Russian Painted Lacquers of the Eighteenth to Twentieth Centuries
Arab Hall (155), Winter Palace
13 May 2011 - 4 September 2011

13 May, 2011 the Arab Hall of the Winter Palace held the opening of Exhibition Russian Painted Lacquers of the Eighteenth to Twentieth Centuries, displaying over two hundreds of items from the unique collection of painted lacquers of the State Hermitage. It presents different articles: from furniture to ornamentals, made by masters of St Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw, Nizhny Tagil as well as Zhostov, Fedoskin, Palekh, Mstyera and Kholuy.

In the 18th century lacquers were imported to Muskovy from China: under the influence of fashion for Far Eastern rarities Russian master made decorative painting of articles and interiors with "hinnsky painting", i.e. in Oriental style. The earliest article at the exhibition is the set for washing-up of the first quarter of the 18th century: it is made of papier-mâché, painted with oil and lacquered.

In St Petersburg in the 18th century Ivan Tikhanov, Perfiliy Fyedorov, Fyedor Vlasov were famous for the art of lacquer painting. A remarkable trace in the lacquer business was also left by Ya.Ye. Labutin who in the mid of the next century improved the technique of lacquer painting on metal: trays made by him were distinguished with a special purity of finishing and magnificent flowery painting.

Another center for painted lacquers production since the end of the 18th century became Moscow and its suburbs. In village Danilkovo (now Fedoskino) merchant P.I. Korobov established the first factory for production of lacquer snuffboxes from papier-mâché. Headed by his successor P.V. Lukutin various techniques of lacquer painting were developed at the factory, among which the special popularity enjoyed "tricky" gold-plated ornaments and pictorial miniature, repeating the works of European and homegrown masters. Lukutin's lacquers: map holders, spectacle-boxes, albums, ester eggs were highly appreciated at All-Russian and international exhibitions and the factory gained the right to put its personal brand-mark under the double-headed eagle.

The exhibition also presents articles of another factory, owned by the Vishnyakovs' family, located near Moscow from village Zhostovo: caskets and trays, made from papier-mache and tin, decorated with characteristic flowery patterns and bouquets. Moscow enterprise of A.I. Austen is represented with black lacquer snuffboxes and boxes with portraits of historic persons, performed in brass stamp from medals.

A great contribution to the development of painted lacquers art was made by Urals’ workshops, appeared with the metallurgic centers. The most famous one was Nizhniy Tagil where tin trays with decorative narrative and flowery painting were manufactured. Special attention should be paid to rarities of the Ural factory of A.F. Turchaninov: copper and iron dishware with decorative ornaments and enamel painting which became a part of everyday life of Russian aristocracy of the mid 18th century.

In the 1920s-1930s masters from old icon painting villages Palekh, Mstera, Kholuy turned to production of lacquer items. Palekh miniature is distinguished with genre subjects, elegant painting and gold-plated ornament, worked out by the school establisher, hereditary icon painter I.I. Golikov. Kholuy’s masters paid considerable attention to folk, tale and epic themes that is confirmed with the exhibited works of N. Denisov and N. Baburin. Miniature painters of Mstera worked in light-blue and green gamma, reflecting life and household activities of contemporaries in the subjects of paintings (Brooch made by A. Shirokov).

Exhibition Curators - I. Ukhanova, Leading Researcher of the Department of Russian Culture of the State Hermitage and M. Kosaryeva Senior Researcher of the Sector.