Who is not familiar with the Russian nesting doll! It has long become a symbol of Russia. Having once come to our country from Asia, she took root. Several folk painting styles have formed, and now there are many of its types of all sizes and shapes. In the nineties, when the attention of the whole world was riveted to Russia, it was the nesting doll that became a universal souvenir. What just did not depict the artists in its classic form! Russian beauties were replaced by politicians, heroes of popular films and books, family portraits.
Although the fashion for the Russian style has already passed, dolls are still painted and bought. Attention to this wooden folk toy does not fade away. Museums of Russian nesting dolls have been created in several cities of our country, the expositions of which include all types and directions of this art. Many local history museums store their own special painting options for nesting dolls. Handwork is always unique, and the brush of the famous master is immediately visible.
History
In any museum of nesting dolls you can hear a story about the appearance of the first detachable doll. Savva Mamontov invited famous painters to his Abramtsevo estate near Moscow to work on creating the Russian style in art. Russian household items were bought up, toys from other countries were written out. Anatoly Ivanovich, the brother of Savva, set before the handicraftsmen that they were making toys for his shop "Child Education", the task of creating a new, non-standard Russian toy.
Simultaneously with these events, a Japanese art exhibition was held in St. Petersburg. One of the exhibits was the god Fukurumu. According to legend, for the first time he was carved by a monk who had Russian roots. The figurine was collapsible and contained several smaller figures. It was she who was chosen as a prototype for creating a new Russian toy. The name "matryoshka" was taken on behalf of Matren. Like a large matron, burly and smiling, she keeps in herself children - cheerful healthy little girls.
In the Mamontov workshop, located in the center of Moscow, Vasily Zvezdochkin cut the first Matryona. Already formed at that time, the Russian style included images of roosters. Therefore, the artist Sergei Malyutin painted her as a girl with a rooster under her arm. Under this name, she went down in history. It happened in 1898, and two years later, at the Paris exhibition, it became a symbol of Russia. In the capital of France, a shop appeared, in which a batch of nesting dolls painted under the boyars went.
Moscow. Museums of nesting dolls
On the day of the centenary of the people's favorite, in 2000, the Fund for Folk Art Crafts decided to create the Museum of the Modern Nesting Doll. And the next year, at the place of the Mamontov workshops, in the Leontief lane of Moscow, a museum of nesting dolls was opened. It is impossible to give a description of it now, because, unfortunately, it is closed due to the emergency state of the building. But on his initiative, museums were created in other cities.
In the Moscow region there is a town, which is now called Sergiev Posad. He used to be called Zagorsk and was the birthplace of Zagorsk toys. In 2012, a museum of Russian nesting dolls was opened on the territory of the museum complex. He incorporated both exhibits of the Zagorsk Museum of Toys and dolls from private collections. Here you can see works from Moscow, Vyatka, Nizhny Novgorod.
Along with the author's works, factory models of the times of the USSR, made for propaganda purposes, are presented here.
Sergiev Posad Museum Complex. Reviews
The museum of Russian nesting dolls in Sergiev Posad occupies a small room, but there is enough information to spend time interestingly. The photo captures the stages of making the nesting doll and its painting. Many people like that a real artist sits and works in a corner. He paints a toy with visitors. You can watch his brush flutter for hours.
Some say that the museum’s working hours are too short. It’s strange, because for visitors the exhibition is open from ten to six. Apparently, such reviews aroused the desire to attend also a master class. The number of students is limited. It is better to think about this in advance and book an excursion with the ability to calmly paint the product, without rushing due to the approaching closing hour.
Monday at the museum is a day off. On Friday, the working day is shorter, and on Wednesday - longer. The last Friday of the month is a sanitary day. It’s sad if the trip gets on these days.
Polkhov-Maidan nesting doll
In the south of the Nizhny Novgorod region lies the village of Polkhovsky Maidan. Its inhabitants have long been working as woodcarvers, and since the 1920s they have been engaged in the artisanal production of nesting dolls. Many houses still have lathes. The masters arranged sales of blanks, a lot of Moscow takes. Moscow masters create works of art from unpainted toys. But the residents themselves paint "taratushek", as the dolls are called here.
It is easy to distinguish their original painting from all others even to lay people: bright “acidic” colors of roses and tulips on dresses, landscapes with small houses on aprons. Local artists write with aniline inks, highlighting the contours of the drawing with black ink. Through the varnish, the structure of the tree is visible. This style refers to the peasant primitive.
In 2004, the regional center, the working village of Voznesenskoye, opened the Matryoshka Museum.
Exposition "Polkhov-Maidan Matryoshka"
The Ascension Museum of Local Lore has given two rooms to the exposition. In one of them there is a recreated "work", as the turning workshop was called before. The manual drive for the machine is a two-meter wheel that twists the journeyman. Nearby is a foot-operated machine, which is driven by a master turner.
The next room is the kingdom of nesting dolls. There are figures in human height, with which you can take a picture. And less match head, which is considered through a magnifying glass.
The program of the visit, if desired, includes watching a film about local painting, tea with branded gingerbread cookies and a master class on painting his matryoshka.
Semenovsky Museum
The city of Semenov of the Nizhny Novgorod region is the birthplace of Khokhloma. The only factory in the country produces red and gold products. After celebrating the 100th anniversary of the nesting dolls, it was decided to open a museum here. Nesting dolls were collected for him from everywhere: samples of folk painting were sent from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the Semenovites themselves brought something.
Rare copies had to be redeemed. Prescribed some copies from Japan and Finland. For some reason, the faces of these foreigners are ascetic. And finally, in five years, a significant collection has gathered. Most of the exhibits were produced at the Semenov factory. Each artist’s hand-painted painting has its own style, it can even be determined by the expression on the faces of the pupae.
Traditional Semenov matryoshkas are distinguished by bright colors and the obligatory large flower on the apron. They paint them with aniline paints, but, unlike Polkhov-Maidan painting, they are very neat and without an abundance of black sketches.
The stand with story matryoshkas attracts visitors most of all. These are the heroes of fairy tales, as well as peasants of various professions - astronauts, riot police, firefighters.
Interesting Facts
In each museum of nesting dolls, the guide shares the following information:
- The largest Zagora doll was 60-seat.
- In Semenov, the factory continued to produce toys during the war years. And their expression is sad, although the dresses are bright.
- To the centennial of V.I. Lenin, a 72-seat nesting doll was created in Semenov. She went to an exhibition in Japan and got lost in a private collection there. They are still looking for her, they want to redeem for the exhibition.
- On the 100th anniversary of the victory in the war of 1812, Matryoshka Kutuzov and Napoleon were released with military leaders inside.
- For the inauguration of Bill Clinton in Sergiev Posad, a batch of five-seater matryoshka was ordered with a portrait of the US president and his associates inside.
