Decorative drawing of a bouquet of flowers Zhostovo trays. Painting a tray with a Zhostovo pattern. Master class with step-by-step photos

Amazing with its variety and color, splashing on a black or colored surface, the painting forms bright floral patterns, decorated with the finest details. Exquisite roses and scarlet poppies, simple daisies and touching cornflowers, pompous peonies and radiant asters are combined with unknown, but no less beautiful flowers. Birds and butterflies, various berries and fruits look lifelike on such simple and ordinary objects as trays. No matter how much you search, you will not find a single identical tray - each of them is unique! Where did such art come to us from, how are such beautiful things made, where can you take lessons in Zhostovo painting? This article will tell you about this and about the features of metal painting that are characteristic of craftsmen from Zhostovo near Moscow.

The history of lacquer painting

According to historical and archaeological data, the Chinese were the first to master the art of lacquer painting. Several thousand years ago, during the Shan Yin era, the inhabitants of China decorated everyday objects, weapons and ritual vessels with lacquer designs.

Following China, the art of varnish painting conquered the countries of Indochina, Persia and India, Japan and Korea. In each region, the technique of lacquer painting developed independently, based on the traditions of folk crafts, but also borrowing the experience of masters from other countries.

How did lacquer painting come to Russia?

European merchants in the 16th-17th centuries who traded with countries South-East Asia, brought beautiful examples of painted lacquerware to your homeland. Inspired by the beauty and originality of oriental objects of various shapes and purposes, decorated with lacquer images, craftsmen from many European countries begin to make and decorate various things in the “Chinese” style.

Serious development of the production of objects decorated with lacquer painting, in such European countries, like Holland, England, Germany and France, occurred only in the 18th century.

The Ural industrialist Nikita Akinfievich Demidov traveled extensively throughout Europe, where he became interested in the idea of ​​varnish painting. In 1778, in the Urals, in Nizhny Tagil, the craft of Ural flower painting on metal began to emerge.

The emergence of Zhostovo varnish painting on metal

Metal chests and trays, jugs and buckets, made in the Urals and decorated with lacquer painting, as well as other everyday items were sold not only at the local Irbit and Krestovskaya fairs, but also at the All-Russian Makaryevskaya Fair in Nizhny Novgorod.

Perhaps it was the products of the Ural craftsmen seen here that inspired the Vishnyakov brothers to varnish painting metal trays. Since 1825, the Vishnyakov family business has developed mainly as varnish painting of various papier-mâché products - snuff boxes, cigarette cases, albums, crackers and boxes.

Since 1830, most of the workshops located in the villages of the Trinity volost, such as Troitskoye, Khlebnikovo and Zhostovo, stopped making objects from papier-mâché, and switched to the production and painting of metal trays.

The proximity to the capital allowed the fishery to do without intermediaries and have a constant sales market, as well as purchase the necessary materials at reasonable prices.

History of the development of the fishery

Starting from the 30s of the 19th century, metal trays began to be made and decorated with varnish in almost all surrounding villages. At this time, Zhostovo painting was at the peak of its popularity. In the post-revolutionary years, the demand for the products of Zhostovo artists sharply decreased, which led to the unification of disparate artists into small professional artels.

In 1928, all small artels from Troitsky, Novosiltsev, Zhostovo and other surrounding villages united into a specialized artel “Metalpodnos” with a management center in Zhostovo.

Most hard time Zhostovo painting, as well as most other folk crafts, dates back to the 40-50s of the last century. It was at this time that the production of trays decreased significantly, but the production of children's goods unusual for the trade increased several times. Zhostovo painting for children consists of small wooden and metal trays, buckets and shovels, decorated with individual elements.

Modern history

Khrushchev's “thaw” brought positive changes to the life of the fishery. In 1960, the Metallopodnos artel was reorganized and received its current name - Zhostovo Factory decorative painting. Government attention, active collaboration craftsmen and scientists, participation in various domestic and foreign exhibitions allowed the fishery to emerge from a long-term crisis.

Features of formation

As already mentioned, Zhostovo painting developed under the influence of Ural flower painting on metal. But Zhostovo craftsmen, who initially processed and decorated various items from papier-mâché, they managed to transfer all their technological discoveries to metal trays. For their primer they used own compositions, as well as special copal varnishes.

The nearby center of Lukutinsky lacquer miniatures had no less influence on the development of the craft. The further stylistic development of Zhostovo painting was influenced by Rostov enamel and floral motifs of Ivanovo chintz, as well as painting on porcelain, carried out in factories near Moscow.

What and how are trays made from?

Modern Zhostovo trays are produced in two ways: stamping and forging.

Blanks for trays of standard shapes and sizes are made from ordinary sheet iron using special mechanical presses. Then, on an electric press, using special molds and a combined stamp, the edges are rolled up - beading. To make the sides of the tray rigid, they are rolled.

Zhostovo painting artists can work not only with standard tray shapes. There are 26 standard forms to choose from, from which the most appropriate one is selected. Then, if it is unique, a farrier (blacksmith) gets to work making a forged tray. To do this, a bracket is cut out of several metal sheets using hand scissors, which is subsequently, under the influence of a hammer, pulled out and knocked out. When rolling, a special wire is inserted into the edges of the tray, which ensures its strength, and then the edge itself is leveled with a hammer.

How are trays prepared for painting?

After the trays have taken shape and have been rolled, they are primed on both sides with putty consisting of chalk diluted in drying oil. Once the primed tray has dried in a special cabinet, the master primer sands the surface with sandpaper and then applies another coat of putty. Previously, the tray was covered in two layers of black soil consisting of kaolin clay, kerosene, Dutch soot and vegetable oil. Each layer was necessarily dried and sanded. Today traditional way no primer is used, instead brown factory primer applied from a spray bottle is used. After drying, the primed tray is puttied and dried. The putty tray is then sanded by hand with pumice.

Only after this, black turpentine-based paint is applied to the tray, and after drying again, it is coated with 2-3 layers of black oil varnish. The dried and cleaned tray is handed over to the artist for painting.

How are colored backgrounds made on trays?

The Zhostovo decorative painting factory, in addition to trays with a traditional black background, produces products with red, blue, green and light blue backgrounds. To create them, a thin layer of light varnish is applied to the surface of the tray. Until it dries, sprinkle it with bronze or aluminum powder. After the metallized background has dried, it is painted with glaze paints of the desired color, resulting in an intense and saturated, but at the same time shimmering, as if translucent, background.

Painting on a colored background requires changes in both coloristic features and technical techniques. So, the highlights are only slightly defined, and the shadows are drawn out a little.

Zhostovo trays

Zhostovo craftsmen perform painting with special squirrel brushes and oil paints, diluted with turpentine and linseed oil. Each artist works on several works at the same time. To create the ornament, white paint with varnish (gulfarba), sprinkled with aluminum powder, or the so-called created gold is used - gold powder diluted in turpentine or transparent varnish.

Zhostovo painting is performed in two stages: painting and straightening. At the painting stage, the artist uses a wide brush to draw the main silhouette of the composition on the working surface of the tray. To perform this, diluted (bleached) paints are used. Then the tray with the applied paint is dried for 12 hours in

After this, the master begins straightening and draws in light areas, applies colored shadows and paints highlights that add volume to the composition. The stamens of flowers and the veins of leaves appear as thin lines. Large elements of Zhostovo painting, such as large flowers, are associated with smaller stems, blades of grass and other parts of the composition. The very last thing to apply is the ornament on the sides.

The finished work is polished three times with colorless varnish and dried in ovens, after which the surface is manually polished to a mirror shine.

Main motives of painting

Most often, Zhostovo artists create simple flower arrangements in the form of bouquets, in which large garden and smaller wildflowers rhythmically alternate. As a rule, the basis of the composition is made up of several large flowers, such as a rose, aster, peony, dahlia or tulip, surrounded by a scattering of small flowers and buds and interconnected by thin stems, twigs and leaves. In addition to large garden flowers, some artists bring modest violets, lilies of the valley, bindweed or pansies to the foreground of the composition.

Bouquets of both garden and wildflowers can be complemented by images of fruits, berries, birds and butterflies. Sometimes painters depict only still lifes of fruits or bunches of berries, such as rowan, on trays.

In addition to flower arrangements, Zhostovo painting is also created, a photo of which you can see below. As a rule, she depicts scenes from life ordinary people, landscapes, landscapes, and horse triplets. By and large, Zhostovo painting (pictures are presented in the article) is truly a real art.

Expressive means of Zhostovo applied art

Initially, the compositions for the trays were borrowed from paintings, but each artist had his own interpretation of them. Today, masters implement compositions that have already become classic, but also strive to find new ones.

It should be noted that in each work of Zhostovo painting, the compositions are inscribed in a plane and related to the shape of the tray; they perfectly convey the conventional depth and volume of the painted objects. Important expressive means Zhostovo art is the rhythmic and color balance of the drawing.

Is it possible to learn?

You can find out what Zhostovo painting is and how to paint using this technique in Zhostovo itself. The factory, whose products are famous all over the world, offers tours of the tray museum and master classes in lacquer painting. Almost every city has tourist agency, offering excursions to the factory, where you can see how Zhostovo painting is done. A master class on it is also included in the program. You can organize a trip to Zhostovo on your own by first contacting the museum and checking its opening hours.

This type of painting, named after a village near Moscow, is known throughout the world. Even people far from art will unmistakably distinguish the Zhostovo tray from the variety of folk crafts. Bouquets of flowers, berries and fruits, like an explosion, appear from a dark background, shimmer with many colors and are about to disappear. To catch this beautiful moment and capture it with soft brushes and paints - this is the skill of the artist.

A painted tray stops your gaze for a long time, forcing you to examine each petal, trace the curves of twigs and grass, and guess the graceful figures of birds among the flowers. You can watch the painter’s work endlessly: his hand movements are precise and dexterous, and buds instantly bloom from under his obedient brush. It seems that Zhostovo tray painting is not difficult. And this would indeed be the case if the work were not preceded by years of training and skill development.

Will help you get involved with the creativity of Zhostovo residents step-by-step description painting work. Perhaps it’s hidden in one of the steps main secret skill?

Trays of ordinary shapes (round and rectangular) are made from sheet iron using machines. Sheets are cut, are pressed, then the sides are squeezed out onto them and the sharp edge is carefully bent. When creating unique forms, the manual labor of a farrier is used - a blacksmith who works with cold metal.

The finished trays are sent to the grinding and priming shop, where they are coated with several layers of primer and dried. The primer gives color to the background, most often it is black. Red or green backgrounds look very smart.

Finally , the tray goes to the coloring shop. The artist does not have a model; a Zhostovo bouquet is created only by imagination.

The next stage is ornamentation or “cleaning”. Using a thin brush, the ornament is applied along the edges, which completes the composition. This is done by another master, whose hand is accustomed to fine and precise work.

Finally, the tray is sent to be coated with several layers of special varnish. As a result, it becomes smooth and shiny.

Gallery: flowers from Zhostovo (25 photos)

Gesture painting for children and adults

Having taken your child away from the computer, you must immediately offer him another absorbing activity. Coloring trays, fueled by looking at photographs of finished products, can captivate both a child and an adult drawing enthusiast for a long time.

Making a tray at home is, of course, difficult. But mastering the technique of Zhostovo painting and enjoying creativity is available to everyone. A bright pattern will decorate the cutting board, wooden dishes, Christmas ball or Easter Egg. But you should start with training - drawing on paper.

“Zhostovo painting” coloring book, produced by the book industry, can also be used to teach preschool children. The contours here are already assembled according to the laws of composition or represent individual elements. But you shouldn’t get carried away with it: the principles of coloring contradict the free spirit of the Zhostovo pattern.

Materials and preparation

Train your skills for every step of the job The painting will take a long time, so first the child can use watercolor, gouache and ordinary sketchbooks. Later they switch to silhouettes of trays cut out of black cardboard.

Once the basic elements have been mastered, you can purchase a cutting board or papier-mâché molds onto which the design will be applied. They are bought in art salons or made independently. At the factory in Zhostovo, including via the Internet, you can buy blank trays for painting. A less expensive purchase would be an ordinary galvanized bucket or basin. Fear of ruining expensive products will increase the responsibility of the novice artist before each stroke.

Wooden and paper products are primed with special compounds, selecting the background color. Metal objects are degreased, cleaned and coated with metal primer (it is convenient to use black or red aerosols). Used items are especially carefully cleaned, since Zhostovo painting requires a perfectly smooth surface.

Oil paints are used for work; they are recommended to be mixed with glossy varnishes to achieve an expressive image. Just buy the basic colors:

• red kraplak;
• cobalt blue;
• burnt bone;
• light ocher;
• emerald green;
• titanium white.

Inexpensive kits are suitable for training, but you should know that the properties of oil paints vary greatly depending on the composition. To thin the paint you will need linseed oil or turpentine.

The arrangement of Zhostovo flowers on a household item should correspond to the shape of the vessel being decorated. On a board or bucket you can depict a bouquet, and on the sides of a bowl or plate - an endless garland of flowers.

Zhostovo painting is multi-layered. Layering layers of paint from dark to light creates volume and convexity of the design. Of course, each layer is applied after the previous one has completely dried.

First you should master the basic stages of creating an image:

When analyzing finished products, you need to pay attention to the composition, basic shapes and try to reproduce them in the form of color spots. It is not recommended to make a pencil sketch; sticking to the lines will only harm the work of the imagination.

Elements of Zhostovo painting

Training should begin with simple, one-time strokes (sheet). By connecting three leaves, you get a “trefoil”. Two green strokes and one red make up a bud. The bud is planted on a stem and surrounded by leaves - a “twig” is obtained.

Next lesson master broad strokes, from which large flowers (roses and dahlias) and medium ones (poppies, bells, pansies) are composed.

There is no task to reproduce the flower exactly: the image of plants on the Zhostovo tray is creative, fantasy and only vaguely resembles nature.

Training and application

Having noticed your child’s passion for drawing, you can send him to special Zhostovo painting courses for children. The best of them, including for adults, are held in Zhostovo itself. The scope of knowledge is quite wide. In addition to traditional trays, fabrics, nails, cars are painted in the Zhostovo style, and fashionable designs for kitchen furniture and walls are created.

Folk crafts associated with images of flowering plants symbolize eternal life, resurrection, love and joy. Any dream or wish can be expressed with elements of painting. To the recipient of a Zhostovo bouquet All that remains for the artist to do is to unravel the message written in such an unusual, bright letter.

Bright, gorgeous flowers: roses, peonies, daisies, forget-me-nots, chrysanthemums and lilies of the valley (impossible to list them all), artfully scattered with a skillful hand artist on a dark glossy metal surface, is a traditional Zhostovo painting on trays. Unique and unparalleled!

The history of ancient Russian crafts goes back almost 2 centuries, and during this time the products of Zhostovo craftsmen not only did not lose their popularity and beauty, but, on the contrary, acquired even more great fame all over the world and have been enriched by the innovative ideas of today's young painters.

The origins of Zhostovo crafts

Today, any modern housewife will be happy to receive a real Zhostovo tray as a gift, which can be used not only for its direct utilitarian purpose, but also as an original decoration for the kitchen interior. Women rejoiced in the same way in early XIX c., when they were given such beauty.

But Art began to take shape in Russia in late XVIII V. It was from that time that the first trays, boxes, snuff boxes, cigarette cases, all kinds of boxes, etc., painted using the technique of lacquer miniatures, were made in the villages of the Moscow district: Ostashkovo, Troitskoye, Novosiltsevo, Sorokino and Zhostovo.

Gradually, the production of trays emerged as a separate area, and the village of Zhostovo firmly took the leading role in their production. By the way, the first trays were made exclusively from papier-mâché. Now it is difficult for us to imagine a Zhostovo tray made of such material.

Further development of Zhostovo art

In 1825, the workshop of Osip Fillipovich Vishnyakov was opened in Zhostovo. It is from this event that the existence of individual folk gesture crafts is calculated. Of course, this workshop was not the only one. Gradually, other artels were organized: Egor Vishnyakov in the neighboring village of Ostashkovo, A. A. Zaitsev in the Troitsky village. The popularity of their products was enormous! The Zhostovo tray sold well in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities.

In 1830, several workshops opened in Zhostovo and neighboring villages, the founders of which were E. F. Belyaev, T. M. Belyaev, F. V. Shapkin, V. L. Leontyev and I. S. Kolomenskoy. Gradually production expanded, items for painting began to be made not from papier-mâché, but from more durable and modern material- iron.

Legendary artists of Zhostovo

Gradually, a new Zhostovo tray, familiar to us all, was born. The story, preserved in regional chronicles, tells how gradually more and more local talented peasants were involved in the work of art workshops. It is surprising how much talent there was among ordinary, uneducated serfs. The first master mentioned in a historical document of 1839 was Count Sheremetyev’s serf Veshnyakov Philip Nikitin, he was engaged in painting trays together with his son. This is how artistic dynasties were born in Zhostovo.

The most famous masters Zhostovo trays: O. E. Burbyshev (there are legends about this artist in Zhostovo, he was such a virtuoso master), N. M. Tsaplagin, A. E. Vishnyakov, K. V. Gribkov, I. S. Leontyev, D. S. Kledov, P. S. Kurzin, I. A. Savelyev, M. R. Mitrofanov, A. P. Gogin, I. P. Plakhov, B. V. Grafov. All these masters and many others left a deep mark on the art of Zhostov; it was they who created wonderful works Zhostovo miniatures, included in the gold fund of crafts.

Zhostovo tray - manufacturing technology

The original technology for the production of Zhostovo trays has been refined over many years. Masters have many secrets of their craft that they are not going to share with anyone. So the technology for manufacturing Zhostov’s products can only be described in general terms.

As mentioned above, modern trays are made of iron. They can have the most bizarre shape; it all depends on the artist’s original intention. Before painting, the tray must be carefully sanded and covered with a double layer of soil prepared on the basis of soot and kaolin. After which the workpiece is sanded again and covered with several layers of colored varnish. Moreover, each layer must be well dried and also perfectly polished.

Next, the production of Zhostovo trays moves to the next stage. After all preparatory work the product is ready for painting, and the master artist begins further work on it. Zhostovo trays are traditionally painted with oil paints. After its completion, the product is again varnished in several layers, followed by drying and polishing to give the finished tray an almost mirror-like shine.

Artistic techniques and features of Zhostovo painting

Zhostovo painting has its origins in traditional Russian lacquer miniatures, but, of course, has its own characteristics. The basis can perhaps be called drawing with bright colors on a dark background and decorating the composition with gold ornaments. The background of Zhostovo trays is not necessarily black, it can be any color: red, brown, green, blue and ocher. Sometimes there are even compositions made on gold leaf (imitation gold), mother-of-pearl or a light, almost white background, but this is rather a deviation from the rules, dictated by the artist’s imagination.

A gestural tray is usually painted in such a way that in the center of the composition (flower bouquet) are the largest and brightest flowers, which are the main focus. Closer to the edges, the elements of the bouquet become smaller and darker, they seem to merge with the background. This achieves visual depth and volume of the painting. Zhostovo flowers are not painted from life, most often they are conventional, much in their depiction depends on creative imagination masters

Main motives and plots

The main motifs of Zhostovo painting, of course, are all kinds of floral motifs, the variety of which is endless! Zhostovo painting adheres to several traditional types compositions. Flowers can be collected in large bouquets consisting of 3-5 inflorescences, displayed in baskets, or placed in garlands along the entire perimeter of the tray.

Sometimes the painting can be supplemented with images of berries, fruits or birds. There are examples of Zhostovo painting that look like ancient precious ones. Despite the fact that the drawing of plants is quite conventional, there are all the signs of careful elaboration of details, general color, free improvisation.

Zhostovo trays: how to draw step by step

The entire process of painting a tray can be divided into 4 stages. First, the so-called “painting” is done: a generalized silhouette of the future drawing and the location of the main spots are sketched onto the product with whitened paints.

Next come “shading” and “laying”: applying transparent shadows and marking the lightest places with thick paints. After which the shape of flowers and leaves becomes more defined.

The third stage is highlighting: applying quick whitening strokes. With their help, all volumes are specified.

And finally comes the final 4th stage, at which the “drawing” and “binding” are performed. Using the thinnest brush, the master traces the outline of each leaf and petal with elastic, flexible lines, draws small branches and details, which are called binding.

Prospects for the development of fisheries

Currently, artistic Zhostovo crafts are not experiencing better times. Until the 90s of the last century, the workshops were under the care and financing of the state, after perestroika and collapse Soviet Union The factory passed into private hands. Now profit has become the priority, but not the preservation of traditions and a creative approach to the craft.

The number of artists at the enterprise was significantly reduced. Many craftsmen began to work independently, at home. Many private orders are carried out, tailored not only to the Zhostovo tray. Modern masters often work on painting the most various items: from refrigerators and mobile phones to bottles of expensive collectible wine. The influx of talented youth - graduates of the Fedoskino School of Lacquer Miniatures in Lately decreased. But nevertheless, the company still lives, works with dedication and faith in the future.

How to get to Zhostovo?

For everyone who wants to get to know the history and art of Zhostovo, the company organizes interesting 5-hour excursions with master classes. There is always a store at the factory where you can buy handicrafts, as they say, “hot, hot.”

Getting from Moscow to Zhostovo is not difficult. You need to cover only 50 km along the Ostashkovskoe highway towards the Mytishchi district. You can also easily get there by train or bus. Another option: from the Medvedkovo metro station to Zhostovo, bus number 438 constantly runs.