Volkhov painting movement

Subject / Art/Art trades and crafts
VOLKHOV TOWN PAINTING SCHOOL. Traditions of wood painting are typical for the folklore decorative handicraft developed in the settlements situated in Ladoga Lake area. In St.Petersburg Gubernia the most famous was Volkhov Town Painting School originated and spread along the banks of the Volkhov River. Its first and the most studied samples are spinning wheels. Early items were decorated with labour-consuming carving; soot, mixed with river bank clay and fixed with larch tar and water solution, was used as a paint. Since the beginning of the XIX c. glue paint over chalk grounding covered with flax-seed varnish or lacquer was used. This technique enabled to create more picturesque and brighter paintings. Two kinds of spinning wheels painted with the help of this technique are known as: "Zolochenky" ("Gilded") and "Krashenky" ("Painted"). The first ones usually had wide gilded stripes along the edge of the blade with a floral ornament in the middle; they were especially valuable due to the inscriptions of their owners' names. The second kind of spinning wheels were notable particularly for their elegant shape and unusual decorative painting. The painting clearly depicted the symbols of nature elements – the earth, the water and the sky. Volkhov Town Painting School reached its peak of flourishing in the middle of the XIX c. In the second half of the ХХ c. a small manufacture of kitchen utensils existed in Volkhov Town. In 1968 Leningrad Association of Decorative Handicraft Industry was formed and a workshop for decorative wood processing was opened as one of its departments. Volkhov Town workshop started to produce wooden goods with traditional and modern painting – colourful caskets, handboards, trays, shelves, Easter eggs, etc. The basis for Volkhov Town painting recreation was the State Russian Museum collection of spinning wheels. Subsequently the painting was constructively revised by the masters – they created new elements (birds, fruit, fish), modern compositions and used wider diversity of colours. Pieces of art made by Volkhov Town masters of painting (among them: Chicherina L.P., Tokareva Y.S., But M.P., Lytkina V.N. ) gained recognition at Russian and international exhibitions. During the last years Volkhov Town painting has been taught and developed at Art schools in the Leningrad Oblast, at Russian Traditional Culture Lyceum (St.Petersburg). The unique samples of Volkhov Town Painting School are displayed in the State Russian Museum, Volkhov Town History Museum, Volkhov Town Arts Museum. Kisilev, Vladimir Ivanovich
But, M.P.
Chicherina, Lidiya Petrovna
Lytkina, Vera Nikolaevna
Tokareva, Yekaterina Sergeyevna
Topographical landmarks/Ladoga Lake
Historical Toponyms/Saint Petersburg Gubernia, the
Topographical landmarks/Volkhov River, the
Leningrad Oblast, the/Volkhov District/Volkhov Town
Покровский Б.Н. Волховская роспись по дереву // Личность и культура. 2001. №3/4., 56-58
Волховская роспись. URL: http://b1502029.narod.ru/St3.htm, 56-58
Nuseum of Volkhov Town History, the
Volkhov Art Museum, the