woolen shawls with printed patterns, which were very popular at that time.

Nowadays, original designs are complemented by various elements such as fringe, are created in different colors and remain an excellent accessory to almost any look.

Vologda lace

Vologda lace is woven on wooden sticks and bobbins. All images are made with dense, continuous, uniform width, smoothly curling linen braid. They stand out clearly against the background of patterned lattices, decorated with elements in the form of stars and rosettes.

Shemogodskaya carved birch bark

Shemogodskaya carving is a traditional Russian folk art craft of birch bark carving. The ornaments of Shemogod carvers are called “birch bark lace” and are used in the manufacture of boxes, teapots, pencil cases, cases, dishes, plates, and cigarette cases.

The symmetrical pattern of Shemogod carving consists of floral patterns, circles, rhombuses, and ovals. The drawing can include images of birds or animals, architectural motifs, and sometimes even scenes of walking in the garden and drinking tea.

Tula gingerbread

Tula gingerbread is a Russian delicacy. Without these sweet and fragrant products, not a single event took place in Rus' - neither funny nor sad. Gingerbread was served both at the royal table and at the peasant table. The traditional shape is given to the gingerbread using a board with a carved ornament.

Orenburg downy shawl

The scarves are knitted from natural goat down and are amazingly soft, beautiful, warm and practical. Openwork web scarves are so thin and elegant that they can be threaded through a wedding ring. They are valued by women all over the world and are considered a wonderful gift.

Arts and crafts is a broad section of art, covering various areas of artistic activity and focused on creating products of a utilitarian nature. The aesthetic level of such works is usually quite high. The collective term combines two types of arts - applied and decorative. The first has signs of practical application, the second is designed to decorate the human environment.

Creativity and utilitarianism

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 products, serve as decoration for living rooms, kitchen sets, bedrooms and children's rooms. Some objects may be works of genuine art and nevertheless 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 scrap materials? a work of art that deserves the highest praise. The utilitarian purpose of the product does not detract from its advantages. Decorative and applied arts are a wide field of activity for artists and sculptors, designers and stylists. Exclusive works of art created in a single copy are especially valued. 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 content of the everyday environment? It is safe to say that all products and objects located around reflect the tastes of people in close proximity to them, since a person tries to surround himself with beautiful things. Arts and crafts make it possible to decorate your home, office space, or recreation area. Particular attention is paid to the design of rooms for children.

And finally, applied art - what is it in the public’s understanding? These are exhibitions, opening days, fairs and many other public events that introduce people to culture. Fine arts and crafts increase the level of human development and contribute to the formation of his aesthetic taste. In addition, viewing the exhibitions broadens your 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 educating the younger generation.

A little history

Folk arts and crafts originate in Russian villages. Simple crafts made by home-grown craftsmen are often classified as products in the category of “folk and applied art”. A good example of the folklore style is the so-called painted cockerels, figurines, and jewelry made of red clay.

The fishery has roots in the past, it is more than four hundred years old. Ancient applied art appeared thanks to the folk holiday "Whistling", when the entire female population sculpted clay whistles for this day in the form of chickens, lambs, and horses. The party lasted two days.

Over time, the holiday lost its meaning, and folk arts continued to develop. Currently, Dymkovo artistic products are being replicated in the Vyatka Toy production association. Products are traditionally coated with white 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 residents of Russian villages, displayed in the famous Palekh boxes, Zhostovo trays, and wooden Khokhloma 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 creates supply” - this formulation perfectly reflects the state of affairs in the sphere of folk artistic crafts in Russia. For example, artistic products in the Gzhel style have been popular all over the world for several centuries. The famous blue and white vases, plates, teapots are coveted 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 artistic value.

Arts and crafts in the children's room

In certain cases, the theme of artistic creativity may be addressed to the younger generation. Products made by children's hands are of particular value. The spontaneity characteristic of boys and girls of preschool age, naive imagination mixed with the desire to express their innermost feelings give rise to real masterpieces. Children's applied art, represented by drawings, plasticine figures, cardboard men, is real artistic creativity. Today, competitions are held throughout Russia in which small “artists” and “sculptors” participate.

Contemporary 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 arts. Works in this area are distinguished by a special folklore style. It is not for nothing that all artistic crafts originated in the Russian outback, in villages and hamlets. The products exhibit a home-grown unpretentiousness and a complete absence of that pretentiousness that is sometimes found in works of fine art. At the same time, the artistic level of folk art is quite high.

In Russia, arts and crafts are part of the country's economic power. Below is a list of the main areas of folk art crafts that have received worldwide recognition and are exported in industrial quantities.

Lacquered miniatures on a wooden base (Palekh, Mstera, Fedoskino).
Zhostovo artistic painting on metal, Limoges enamel, enamel.
Khokhloma, Gorodets, Mezen artistic painting on wood.
Gzhel, Filimonovskaya toy, Dymkovo toy - artistic painting on ceramics.

Palekh

Palekh folk art craft appeared in Russian spaces at the beginning of the 20th century. The art of lacquer painting originated in a small village in the Ivanovo province called Palekh. The craft was a continuation of icon painting, which dates back to pre-Petrine times. Later, Palekh masters participated in the painting of the Moscow Kremlin, the Novodevichy Convent, and the cathedrals of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

The revolution of 1917 abolished icon painting, and artists were left without work. In 1918, craftsmen created the Palekh art artel, in which wooden crafts were painted. Then the craftsmen learned to create papier-mâché boxes and paint them in miniature style, using traditional icon-painting technologies.

In 1923, lacquer miniatures were presented at the All-Russian Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition, where they received a 2nd degree diploma. And two years later, Palekh boxes were exhibited in Paris, at the World Exhibition.

The success of unusual artistic products became the impetus for the creation of the organizations “Union of Palekh Artists” and “Palekh Art Workshops” under the USSR Art Fund.

Fedoskino

This word is associated with Russian lacquer painting using the craft, which appeared in the village of Fedoskino near Moscow in the second half of the 18th century. The design was applied to papier-mâché products and then covered with several layers of varnish.

The art of Fedoskino miniatures was started by the Russian merchant P.I. Korobov, who visited the German city of Braunschweig and adopted there technologies for creating snuff boxes, beads, boxes and other products decorated with picturesque pictures.

Fedoskino lacquer miniatures are painted with oil paints in four steps: first, a sketch of the drawing is made ("painting"), then detailed study ("painting"), glazing - covering with transparent paints, the last process is highlighting, which conveys highlights and shadows in the image.

The Fedoskino drawing technique involves the use of an underpainting layer of reflective components: metal powder or gold leaf. In some cases, the master can make a lining from mother-of-pearl. Transparent glaze paints together with the lining create a unique deep glow effect. The colorful layer is emphasized by a black background.

Mstera

This is the name given to Russian folk craft that appeared in the mid-18th century in the Vladimir province. It all started with “petty letters” - miniature icons with the smallest details drawn. After the revolution of 1917, when there was no longer a need for icon painting, Mstera switched to caskets and boxes made of papier-mâché. The design was made by mixing egg yolks. By the middle of the 20th century, Mstera lacquer miniature technologies were finally formed.

The basic principles of drawing a drawing are to transfer the general contours from tracing paper to the surface of the product, then “opening” follows, applying the drawing directly. The next stage is detailed painting. And finally, “melt” - the final coloring with highlights, which includes created gold (fine gold powder). The finished product is coated with six layers of transparent varnish with intermediate drying, then polished.

The characteristic features of Mstera painting are carpet decorativeness, a sophisticated play of shades and three color schemes used in coloring: yellow ocher, red and silver-blue. The theme of the drawing is classic: fairy tales, historical monuments, architecture.

Zhostovo

Zhostovo folk craft consists of metal trays painted in a special style. Zhostovo art originated 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 making painted papier-mâché items. And in the workshop of the Vishnyakov brothers they began to make trays from tin with colorful designs.

The Vishnyakovs' price list included two dozen different items made of metal and papier-mâché, all of them were painted, colorfully designed and were in high demand at fairs, with a painted tray always in the foreground.

Zhostovo painting is a floral theme in several versions: a garden bouquet, flowers spread out, a garland, a wicker wreath. Field plants formed a separate composition.

Bouquets on a tray look natural due to the careful attention to detail. The most saturated color palette is used. The background is usually black, the edges of the tray are decorated with openwork patterns, floral or stylized to resemble a wood structure. The Zhostovo tray is always hand-painted and is an exclusive work of art.

Khokhloma

This name was given to a Russian folk craft that dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. Khokhloma painting is the most complex and expensive of all currently existing techniques. Arts and crafts is a long creative process involving 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 blocks with an ax. The blanks are then processed on machines to the desired size and shape. The processed workpieces are called “linen”. After grinding, they are coated with special liquid clay and dried. Then the already primed blanks are coated 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: gold, brown, light green and yellow. The brushes used are very thin (made exclusively from squirrel tails), since the strokes are applied with a barely noticeable touch.

The thematic content of the drawing is rowan berries, viburnum, strawberries, small foliage, thin, slightly curved green stems. Everything is drawn in bright, intense colors, the contours are clearly defined. 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, collectively called the Gzhel Bush, 60 kilometers from Moscow.

From time immemorial, the Gzhel region was famous for its deposits of high-grade clay, suitable for apothecary vessels. In 1770, the Gzhel volost lands were assigned to the Pharmacy Order. At the same time, the production of bricks, pottery pipes, stove tiles and children's toys for Moscow was established in the Gzhel villages.

Dishes made from Gzhel clay were especially good, light and durable. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were 25 factories producing tableware in the parish. The proximity of Moscow stimulated the development of the production of clay products; countless bowls, plates, dishes and other kitchen utensils were sold at the capital's fairs.

Gzhel toys at that time were made from waste from tableware production. No matter how much clay was left, all of it was used to sculpt cockerels, chickens, lambs and goats. Initially, handicraft workshops worked chaotically, but soon a definite line in production emerged. Raw materials began to be prepared specifically for souvenir products, craftsmen also specialized in the profile of the most popular products.

White shiny horses and figurines were painted in different colors until cobalt, a universal paint, appeared. The intense bright blue color matched the snow-white enamel of the workpiece perfectly. In the 50s of the last century, artists completely abandoned all other colors and began to use glazed cobalt blue coloring. The motives for the drawing could be very different, on any topic.

Other crafts

The range of Russian folk arts and crafts and decorative arts is unusually wide. Here you can find 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, a treasure of society.

Folk crafts are exactly what makes our culture rich and unique. Foreign tourists take with them painted objects, toys and textile products in memory of our country.

Almost every corner of Russia has its own type of needlework, and in this material we have collected the brightest and most famous of them.

Dymkovo toy

Zhostovo painting

Khokhloma

Gorodets painting

Gorodets painting has existed since the mid-19th century. Bright, laconic patterns reflect genre scenes, figurines of horses, roosters, and floral patterns. The painting is done in a free stroke with a white and black graphic outline; it decorates spinning wheels, furniture, shutters, and doors.

Ural malachite

Gusev crystal

Matryoshka

A chubby and plump cheerful girl in a headscarf and Russian folk dress won the hearts of lovers of folk toys and beautiful souvenirs around the world.

Now the nesting doll is not just a folk toy, a keeper of Russian culture: it is a memorable souvenir for tourists, on the apron of which play scenes, fairy tale plots and landscapes with attractions are finely drawn. The nesting doll has become a precious collectible that can cost hundreds of dollars.

Enamel

Tula samovar

Palekh miniature

Palekh miniature is a special, subtle, poetic vision of the world, which is characteristic of Russian folk beliefs and songs. The painting uses brown-orange and bluish-green tones.

Palekh painting has no analogues in the whole world. It is done on papier-mâché and only then transferred to the surface of boxes of various shapes and sizes.

Gzhel

Pavlovo Posad shawls

Nowadays, original designs are complemented by various elements such as fringe, are created in different colors and remain an excellent accessory to almost any look.

Vologda lace

Shemogodskaya carved birch bark

Decorative and applied arts (DAI)- the art of making household items that have artistic and aesthetic qualities and are intended not only for practical use, but also for decorating homes, architectural structures, parks, etc.

The entire life of primitive tribes and civilizations was connected with paganism. People worshiped different deities, objects - grass, sun, bird, tree. In order to “appease” some gods and “drive away” evil spirits, ancient man, when building a house, always supplemented it with “amulets” - relief, window frames, animals and geometric signs that have symbolic and symbolic meaning. Clothing necessarily protected the owner from evil spirits with a stripe of ornament on the sleeves, hem and collar; all the dishes also had a ritual ornament.

But since ancient times, it has been characteristic of man to strive for beauty in the objective world around him, so images began to acquire an increasingly aesthetic appearance. Gradually losing their original meaning, they began to decorate the item more than to carry any magical information. Embroidered patterns were applied to fabrics, ceramics were decorated with ornaments and images, first extruded and scratched, then applied with clay of a different color. Later, colored glazes and enamels were used for this purpose. Metal products were cast in shaped forms, covered with chasing and notching.

Decorative and applied arts include and artistically made furniture, dishes, clothing, carpets, embroidery, jewelry, toys and other items, as well as ornamental paintings and sculptural and decorative decoration of interiors and facades of buildings, facing ceramics, stained glass, etc. Intermediate forms between DPI and easel art are very common - panels, tapestries, lampshades, decorative statues, etc. - which form part of the architectural whole, complement it, but can also be considered separately, as independent works of art. Sometimes in a vase or other object, it is not functionality that comes first, but beauty.

The development of applied art was affected by the living conditions of each people, the natural and climatic conditions of their habitat. DPI is one of the oldest forms of art. For many centuries it developed among the people in the form of folk artistic crafts.

Embroidery. It has its origins in ancient times, when bone and then bronze needles were used. They embroidered on linen, cotton, and woolen clothing. In China and Japan they embroidered with colored silks, in India, Iran, and Turkey - with gold. They embroidered ornaments, flowers, animals. Even within one country, there were completely different types of embroidery depending on the area and the nationality living there, such as red thread embroidery, colored embroidery, cross stitch, satin stitch, etc. Motifs and colors often depended on the purpose of the item, festive or everyday.

Application. Multi-colored pieces of fabric, paper, leather, fur, straw are sewn or glued onto a material of a different color or finish. Application in folk art, especially of the peoples of the North, is extremely interesting. Appliques are used to decorate panels, tapestries, and curtains. Often the application is performed simply as an independent work.

Stained glass. This is a decorative composition made of colored glass or other material that transmits light. In classical stained glass, individual pieces of colored glass were connected to each other by spacers made of the softest material - lead. These are the stained glass windows of many cathedrals and temples in Europe and Russia. The technique of painting on clear or colored glass with silicate paints, then fixed by light firing, was also used. In the 20th century stained glass windows began to be made from transparent plastics.

Modern stained glass is used not only in churches, but also in residential premises, theaters, hotels, shops, subways, etc.

Painting. Compositions made with paints on the surface of fabrics, wood, ceramics, metal and other products. Paintings can be either narrative or ornamental. They are widely used in folk art and serve as decoration for souvenirs or household items.

Ceramics. Products and materials made from clay and various mixtures with it. The name comes from an area in Greece that has been a center of pottery production since ancient times, i.e. for the manufacture of pottery and utensils. Ceramics are also called facing tiles, often covered with paintings. The main types of ceramics are clay, terracotta, majolica, faience, porcelain, stone mass.

Lace. Openwork thread products. According to the technique of execution, they are divided into hand-made (woven on turned sticks - bobbins, sewn with a needle, crocheted or knitted) and machine-made.

Weaving from birch bark, straw, wicker, bast, leather, thread, etc. one of the oldest types of decorative and applied art (known since Neolithic times). Weaving was mainly used to make dishes, furniture, car bodies, toys, and boxes.

Thread. A method of artistic processing of materials, in which sculptural figures are cut out with a special cutting tool or some image is made on a smooth surface. Wood carving was the most widespread in Rus'. It covered the frames of houses, furniture, and tools. There is carved sculpture made of bone, stone, plaster, etc. Many carvings relate to jewelry (stones, gold, bronze, copper, etc.) and weapons (wood, stone, metals).

Unlike faceless mass-produced products, handmade items are always unique. Masterfully crafted household utensils, clothing, and interior elements are expensive. And if in the old days such things were objects of utilitarian purpose, then in our days they have passed into the category of art. A beautiful thing made by a good craftsman will always be valuable.

In recent years, the development of applied art has received a new impetus. This trend cannot but rejoice. Beautiful dishes made of wood, metal, glass and clay, lace, textiles, jewelry, embroidery, toys - all this, after several decades of oblivion, has again become relevant, fashionable and in demand.

History of the Moscow Museum of Folk Art

In 1981, the Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art opened in Moscow, on Delegatskaya Street. His collection consists of unique examples of handicrafts by Russian masters of the past, as well as the best works of contemporary artists.

In 1999, the next important event occurred - the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art accepted exhibits from the Savva Timofeevich Morozov Museum of Folk Art into its collection. The core of this collection was formed even before the 1917 revolution. The basis for it was the exhibits of the very first Russian ethnographic museum. It was the so-called Handicraft Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts, opened in 1885.

The museum has a specialized library where you can get acquainted with rare books on the theory and history of art.

Museum collection

Traditional types of decorative and applied arts are systematized and divided into departments. The main thematic areas are ceramics and porcelain, glass, jewelry and metal, bone and wood carvings, textiles, lacquer miniatures and fine materials.

The Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts has more than 120 thousand exhibits in its open fund and storage facilities. Russian modernism is represented by the works of Vrubel, Konenkov, Golovin, Andreev and Malyutin. The collection of Soviet propaganda porcelain and textiles from the second quarter of the last century is extensive.

Currently, this museum of folk arts and crafts is considered one of the most significant in the world. The oldest exhibits of high artistic value date back to the 16th century. The museum's collection has always been actively replenished through gifts from private individuals, as well as through the efforts of senior government officials during the years of Soviet power.

Thus, the unique exhibition of textiles was created largely thanks to the generosity of French citizen P. M. Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, who donated to the museum a large collection of Russian, Eastern and European textiles collected by N. L. Shabelskaya.

Two large collections of porcelain were donated to the museum by outstanding figures of Soviet art - Leonid Osipovich Utesov and their spouses Maria Mironova and Alexander Menaker.

The Moscow Museum of Applied Arts boasts halls dedicated to the life of Russian people in different time periods. Here you can get acquainted with the homes of representatives of all classes. Furniture, dishes, clothes of peasants and city residents, and children's toys were preserved, restored and put on display. Carved decorations of platbands and roof canopies, tiled stoves, chests, which served not only as convenient storage for things, but also as beds, as they were made in appropriate sizes, conjure up pictures of the quiet, measured and well-fed life of the Russian outback.

Lacquer miniature

Lacquer miniature as an applied art reached its greatest flourishing in the 18th and 19th centuries. The artistic centers that gave residence to the main directions were cities famous for their icon-painting workshops. These are Palekh, Mstyora, Kholui and Fedoskino. Boxes, brooches, panels, caskets made of papier-mâché were painted with oil paints or tempera and varnished. The drawings were stylized images of animals, plants, characters from fairy tales and epics. Artists, masters of lacquer miniatures, painted icons, made custom portraits, and painted genre scenes. Each locality has developed its own style of painting, but almost all types of applied art in our country are united by such qualities as richness and brightness of colors. Detailed drawings, smooth and rounded lines - this is what distinguishes Russian miniatures. It is interesting that images of the decorative and applied arts of the past also inspire modern artists. Antique drawings are often used to create fabrics for fashion collections.

Artistic painting on wood

Khokhloma, Mezen and Gorodets paintings are recognizable not only in Russia, but also abroad. Furniture, cabinets, boxes, spoons, bowls and other household utensils made of wood, painted in one of these techniques, are considered the personification of Russia. Light wooden dishes, painted with black, red and green paints on a gold background, look massive and heavy - this is a characteristic manner of Khokhloma.

Gorodets products are distinguished by a multi-color palette of colors and somewhat less roundness of shapes than Khokhloma products. Genre scenes are used as plots, as well as all kinds of fictional and real representatives of the animal and plant world.

The decorative and applied arts of the Arkhangelsk region, in particular Mezen wood painting, are utilitarian objects decorated with special designs. Mezen craftsmen use only two colors for their work - black and red, that is, soot and ocher, fractional schematic drawings of boxes, boxes and chests, friezes in the form of borders from repeating truncated figures of horses and deer. A static, small, frequently repeated pattern evokes sensations of movement. Mezen painting is one of the most ancient. Those drawings that are used by modern artists are hieroglyphic inscriptions that were used by Slavic tribes long before the emergence of the Russian state.

Wood craftsmen, before turning any object from a solid block, treat the wood against cracking and drying out, so their products have a very long service life.

Zhostovo trays

Metal trays painted with flowers - the applied art of Zhostovo near Moscow. Once having an exclusively utilitarian purpose, Zhostovo trays have long served as interior decoration. Bright bouquets of large garden and small wildflowers on a black, green, red, blue or silver background are easily recognizable. Typical Zhostovo bouquets are now decorated with metal boxes containing tea, cookies or sweets.

Enamel

Decorative and applied art such as enamel also refers to metal painting. The most famous are the products of Rostov craftsmen. Transparent fireproof paints are applied to a copper, silver or gold plate and then fired in a kiln. Using the hot enamel technique, as enamel is also called, jewelry, dishes, weapon handles and cutlery are made. When exposed to high temperatures, paints change color, so craftsmen must understand the intricacies of handling them. Most often, floral motifs are used as subjects. The most experienced artists make miniatures of portraits of people and landscapes.

Majolica

The Moscow Museum of Applied Arts provides an opportunity to see the works of recognized masters of world painting, executed in a manner that is not entirely characteristic of them. For example, in one of the halls there is a Vrubel majolica - a fireplace “Mikula Selyaninovich and Volga”.

Majolica is a product made of red clay, painted on raw enamel and fired in a special oven at a very high temperature. In the Yaroslavl region, arts and crafts have become widespread and developed due to the large number of deposits of pure clay. Currently, in Yaroslavl schools, children are taught to work with this plastic material. Children's applied art is a second wind for ancient crafts, a new look at folk traditions. However, this is not only a tribute to national traditions. Working with clay develops fine motor skills, expands the angle of vision, and normalizes the psychosomatic state.

Gzhel

Decorative and applied art, in contrast to fine art, presupposes the utilitarian, economic use of objects created by artists. Porcelain teapots, flower and fruit vases, candlesticks, clocks, cutlery handles, plates and cups are all extremely elegant and decorative. Based on Gzhel souvenirs, prints are made on knitted and textile materials. We are used to thinking that Gzhel is a blue pattern on a white background, but initially Gzhel porcelain was multi-colored.

Embroidery

Fabric embroidery is one of the most ancient types of needlework. Initially, it was intended to decorate the clothes of the nobility, as well as fabrics intended for religious rituals. This folk decorative and applied art came to us from the countries of the East. The clothes of rich people were embroidered with colored silk, gold and silver threads, pearls, precious stones and coins. The most valuable is considered to be embroidery with small stitches, which creates the feeling of a smooth, as if a pattern drawn with paints. In Russia, embroidery quickly came into use. New techniques have appeared. In addition to the traditional satin stitch and cross stitch, they began to embroider with hemstitch stitches, that is, laying openwork paths along the voids formed by pulled out threads.

Dymkovo toys for children

In pre-revolutionary Russia, folk craft centers, in addition to utilitarian items, produced hundreds of thousands of children's toys. These were dolls, animals, dishes and furniture for children's fun, and whistles. Decorative and applied art of this direction is still very popular.

The symbol of the Vyatka land - the Dymkovo toy - has no analogues in the world. Bright colorful young ladies, gentlemen, peacocks, carousels, goats are immediately recognizable. Not a single toy is repeated. On a snow-white background, patterns in the form of circles, straight and wavy lines are drawn with red, blue, yellow, green, and gold paints. All crafts are very harmonious. They emit such powerful positive energy that anyone who picks up a toy can feel it. Maybe there is no need to place Chinese symbols of prosperity in the corners of the apartment in the form of three-legged toads, plastic red fish or money trees, but it is better to decorate the home with products of Russian craftsmen - Kargopol, Tula or Vyatka clay souvenirs, miniature wooden sculptures of Nizhny Novgorod craftsmen. It is impossible that they will not attract love, prosperity, health and well-being to the family.

Filimonovskaya toy

In children's art centers in many regions of our country, children are taught to sculpt from clay and paint crafts in the manner of folk crafts of central Russia. The kids really enjoy working with such a convenient and flexible material as clay. They come up with new designs in accordance with ancient traditions. This is how domestic applied art develops and remains in demand not only in tourist centers, but throughout the country.

Mobile exhibitions of Filimonov toys are very popular in France. They travel around the country throughout the year and are accompanied by master classes. Whistle toys are purchased by museums in Japan, Germany and other countries. This craft, which has a permanent residence in the Tula region, is about 1000 years old. Primitively made, but painted with pink and green colors, they look very cheerful. The simplified form is explained by the fact that the toys have cavities inside with holes going out. If you blow into them, alternately covering different holes, you will get a simple melody.

Pavlovo shawls

Cozy, feminine and very bright shawls from Pavlovo Posad weavers became known throughout the world thanks to the amazing collection of fashionable clothes by Russian fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev. He used traditional fabrics and patterns to make women's dresses, men's shirts, other clothing and even shoes. The Pavlovo Posad scarf is an accessory that can be passed down from generation to generation, like jewelry. The durability and wear resistance of scarves is well known. They are made from high quality fine wool. The designs do not fade in the sun, do not fade from washing and do not shrink. The fringe on scarves is made by specially trained craftsmen - all the cells of the openwork mesh are tied in knots at the same distance from each other. The design represents flowers on a red, blue, white, black, green background.

Vologda lace

World-famous Vologda lace is woven using birch or juniper bobbins from cotton or linen threads. In this way, measuring tape, bedspreads, shawls and even dresses are made. Vologda lace is a narrow strip, which is the main line of the pattern. The voids are filled with nets and bugs. The traditional color is white.

Applied art does not stand still. Development and change occur constantly. It must be said that by the beginning of the last century, under the influence of developing industry, industrial manufactories equipped with high-speed electric machines appeared, and the concept of mass production arose. Folk arts and crafts began to decline. Only in the middle of the last century were traditional Russian crafts restored. In art centers such as Tula, Vladimir, Gus-Khrustalny, Arkhangelsk, Rostov, Zagorsk, etc., vocational schools were built and opened, qualified teachers were trained, and new young masters were trained.

Modern types of needlework and creativity

People travel, get acquainted with the cultures of other peoples, and learn crafts. From time to time new types of decorative and applied arts appear. For our country, scrapbooking, origami, quilling and others have become such new products.

At one time, concrete walls and fences were decorated with a variety of drawings and inscriptions made in a highly artistic manner. Graffiti, or spray art, is a modern interpretation of an ancient type of rock painting. You can laugh as much as you like at teenage hobbies, which, of course, includes graffiti, but look at photographs on the Internet or walk around your own city, and you will discover truly highly artistic works.

Scrapbooking

The design of notebooks, books and albums that exist in a single copy is called scrapbooking. In general, this activity is not entirely new. Albums designed to preserve the history of a family, city or individual for posterity have been created before. The modern vision of this art is the creation of art books with illustrations by the authors, as well as the use of computers with various graphic, music, photo and other editors.

Quilling and origami

Quilling, translated into Russian as “paper rolling,” is used to create panels, to design postcards, photo frames, etc. The technique involves rolling thin strips of paper and gluing them to a base. The smaller the fragment, the more elegant and decorative the craft.

Origami, like quilling, is work with paper. Only origami is work with square sheets of paper from which all sorts of shapes are formed.

As a rule, all crafts related to papermaking have Chinese roots. Asian arts and crafts were originally a pastime for the nobility. The poor did not create beautiful things. Their destiny is agriculture, cattle breeding and all kinds of menial work. Europeans, having adopted the basics of the technique, which historically represented very small and delicate work with rice paper, transferred the art to conditions convenient to them.

Chinese products are distinguished by an abundance of very small details that look monolithic and very elegant. Only very experienced craftsmen can do such work. In addition, thin paper ribbons can be twisted into a tight and even coil only with the help of special tools. European lovers of handicrafts have somewhat modified and simplified the ancient Chinese craft. Paper, curled in spirals of different sizes and densities, has become a popular decoration for cardboard boxes, vases for dried flowers, frames and panels.

Speaking about decorative and applied arts, it would be unfair to ignore such crafts as silk painting, or batik, printed material, or embossing, that is, metal painting, carpet weaving, beading, macrame, knitting. Some things become a thing of the past, while others become so fashionable and popular that even industrial enterprises start producing equipment for this type of creativity.

Preserving ancient crafts and demonstrating the best examples in museums is a good deed that will always serve as a source of inspiration for people of creative professions and will help everyone else to join in the beauty.