Palekh- a small village in the Ivanovo region, the first mention of which dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. And today it is the world’s most famous center of iconography and lacquer painting, which has no analogues in any corner of our planet. The works of Palekhov masters do not leave anyone indifferent,
who once saw them.

At the turn of the 16th-17th centuries, Palekh saw the appearance of masters who painted holy images, painted temples and cathedrals, and restored ancient frescoes. The beginning of the 19th century saw the heyday of Palekh icon painting, which was in great demand not only in Russia but also abroad. The original, elegant art of lacquer miniatures from Palekh combines the principles of ancient Russian painting and folk art.

If in some cities the creation of icons had an almost industrial spread, then in Palekh long years The original writing of holy images was preserved, the writing of which was carried out by members of peasant families in their free time from agricultural work.

It was noteworthy that in the peasant families of icon painters there was a division of labor: the drawing was applied to the base by the “banner”, the clothes and chambers were painted by the “dolicnik”, and the faces by the “lichnik”. Palekh icons were created over a long period of time and meticulously; they were consistent with the canons of ancient samples, so their value was high.

But by the end of the 19th century in Rus', the number of icon painters increased greatly, which caused a decrease in cost and deterioration in the quality of icon painting, and the demand for Palekh icons sharply decreased due to high cost.

And the revolution that took place in Russia in 1917 changed not only the entire structure of Russia but also the attitude towards the church. The production of icons became unclaimed and icon painters were left without work.

But Palekh lacquer miniature painting is a relatively young movement that emerged only about two centuries ago. The prerequisite for its emergence was that at the end of the 18th century, the Moscow merchant Korobov founded the production of lacquered visors for army caps. And when snuff came into fashion, he also began producing lacquer snuff boxes.

Over time, these boxes acquired a luxurious and rich appearance; they began to be used to decorate rooms. Using colorful colors and Russian folk themes, Palekh craftsmen used various subjects from fairy tales, epics and legends in their work.

Upon completion civil war Palekh craftsmen resumed their craft, now making boxes, brooches, powder compacts and other items from papier-mâché. They depicted scenes from Russian folk tales, skits village life, and also used the work of Russian writers and poets.

The Second World War also introduced its own themes into Palekh painting - colorful war scenes. During times Soviet power Palekh was characterized by pathos, ideology, and monumentalism. And only years later the artists managed to return romance and sublimity, poetry and allegory.

To this day, lacquer miniatures differ bright colors on a black background, elongated figures, thin lines. Decorative landscapes and architecture, elegant gold ornaments framing the composition - all this makes Palekh painting unique.

Each of the master miniaturists has his own professional style. This painstaking work requires from them not only inspiration, but also great precision and accuracy, since all painting is done by hand, and very often this requires a magnifying glass. Most of the miniatures are unique or produced in very small quantities.

Russian folk crafts. Palekh miniature. March 26th, 2018

Hello dears.
We continue with you a short review of Russian folk crafts. Well, at least, the most famous of them :-)) Last time we remembered the beautiful Fedoskino miniature: , but today it’s time to talk a little about a more “promoted brand” - namely about Palekh.

Palekh miniature - folk craft, developed in the village of Palekh, Vyaznikovsky district, Vladimir province (now Palekh district, Ivanovo region). The lacquer miniature is made with tempera on papier-mâché. Usually boxes, caskets, egg capsules, brooches, panels, ashtrays, tie pins, pincushions, etc. are painted. Very popular, especially among foreigners :-) Although the art of Palekh painting is still very young, it is only a little over 70 years old.


The settlement of Palekh itself is very old. In the 15th century, the village of Palekh was part of the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. According to the Spiritual Testament of Ivan the Terrible in 1572, the village of Palekh was in the local ownership of his son Ivan. In 1616, Palekh was listed as the estate of Vasily Ivanovich Ostrogubov and the widow of Yuri Ivanovich Ostrogubov. Soon it was granted patrimonial ownership to Ivan Buturlin “for the Moscow siege of the prince,” that is, for participation in the war against the Polish-Lithuanian intervention. According to the scribe books of 1628-1630 of the Vladimir district of the Bogolyubsky camp, Palekh is the patrimony of Ivan Buturlin and his children.


The village has always been drawn to art and the place was famous for its icon painters. Palekh icon painting reached its greatest flourishing in the 18th century. early XIX century

At first, Palekh painting strictly obeyed the established canons of depicting icons, but gradually they began to change: images of people, landscape outlines, buildings, animals, clothing, and interior items acquired their own, unique style. The artists of Palekh finally found the creative freedom they so needed, and enjoyed it. They worked out unique style icon painting, which was characterized by the most detailed detailing and the use of a gold and tempera palette.

After the revolution of 1917, icon painting in Palekh ceased to exist. On December 5, 1924, the Artel was organized in Palekh ancient painting» painting of papier-mâché products. As a result of long creative searches, former icon painters showed the world virtuoso compositions on papier-mâché boxes, painted with a rainbow of colors and golden patterns.


The Palesians did not abandon the usual technique of painting with egg paints using created gold. In the figurative solutions of new works, they still used medieval techniques of stylization and conventional forms. The most popular and most successful compositions of the first years of the existence of Palekh miniatures were “troikas”, “hunts”, “battles”, “couples”, “shepherdesses”, “idyls”, “festivities”. These works had neither a developed plot nor a vivid image, only a strongly expressed ornamental beginning.


One of the brightest and talented artists Palekh was Ivan Ivanovich Golikov. He was called the master of the horse, battle and three. The fabulous horses with fragile legs in Golikov’s miniatures are colored with all the colors of the rainbow, and “battles” and “hunts” are a manifestation of the indomitable imagination of the Palekh artist. Golikov’s “troikas” are dynamic, impetuous, but sometimes stately and solemn. I.I. Golikov turned to this motif many times, drawing winter and summer three-pieces on a variety of objects: brooches, powder compacts, cigarette cases, trays.


In the art of Palekh lacquer miniatures, portraiture develops as an independent genre. Its founders were former personal icon painters: Pravdin N.A., Palikin I.F., Serebryakov I.G. Portrait images are created using various subjects from papier-mâché: plates, boxes, brooches, cigarette cases. Palekh artists paint portraits statesmen, historical figures and their contemporaries.

In the middle of the 20th century, realistic tendencies intensified in the art of Palekh, expressed by the desire of many artists for external verisimilitude in revealing the plot and individual images. Many compositions of those years are characterized by pomp, excessive monumentality and decoration.

The following generations of miniaturists sought to revive the traditions created by the founders of Palekh miniatures. The art of lacquer miniatures has not exhausted itself; it has enormous potential.


Palekh artists show their talent in many types of fine art: monumental painting, book graphics, theatrical scenery.
At the end of the 80s, a trademark appeared on the works of Palekh Artists - the firebird. Each work is accompanied by a certificate indicating the authenticity of the work.

Currently, more than 600 artists live and work in Palekh; every tenth resident of Palekh is a graduate of the Palekh Art School. A.M. Gorky. They work in various creative teams: cooperative “Association of Artists of Palekh”, JSC “Partnership Palekh”, LLC “Artists of Palekh”, icon painting and iconostasis workshops.
The style of Palekh painting has a number of features, namely: smoothness, subtlety of drawing, black or dark background, a large amount of shading done in gold, clarity, delineation of the silhouette of simplified figures. Decorative landscape and architecture, elegance of elongated proportions of figures, dynamic combination of red, yellow and green colors - everything in products with Palekh miniatures goes back to ancient Russian traditions.

Black varnish became the main background color, the conventional space of Palekh miniatures and its distinctive feature. Black background of lacquer miniature or " Blank sheet“as if it collects in itself, contains all the colors and embodies the essence of the thing. It symbolizes the darkness of the earthly principle from which light is born. In addition, black color also has internal volume and depth.
Gold in Palekh miniatures is not only a key element of writing technique, but also part of the artistic worldview. It is inextricably linked with the symbol of light, which has great historical traditions, going back to medieval ideas about the two principles of life - light and dark. In Christian symbolism, light takes on a special aesthetic value, becoming a prototype of Divine grace. Material carrier This light is served by gold, which symbolizes it, is the materialized Divine clarity.

Typical subjects of Palekh miniatures are borrowed from Everyday life, classical, fairy tales, epics literary works and songs.
I think that the works of the masters will delight more than one generation of Russians and foreign guests.

Have a nice time of day.

Publications in the Traditions section

From icon to casket

P alekh. The name, famous throughout the world for the skill of artists, was not always associated with colorful boxes. According to legend, icon painters from Vladimir and Suzdal fled to the forests on the banks of the Paleshka River. They settled and built on the site of the burnt forest. Before the revolution, icons were painted, but the new government, which was harsh on religious themes, forced people to take up secular motifs - fairy tales, legends, epics. They began to paint miniatures on boxes. We invite you to recall 10 facts from the history of the fishery with Natalya Letnikova.

In the traditions of the first masters. "Palekh - village-folk academy"- said Georgy Filimonov, custodian of Christian and Russian antiquities in the first Public Museum in Moscow, and head of the archive of the Armory Chamber in 1863. The Palekh style is based on the traditions of many icon painting schools. Palekh icons are distinguished by their special subtlety of writing, soft smooth lines and restrained color scheme. Clothes and ornaments shine with gold - a symbol of light. The color of precious metal in Palekh miniatures is not just a painting technique. In Christian symbolism, it is light that is the prototype of divine grace.

Palekh, Ivanovo region. Photo: russia-open.com

Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Palekh, Ivanovo region. Photo: sobory.ru

Palekh, Ivanovo region. Photo: venividi.ru

Iconographic roots of Palekh painting. Surrounded by forests and away from major roads, along the picturesque Paleshki River. They lived separately in the village, and merchants practically never visited. This is how icon painters preserved their traditions from generation to generation. Only in the middle of the 17th century did rumors about Palekh masters reach Moscow. And only then the artists themselves ended up in Belokamennaya. The Paleshans applied their skills to the Faceted Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Novodevichy Monastery.

New time, new images, new craft. After October revolution artists had to leave biblical images for a long time in search of other themes. The revolution did not favor icon painting. Then the modern Palekh style and papier-mâché boxes in the likeness of Fedoskino appeared. Former icon painters painted boxes and caskets with scenes from folk tales, genre scenes, pictures of rural life and landscapes.

"Artel of Ancient Painting". The artists transferred tempera painting to boxes and united into an artel. In 1924, on the initiative of a group of talented icon painters with the support of art critic and professor Anatoly Bakushinsky, the “Artel of Ancient Painting” was formed. Maxim Gorky, who supported the artists, became an honorary member of the association. Masters painted caskets, boxes, teapots, snuff boxes and powder compacts. At first, blanks were purchased in Fedoskino, but soon they established their own production.

Mikhail Parilov. Nicholas the Wonderworker. End of the 19th century GMPI

Nikolai Korin. John the Baptist in the desert. 1806. GMPI

Ivan Safonov, Mikhail Nefedov. John the Theologian in silence. Beginning of the 20th century GMPI

Talents and fans. Palekh icons Nikolai Nekrasov, Nikolai Leskov, Anton Chekhov admired him. In 1814, Johann Goethe showed particular interest in the works of Russian icon painters. The German poet even received from the Vladimir governor as a gift two icons painted in Palekh - “The Twelfth Feasts” and “The Mother of God”. In 1930, a large exhibition of Palekh miniatures was held at the State Russian Museum. The works of Palekh masters became an export item. The painted boxes were bought by Vneshtorg and sold for foreign currency.

Dynasties and secrets of the trade. The artel was famous for its dynasties. The secrets of mastery are a family matter. The painters raised themselves from childhood. One of the oldest Palekh families is the Belousovs. Leonid Ivanovich Belousov - icon painter. He started working in the artel in 1926. Lacquer miniatures became the work of life for his great-grandson, Evgeniy Belousov. And there are many such glorious families in Palekh. The Golikovs, Kotukhins, Sivyakovs... The history of the trade and the secrets of the craft were once kept within the family circle. They even married their own people, Palekh people, protecting the secrets of painting.

Palekh lacquer miniature. Photo: palekh.narod.ru

Palekh lacquer miniature. Photo: kanon-tradition.ru

World recognition. The first works of Palekh icon painters in the new genre of lacquer miniatures, commissioned by a handicraft museum, received a first-degree diploma at the exhibition of the Academy of Artistic Sciences. In 1924 Palekh boxes made a splash at the Venice Art Vernissage. The Italians even asked to send craftsmen to organize a school. The artists refused to leave Russia. And a year after the formation of the artel, Palekh painting received a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris.

Palekh paints are not for battle scenes. It just so happened that Palekh is more and more pictures from rural life and fairy-tale motifs. But this is in peacetime. When the whole country lived with a single thought about Victory, Battle of Stalingrad became a source of inspiration for artists: “People's Avengers”, “In the Footsteps of the Enemy”, “Attack”, “ People's War" Working in the rear, the craftsmen maintained their craft even during the war. Only old people and pre-conscription youth worked. Didn't close and art school“academy villages” - as Palekh was called.

Palekh painting originated in the village of Palekh, Ivanovo region, from where it got its name. This type is decorative applied creativity is truly unique, because, despite the fact that it has existed for many centuries, the technologies and techniques for creating compositions do not change - the master himself prepares the object that he will paint from beginning to end. Therefore, it is impossible to find two identical items painted in the Palekh style. The peculiarities of Palekh painting are the elegance of the figures, the clarity, subtlety and delineation of the drawings, a dark background, and a large amount of shading done in gold.

As a rule, souvenirs and objects that serve as interior decoration are painted with Palekh miniatures - boxes, caskets, panels, ashtrays, brooches and similar items.

Artists do not create individual ornaments or figures, but draw entire pictures depicting certain subjects. All the figures in the Palekh artist’s drawing are elongated - people, horses, and animals. The characters in the paintings are always on the move, as evidenced by clearly defined folds of clothing and waves of hair. The masters took and take the theme for miniatures from everyday life, fairy tales, songs, epics and fables, and thanks to the variety of colors and small parts, the effect of lightness and celebration is created.

The peculiarities of Palekh painting are related to the fact that it was born from icon painting and is based on its traditions and techniques; even as a paint, masters still use egg tempera, which is used to paint icons.

For Palekh painting, a black or dark background is used, which symbolizes darkness, from which, in the process of painstaking and complex work, life and color are born, moreover, it has an internal volume, which gives the paintings a special depth.

The technique of applying, fixing and processing the design has been passed down from ancient times from generation to generation, thanks to which unique things made using the Palekh technique are popular all over the world and are part of the culture not only of our country, but of the whole world.

We study the technology of making Palekh painting in miniature

Cardboard is used as a blank for Palekh miniatures. The master cuts it into shapes and, using flour paste, glues it together in several layers (depending on the thickness of the product). Then the workpiece is pressed and thoroughly dried for several days.

After drying, the semi-finished product is impregnated with linseed oil - for this, it is immersed in a vat of hot oil for a day, after which it is dried in an oven for 2 days at a temperature of 100°. After this, the product is treated with an emery brush, sanded and the necessary fittings are attached.

At this stage, the product is primed with a special composition of a mixture of oil, soot and red clay and varnished - 2 - 3 layers of black varnish on the outside and oil varnish with cinnabar with inside. Then another seven (!) layers of light varnish are applied, making sure to dry each layer in the oven. Only after all these preparatory manipulations does the product become suitable for painting - the master lightly walks over the surface of the product with pumice, draws the contours of the design and then paints it with a thin squirrel hair brush. Individual drawings in a composition are so small that craftsmen have to use a magnifying glass.

It is noteworthy that the master makes all the tools and materials himself - paints, brushes, varnishes with primers, and other compounds necessary for high-quality work.

At this stage, the painted product is dried and the pictures are fixed with a special varnish. After this, the master begins painting with gold and silver leaf, polishing it all with agate or wolf’s tooth (for additional shine). Then all products are again coated with several layers of varnish, dried and polished to a mirror shine. Due to the large number of varnish layers that cover the product during the work process, Palekh painting is also called lacquer miniature.

Due to the brightness of the colors and the vividness of the images, drawings in the style of Palekh painting are used to illustrate children's books with fairy tales. For children, these images are very interesting, since the drawing represents not just a static picture, but a whole story or plot of the work. But the photo below shows illustrations for some children's fairy tales, made in the Palekh style.

Video on the topic of the article

In order to get to know each other better Palekh painting, we suggest watching several video stories that present various options lacquer miniatures and describes in detail the stages of creating these unique and amazing images.

P aleh has been famous for its icon painters since pre-Petrine times. Palekh icon painting reached its greatest flourishing in the 18th - early 19th centuries. The local style developed under the influence of the Moscow, Novgorod, Stroganov and Yaroslavl schools.

Palekh miniature, which arose as a result of social and cultural changes that occurred in Russia after 1917, managed to preserve the centuries-old traditions of icon painting and transfer them to new forms. From icon painting, the Palesians took the materials and method of painting with tempera emulsion paints, compositional techniques, the style of stylization of human figures, architecture and landscape, the skills of linear drawing with paints, created gold, but at the same time they embodied them in new forms and with new subjects of secular content on the themes of modern rural life, history, epics, fairy tales, classical Russian literature.

In 1918, former icon painters created the Palekh artistic decorative artel, which was engaged in painting on wood. The founder of the Palekh style is considered to be I. I. Golikov, who in 1922, having become acquainted with the products of Fedoskino masters, created the first work in the so-called Palekh style.

Paleshians began to develop new material- papier-mâché, which was the basis for Fedoskin’s lacquer miniatures. Palekh masters transferred to papier-mâché the traditional technology of tempera painting for ancient Russian icons and the conventional stylistics of the image. An expensive semi-finished product - papier-mâché blanks - was initially purchased from the Fedoskino artel, but soon they established their own production.

For the first time, Palekh miniatures on papier-mâché, commissioned by the Handicraft Museum, were presented at the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition in 1923. At the end of 1924, Palekh artists united in the Artel of Ancient Painting, and already in 1925, Palekh miniatures were exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris, where they created a real sensation and were enjoyed great success. In 1935, the artel was transformed into the Palekh Artists' Association, and in 1954 the Palekh art and production workshops of the USSR Art Fund were formed.

Already from the first years of the existence of the Artel of Ancient Painting, the question of training specialists arose. In 1928, a vocational school of ancient painting opened in Palekh. In 1935, it was transformed into the Art College, which later became known as the Palekh Art School named after A.M. Gorky.

The assortment and shapes of objects painted by Palekh masters was quite large: brooches, bead holders, chests, boxes, cigarette cases and snuff boxes, eyeglass cases and powder compacts and much more. The Palekh miniature of the pre-war period has a pronounced ornamental beginning, while it lacks vivid images and developing story line. The most successful and popular compositions of that period were battles, shepherdesses, hunting and folk festivals.

First post-war decades Many masters of Palekh miniatures in their works depicted various battle scenes from both the end of World War II and other great battles that glorified the Russian army.

In the 1950s, lacquer miniatures in Palekh experienced a clear crisis, which was caused by the tendency of many artists towards excessive realism, pretentiousness and monumentality, which displaced from the products the romance and sublime sophistication characteristic of the works of previous years. In the 1960s, work Palekh artists poetry and allegory are returning. During this period, Paleshan artists, in search of themes for their works, turned to folklore sources and works classical literature, as well as to modern songs. At the same time socially significant events, such as, for example, human flight into space, are also reflected in the products of craftsmen.

Having survived the difficult 1990s, the Palesians did not abandon their traditional craft. The Palekh Art School annually graduates young masters who carefully preserve the traditions and features that make Palekh miniature so interesting. Today there are several artels and family businesses that produce traditional lacquer products in Palekh.

Palekh painting, like any other folk art, formed in a particular area, has its own distinctive features and traditions. From other public schools varnish painting The Palekh style is distinguished by the following features: writing with egg tempera paints; use of dark backgrounds; gold painting; variety of color transitions; general soft tone of the letter; patterned ward writing; a variety of rainbow lights; miniature (small) multi-stamp letter; variety of composition elements and their picturesqueness; miniature painting; patternedness and ornamental richness of the design; careful detailing of each element; elongation and fragility of human figures; the subtlety of drawing people's body parts.

Palekh is characterized by multi-layer tempera painting based on a pattern outlined in white. First, color spots are applied, then miniatures and details are painted, then gold and the so-called space are introduced, when paint is applied to the light parts in several stages, increasing the amount of white in the main tone. Paleshians, as a rule, resort to a complex painting technique - glazing or "floating" painting, which consists of multi-layered writing with transparent strokes, when the lower layers of the painting are visible through the upper ones.

Work on a product begins with the creation of a blank. Cardboard plates are greased with flour paste made from wheat or peklevanny (a mixture of rye and wheat) flour and glued one on top of the other on a table or horizontal board. The number of layers depends on the required thickness of the product and ranges from 3 to 30. The sides of caskets, boxes, cases and other items are made by wrapping strips of cardboard onto round or rectangular blanks (up to 12 layers).

Then the blanks are pressed. The compressed semi-finished products are dried in a dry, dark room for 3–15 days. After drying, the workpiece is soaked in heated linseed oil, in a vat with which it remains for about a day. After this, the blanks are dried for two to three days in a sealed cabinet at a temperature of +100 degrees.

A semi-finished product made in this way becomes as strong as the strongest types of wood, and lends itself well to carpentry and turning: it can be sawed and planed, it can be turned into various shapes on a lathe, and hinges and locks can be inserted into it.

Each blank is made for four products at once. Then they are sawed. Then the workpieces are carefully selected and handed over to carpenters, who process the workpiece with a file, and round products are finished on a lathe. The bottom of the products is made separately, glued into place and adjusted with a plane. Then the workpiece is ground on a sanding wheel and finished with an emery brush.

After carpentry, the products go to the painting preparation workshop, where they are smoothed with sandpaper and primed. The soil consists of river silty clay mixed with soot and ground with boiled oil (linseed oil) on a stone slab with a smooth stone chime. The primer is applied three times with a bristle brush and leveled with a flat board or spatula. After applying each layer of primer, the products are thoroughly dried in the oven, cleaned with sanding blocks and water and dried again. Then all the outer sides are painted with soot dissolved in oil varnish, and the inner parts are painted with cinnabar mixed with carmine dissolved in the same varnish. After this, the black surfaces are coated three to four times with black varnish. At the end of the preparation, the product is coated with light varnish: black surfaces once, and red internal ones - three times. After each operation with varnish, the products are dried well in the oven, and the last time for at least 12 hours. This long process of processing products for painting creates a durable and even tone on all its planes. In this form they go to the artist, who decorates them with his painting.

When the semi-finished products are ready, they are handed over to the artists. Paints in Palekh are diluted traditionally - using egg emulsion. In the old days, and subsequently in lacquer miniature, the artists prepared the paints themselves. They were made with egg yolk diluted with table vinegar or bread kvass(less often - beer or rainwater), and they were called “egg” or “yolk”. To do this, carefully separate the yolk from the white, since even an insignificant amount of it will interfere with the artist’s work (the white will hang on the brush and will not allow thin lines to be drawn). Egg They carefully broke it from the blunt end, leveled the hole, and released the protein through it. Then they rolled the yolk into the palm of their hand, washed the shell well and, having broken the film on the yolk, poured it back into the now clean shell, into which more vinegar was poured. Mix everything together well with a round spatula. The liquid prepared in this way is a solvent for dry paints. The egg yolk serves as a binder in it, and the vinegar turns the paint powder into a liquid mass and eats up the excess fat content of the yolk.

The painting of the product is carried out in several stages. First, the drawing is transferred onto it. To do this, the reverse side of the drawing is rubbed with dry chalk powder or whitewash with a finger; then the drawing is superimposed on the surface of the object and carefully translated with a finely sharpened pencil. To prevent the design from shifting or warping during translation, its upper corners can be temporarily glued to the surface of the object with some light glue. When the drawing is removed, a clear imprint remains on the surface of the object. The remaining white powder is brushed off with a quill pen so that the contours of the design remain clean.

The next stage is bleaching preparation, which is done so that the color of the paints on the varnish stays stronger. The artist, working on the composition, thinks about where and what tones to put, and according to this, the whitening preparation is done. The lightest places are prepared with thick white, tones of medium brightness - less thick, and darker ones - with liquid white; very dark places are left without bleaching preparation. It is melted cleanly and softly, without roughness, in strict accordance with the drawing. With properly performed bleaching preparation, the work looks like it is almost finished, done according to the principle of a light silhouette. Serious preparation with white helps to speed up the artist’s work in its further stages.

Next, the artist begins painting with paints - applying colored spots. For coating, as well as for preparing with white, use a medium-sharp brush. From the prepared paints, tones of different densities are compiled on a palette. One of the techniques of revealing is when all the elements of painting are revealed in a fluid manner, each with its own main tone. This technique reveals human clothing, animal figures and some other elements of painting. With such an opening, the evenness and transparency of the melt is maintained, while the revealed elements do not look like they were painted with pure paint, and each melt plays with a lively tone. When fluffed, it creates the impression of volume of the element. Since paints tend to settle (their light parts settle down, and the dark ones rise to the top of the melt), the larger the paint layer, the more dark particles of paint appear on the surface, and if the artist covers it unevenly with the melt, then the coating appears in dark spots. A well-versed artist knows how to use this property of paints. The opening of the heads and naked parts of the human body - sankir - is compiled according to the type chosen by the artist: it can be light yellow, for a tanned face - brownish, for a pale one - yellow-greenish, etc. The opening and sankir are made at the same time.

The next stage is painting - drawing in a dark tone all the contours and details: the contours of tree trunks and branches, the general shapes of leaves, mountain ledges, the pattern of waves, the contours and folds of human clothing, the contours of animals, buildings and their details, as well as all other elements compositions. For painting, a dark tone is made, in most cases from burnt umber, which is diluted with egg thinner, and then the painting is done with a sharp squirrel brush. The artist does the painting not with the same lines, but with soft, smooth, dark, living lines of different thicknesses and different strengths, thereby revealing the volumes of the images. It is important that the lines of the painting do not look separate from the roofing, but merge with it in the overall tone.

After painting, the shadow and light parts of all elements of the composition are fused with a medium-sharp brush in order to further emphasize the volume. The shadow parts are melted in tones somewhat darker than the cover, and on the light parts in tones somewhat lighter than it, so that the tone of each element looks more sonorous and more picturesque. The result is a play of several different tones, and the overall tone becomes more sonorous.

The subsequent final finishing of clothes, human figures and all landscape objects with paints aims to further enhance the conventional volume of all elements and give them completeness. On some clothes and human figures, gaps are made - most of them in gold, a smaller part in paint. The space with paints is applied on clothes, the most high places the human body (on the shoulders, chest, stomach, knees) or the body of an animal, which emphasizes their shape. The space is often done in three tones, consonant with the covering, painting and shadow fusion. The space has a main spot called the snare, from which there are strokes that emphasize the shape of the body parts. The first tone of the space is wider and slightly lighter than the flare, the second is somewhat lighter and narrower than the first, and the third tone, lighter, is made in one line, which emphasizes the second tone and is called the revitalization of the space. For a better sound, space bars are placed on warm tones with cold tones, and on cold ones with warm tones. All finishing with paints is done softly, does not break out of the tones of the overlay and fusion, organically connects with all the surrounding tones and gives completeness to the entire painting.

Next comes the smelting (registration with liquid paints) of the head. The melting is done in several stages with a medium-sharp brush. During the first melt (ohrenia), convex places on the face, neck, ears, arms, legs are melted in a flesh tone in such a way that it shines through the subsequent melts. After drying, the second melt follows - applying blush, composed of cinnabar, on the cheeks, brow ridges, end of the nose, lips, earlobes, on the bends of the fingers and toes, on the elbows, palms and knees. The third melt is when burnt umber melts the pupils of the eyes, eyebrows, mustaches, and dark hair. The fourth melt - the lining - is made up of ocher and cinnabar and is designed to combine all the previous melts with sankir, so that the light parts of the face and figure are shrouded in a light halftone. The tone of the fifth fusion - the fusion - is compiled according to the tone of the depicted face chosen by the artist. It should be applied so that the previous melts can be seen through it. Finally, the sixth and last step is the overlay of highlights. Next comes the final finishing of the heads and naked parts of the body with the restoration of the drawing - inventory. To do this, take a sharp brush, create a dark brown tone (from burnt umber) and use it to draw all the facial features with thin, lively lines. With these lines the artist reveals a certain image of a person, his psychological condition and character. At the same time, the hair on the head, beard, and mustache is combed in a tone slightly lighter than the applied highlights. The pupils of the eyes and eyelashes are marked with soot.

All that remains is to paint the entire work in gold and silver, but first it is necessary to secure all the work done with varnish. You cannot paint with gold on a loose painting: the paints absorb the gold. An object painted with paints is coated with copal varnish twice. Dry thoroughly after each coating. Before painting with gold, the varnish surface is rubbed with pumice until matte, since gold does not stick to the varnish. Pumice powder is brushed off the wiped surface with a goose feather.

Gold leaf is carefully crushed and rubbed with fingers. Gum arabic (transparent acacia resin) is used as a binder. Gold painting is also done with the finest brush. Sometimes silver or aluminum powder is used. Gaps with gold and aluminum are applied on clothes in those places where gaps in color are not applied: in dark tones - in gold, in light tones - in silver. They also make all the ornamental decorations. Gold and silver painting on miniatures is used in three types: “in bristles”, inoculation and ornamental painting.

In order for the gold applied to the product to acquire shine, it must be polished. A wolf tooth was used for this because it has a particularly smooth surface.

After the artist has signed the piece, it is varnished and dried, and then polished on a mechanical wheel covered in plush or velvet. The final finishing touches during polishing are done only by hand. The surface is covered with lard and treated for an hour with a palm moistened with water. From friction, the surface of the varnish heats up, becomes completely leveled and acquires a mirror shine.

Palekh painting, sparkling with semi-preciousness, seems to splash on the black surface of boxes, boxes, caskets, forming a colorful pattern covered with the finest golden touches and ornaments on clothes, trees, buildings. In the compositions, reality is intricately combined with fantasy. People, houses, trees, observed in real life, but depicted with special plastic acuity, coexist with fantastic “slides”, “chambers”, “trees”. Subject compositions on the top and side surfaces of objects they are decorated with thin gold ornaments of the most varied, never repeating patterns.