What are the paintings on the dishes? Styles of Russian painting (20 photos)

Plate painting is one of the oldest occupations that has survived to this day. Previously, shelves in sideboards and walls were decorated with such items. They were passed down from generation to generation. Also relevant today. They will be an excellent decor item for a kitchen or dining room, and you can involve your children in the process of creating a masterpiece.

Technology features

Painting a plate is not such a simple matter. To obtain a real masterpiece, professionals take special courses, where all the subtleties of this skill are revealed. But absolutely everyone can know it. It is only necessary to take into account some of the nuances regarding such a process as painting plates.

The drawing technique is correct selection tools and materials. The most important item here are decorative plates. Painting can decorate ceramics, porcelain, glass, wood. The main thing is that they should not have a factory pattern.

You can create a pattern using the following tools:

  • water, acrylic. The latter are the most popular, as they are the most common, and even a child can work with them.
  • Felt-tip pens (special indelible).

Brushes are most often used thin. But it all depends on the drawing. Sometimes you need several types of brushes - from the thinnest to the lushest.

In case your drawing doesn't work out, you should have paint remover on hand.

Types of painting

Plate painting is a whole art! There are many types of techniques:

  • Tiffany - allows you to achieve the effect of a three-dimensional pattern.
  • Khokhloma is a fairly well-known painting. Patterns are made in black-red-gold colors.
  • Dot - drawing is created using dots.
  • Gzhel - simple lines, drops, nets, flowers. Everything is done in blue tones on a white background.
  • Labels are just words, phrases, lines, and so on.
  • Geometric patterns - drawings consisting of various lines and shapes.
  • Whole composition (landscape, still life).

Of course, that's not all. There are also other types of painting, most of which came from ancient times. But we have listed the most popular ones.

Operating procedure

Regardless of the degree of complexity of the drawing, there is a generally accepted sequence of actions:

  1. The painted plate is degreased with alcohol or window cleaner.
  2. A primer is applied so that the paint adheres better to the surface.
  3. A sketch of the drawing is prepared on plain paper.
  4. The pattern is transferred to the surface of the plate. How this happens depends on the technique of application and the style of the image.
  5. Attention is paid to the elaboration of details (for example, the contour is being drawn).
  6. The plate is dried for 24 hours in the open air or in the oven from 40 to 60 minutes.

simple geometric pattern

Perhaps the simplest and fast way paint a plate - use paint and masking tape. Thanks to simple manipulations, you can get a bright decor.

So, prepare the plate for painting (clean it and degrease it). Then take masking tape and stick the strips on the surface. Where we have adhesive tape, the plate will not be painted, keep this in mind. Drawing can be varied. Usually zigzags are created in this way.

Now paint over the entire plate with bright paint. For this work, you will need to take a magnificent brush, as it will quickly cope with the task. Let the paint dry a bit and then remove the tape. Now you can dry the plate.

Finger painting with kids

It's a great idea to paint the plate with the kids. To do this, you do not need to look for and come up with special pictures. You can simply immortalize your child's fingerprints.

First, prepare the surface of the plate. Then take brown paint and draw the trunk and branches of the tree. Then take a regular sponge and smear its surface with some kind of paint. Now gently touch the washcloth with your fingertips, and then leave an imprint on the plates. Fingerprints will serve as leaflets.

By the way, in this way you can collect the fingerprints of friends and relatives at the wedding as a keepsake.

Silhouette and ornament

Simply and tastefully decorate the dishes will help painting the plate. You can do this in the following way:

  1. Prepare your plate for work.
  2. Take a thin brush and draw the silhouette of an animal at the bottom (for example, a hare, a bear, a dog, and so on). Do not make the outline clear, for this, dilute the paint a little with water on the palette.
  3. Then take the thinnest brush and draw a pair of arcs from the silhouette. Draw leaves and flowers on them using lines or dots. For plants, choose contrasting colors.
  4. Dry your work.

In such a simple way, you can create a whole series: on one plate there will be an image of a hare, on the other - a fox, on the third - a wolf, and so on. The whole essence of the work lies in the simplicity of lines and play on contrasts. With the help of small bright details, a playful mood is created, and the overall palette does not strain the eyesight.

Careless forethought

Such work looks like it took five minutes at most, and it is the result of someone's negligence. In fact, the presented painting of plates with paints is also the fruit of the effort and imagination. To work, you will need liquid paints, a brush, an old toothbrush and rubber gloves.

Dip the brush into the paint container and bring it to the plate. Start placing chaotic drops on the prepared surface. No need to build a clear sequence - first smooth and small, then large with wavy edges. Let all the drops be uneven and different in size. Put them in different places. It is worth mentioning here that the paint should drip from the brush on its own, so pick it up without sparing.

Then dip your finger into the paint. Walk them along the edges of the plate, making a border. An old toothbrush will help finish the pattern. Dip it lightly in the paint, and then run your finger along the bristles, pointing your "tool" at the plate. Dry the pattern.

Bitmap without pattern

Dot drawings are quite a fun activity. And at the same time - a long and painstaking work. But the result is always worth the effort.

Plates with acrylic paints can be made using a template and without it. Let's look at the second option first. It is used for simple patterns, while the former is used for more complex and intricate ones.

A bitmap assumes that the picture will be drawn not with lines, but with dots that are located next to each other. You can make such a painting both with paints and a brush with a pointed end, and with markers.

First, as always, you need to prepare the surface of the plate. Then the future drawing is thought out. You can take any picture as a basis, but it’s easier to do it in this technique. Then the paint is applied to a palette or a piece of paper. The material is taken on the brush very carefully. Excess paint must be removed.

Then the magic begins. With a brush, gently touch the surface of the plate. If this is not done, smears will be obtained. A drawing is made up of dots. You need to work slowly, trying to make the drops the same size. Thus, the entire pattern is applied. By the way, you need to work from top to bottom so as not to accidentally smear the drawing.

Depending on the idea, the dots can be of different colors and diameters. But the picture must be clear. Therefore, lines related to one element (for example, the core of a flower) are made in the same shade and with dots of the same diameter.

Bitmap by pattern

From the first time it may seem that making a painting according to a template is very simple. Actually it is not. First you need to prepare this very template. To do this, you can use ready-made pictures or make an illustration yourself. Insofar as bitmap does not involve painting over, then the template on paper is made only in outline (for example, a flower will be depicted only with the help of petals). By the way, in the case of a paper layout, you can only decorate a transparent plate.

So, prepare the surface for work. Then cut out the template along the extreme contour. Now glue the paper to the back of the plate with or tape. Get your paints and brushes ready. Now you can start drawing. Place dots at the top of the outline. Start working, as in the previous case, from above, so that the drawing is not smeared.

When the work is ready, let the plate dry a little. Then carefully remove the template. If desired, the reverse side can be painted over, thereby giving a background to your pattern.

Some more ideas

Do-it-yourself painting of plates is a fascinating activity. In the process of creating one craft, an idea often arises for the next.

Here is just a small part of the possible design of plates:

  • With the help of thin wavy lines, you can make not just patterns, but whole drawings. Just draw the inner part of the silhouette not with solid strokes, but with curlicues.
  • From the plates you can collect words. Each saucer is one letter. It must be placed in the center. The space around the letter can be decorated with small patterns (for example, floral).
  • Original painting - muzzle. It is enough just to draw the eyes, nose, mouth and cheeks. The rest can be covered with some kind of solid pattern.
  • Plant motifs are always relevant. Flowers and plants can be drawn different ways: filling the entire space of the plate or just the outline, strokes, dots, solid color, strokes and so on.
  • You can also make a special painting for each holiday. So, for example, for the New Year, plates with snowmen, Christmas trees and Santa Claus will be appropriate, for Halloween - pumpkins, for Easter - painted eggs, Easter cakes, by March 8 - a branch of mimosa.

Painting plates is a useful and exciting activity. Possibility to give unique and beautiful view a faceless plate captures, and the result touches. Decorating plates on your own is a painstaking task that requires perseverance, patience, but also calms and relaxes. You can do plate painting with your children on cold winter evenings.

How did the plates get on the wall

Until the middle of the 18th century, Chinese porcelain could only be found in royal palaces; wooden and pewter utensils. Together with the unraveling of the secret of Chinese potters, the era of ceramic tableware began in Europe.

Unpretentious clay plates became available to many, but beautiful porcelain products were still considered a symbol of luxury and were found only in the homes of wealthy aristocrats. fine porcelain services were considered as decorative elements of the interior: furniture shelves and walls were decorated with them.

The tradition of awarding distinguished public service subjects with porcelain plates became the reason for collecting and hanging them on the wall for all to see. Eating from a plate obtained from the sovereign's hands was not accepted. For high state award was given a place of honor on the wall. The number of award plates on the "board of honor" testified to the merits and rank of the owner of the house.

Painting plates - a commercial move and the beginning of the "plate interior"

Commercial flair helped the French company "Lalique" to feel the consumer interest in beautiful porcelain products as a decorative item. In the middle of the 19th century, the first copies appeared on the European market. collectible plates distinguished by elegance and beauty. Original products amazed high quality finest porcelain and filigree decoration.

decorative plates decorated with carefully traced miniatures, landscapes, pastoral pictures, portraits. Plates from "Lalique" in the interior have replaced the award plates that have gone into the past. For almost two centuries, decorative plates in the interior have been a symbol of refined taste. In modern applied arts fantasy genres, surreal motifs and marineism are often used.

Ways to place plates in the interior

Collectible plates adorned the walls of the living room, dining room, kitchen. For secure mounting on the wall, special hanging hooks were used. Hooks - the most common way fixing plates to the wall. If the collection is quite extensive, then it is better to use a special display. To date, the placement of plates in displays is considered the most reliable way. An expensive collectible plate is firmly fixed to the wall, which prevents it from falling.

For the kitchen interior it is recommended to use console shelves. The wall console, which is a wooden panel with rails-holders, is a traditional attribute of the interior of Western European cuisine. Ceramic plates with painting are appropriate in the interior dining-kitchen in Provence style.

Plates with painting can be placed on the fireplace, in a niche, in a cabinet with glass doors, on a chest of drawers or on a windowsill. In such cases, the plate is placed in a vertical position using a table-top holder. There are several ways to make fasteners for plates with your own hands: using paper clips, canning rings, epoxy glue. But it is better to use fasteners industrial production- an expensive collectible or favorite painted plate should be firmly attached to the wall.

Do-it-yourself painting of plates

Do-it-yourself painting of plates- This is a popular and beloved activity by many. Any creativity brings pleasure, painting also brings a lot of pleasant emotions. The whole process, starting with thinking through the drawing and decor elements, directly painting, firing, varnishing, as well as the result of the work and the emotions of loved ones who received exclusive gift will bring you great joy.

Painting plates with acrylic paints: the process is not as terrible as it is painted

Versatile and environmentally friendly in composition acrylic paint great for painting plates. Acrylic paint consists of a pigment, water and a binder, which ensures its high adhesion (indicator of adhesion of the paint to the surface). A wide range of acrylic paints of various colors and shades is presented in hardware stores. Paints for gold, silver, copper, bronze allow you to decorate plates and give them various effects: glitter, shimmer and tint.

The sequence of works on painting plates with acrylic paints as follows:

  • Careful degreasing the surface of the plate with alcohol or acetone.
  • drawing. Fantasy and exclusive are welcome. Acrylic paint dries within 4 hours. If the painting was used gold paint drying can take up to a week.
  • Covering the image with acrylic varnish. The varnish is applied in several layers, and each new layer - only after the previous one has dried. Applying varnish with a brush can smear the design, so it is recommended to use spray varnish.
  • Plate firing in the oven or microwave. The plate must be placed in a cold oven, heated to 170 °, stand for 30 minutes and removed from the oven after cooling.

Point-to-Point - dot painting of plates

dot painting suitable for those who do not differ in the ability to draw and think that they are able to decorate the plate only with a “blue border”. Do not be discouraged, the dot painting technique is just a combination of many multi-colored borders!

The plate for spot painting is degreased, but before applying contour drawing the surface of the dishes is primed with black acrylic paint, after drying it is covered with a matte varnish. The decor of the plate must be carried out in two stages: first, the center is formed, then the rim part. In the central part of the plate, the contour of the main drawing is applied, along the border - decorative lines.

Bitmap - string of small beads from paint - applied using an acrylic contour. A special tube with a thin tip allows you to squeeze out the right amount of paint and accurately place the dot on the surface of the plate. Excess paint must be removed and the drawing corrected. From clear lines, alternation of color and size of dots, amazingly beautiful drawings are obtained, and the plate itself turns into a real one. piece of art.

Children's creativity in the children's room

Special sets for artistic creativity . The kit includes a convenient for coloring: a white plate, acrylic paints, brushes, sponge, templates, contour paints, a felt-tip pen - designed for painting and designed for a child's hand.

The drawing template is superimposed on a plate and filled with bright colors with a sponge, a felt-tip pen or a brush, the drawing is drawn up with a contour line. At the final stage, adults can help the child and make the necessary adjustments to the painting. Sticks to a painted plate Double-sided tape and a special hook is attached. It is not necessary to paint a plate according to the proposed stencil; unique patterns of painted plates are created by a violent child's imagination.

The technique of applying the image with the palm and fingers allows you to get original drawings and at the same time capture children's hands as a keepsake. The wall of the children's room, decorated with several plates, looks original, bright and unusual. Best gift for grandparents painted by children's hands souvenir plate.

Do-it-yourself plate painting - a master class offers to get acquainted with various ways of decorating dishes and will interest creative people who love to draw and decorate their home with homemade crafts. Decorative dishes can become an original decoration, for example, in the kitchen. To create it, it is not necessary to buy a special one, you can take an old or unnecessary plain plate and start being creative.

For painting plates used for their intended purpose, it is better to use baked or special paints for food utensils.

Easy lesson

Painting plates in any style is best done with acrylic paints, as they are the most resistant to external influences - water, sunlight, dust. In addition, it is convenient to work with them, since they resemble gouache in consistency and do not require additional means for dilution and special brushes (for example, compared to oil and tempera).

To fix the paint and maintain brightness for a long time, it is recommended to cover the finished product on top with a special colorless acrylic varnish.

Painting a ceramic plate can be done with different techniques, it all depends on the skills, imagination and desire of the author.

Beginners and insecure craftsmen are advised to use stencils for accurately applying patterns. They can be downloaded, printed and cut out, or purchased from craft stores. Painting in this technique can be done both with paints using a brush or a cotton swab, and with the help of a special marker.

This technique is well suited for children, as it does not require special skills in drawing. All that is needed is to fix a stencil picture on the plate, for example, with adhesive tape, and paint over the “empty” places.


A simple but elegant painting - dotted - is done with contour paints, which are sold in tubes and do not require dilution. The tubes are equipped with spouts, which makes it much easier to apply dots and fine lines.

For painting in dot technique you will need:

  • plain ceramic plate (preferably white);
  • degreaser (alcohol, nail polish remover);
  • contour paints;
  • sample;
  • carbon paper or soft pencil;
  • brushes;
  • palette;
  • acrylic lacquer.

Working process:

  1. Wipe the plate with alcohol or other means. To do this, you can use a cotton pad;

  1. Using carbon paper, transfer the drawing to the dishes. To do this, combine it with a carbon paper, fix it on a plate and circle the lines with a pencil. You can also make a homemade carbon copy by painting over the back of the picture;

  1. Pressing on the tube, apply with a contour at equal distances points. Their diameter depends on the pressing force. As a rule, first large dots are made on the main lines (large details), and then small ones. The result should be patterned "lines" consisting of dots;

  1. After the pattern is completed, the product must be dried naturally for 24 hours. If desired, the finished painted plate can be varnished.

Both ceramics and glass are well suited for such painting. You can pre-paint the plate with paints, make a background or draw a plot picture, and then further process the lines with contour paints, highlighting the necessary details.

Drawing on glass plate it is more convenient to fix with adhesive tape on the outside or inside, depending on the purpose of the dishes.

If the plate is going to be used as a decoration, then the paint application side does not matter. To use the plate for its intended purpose, it is better to apply paint from the outside and fix the picture from the inside.

Wooden plates are also painted with acrylic and then varnished. As a rule, they do not eat from such dishes, so they can be an excellent wall decoration, and can also be used for fruits (painted wooden dishes).

Perhaps, many associate wooden utensils - plates and spoons - with folk painting, for example, Khokhloma or Gorodets. Mastering folk painting is not difficult. The main thing is to understand the basic principle of each painting, its "zest".

Ancient technique

Khokhloma painting can cover not only plates, but also bowls and boxes.

It is necessary to prepare:

  • wooden plate;
  • Khokhloma pattern;
  • golden, black, red paint;
  • brushes;
  • sandpaper;
  • pencil;

Working process:

  1. Sand the surface of the plate and cover it with golden or black paint;
  1. Transfer the pattern with patterns to a plate (it should turn out like in the photo below);


  1. Based on the sample, paint the drawing with black and red paint with a thin brush;

Ceramics and utensils are an important part of the kitchen interior and their appearance really has great importance in shaping your mood. Agree, breakfast will be much more pleasant if it is served in pretty painted plates or cups.

Let's take a look at a few tutorials for beginners that will help you transform your ordinary plain plates into small DIY works of art using acrylic paints.

We will look at 3 basic techniques for painting ceramics with acrylics: plates, cups and mugs through a stencil, as well as a beautiful combination of marker and paint.

About - we talked about in this article!

How to hang 6 ways

  1. Once you have finished using the ceramic marker, close it with a lid, even if it is a small break in work. The tip can become clogged, and this can be avoided.
  2. Store markers in a horizontal position.
  3. It is important to put dishes in an unheated oven and heat up, when she's already there. Otherwise, it may crack from a sharp temperature drop.
  4. Acrylic translucent paints, so they are best used on white or light porcelain.
  5. If you want the paint to become less transparent, mix it with white.

Acrylic paint is resistant to washing (both manual and dishwasher) and microwave oven.

Please note that this paint is non-toxic. However, we do not recommend using it on surfaces that come into direct contact with food.

Master class number 1: black acrylic painting on a white plate

For this master class, you do not need a lot of acrylic paints, just one color is enough. But ceramics painted in this way will not look less impressive.

Materials:

  • cups, ceramic plates, saucers (it is best to use porcelain or faience),
  • tassel,
  • black acrylic paint Pebeo Porcelaine 150 (or equivalent),
  • damp cloth or towel.

Painting technology:

  1. At first practice drawing on paper so as not to edit the dishes once again. But if there is a mistake on the dishes, it can be corrected with a damp cloth.
  2. Draw a picture on the dishes. It can be flowers, stars, polka dots, small lines, or anything else that comes to your mind.
  3. Translucent paint, so for a clearer drawing, apply more than one layer.
  4. Leave dry for 24 hours.
  5. After this time, set dishes in a cool oven, set the temperature to 150 ° C. Once the oven has reached the set temperature, leave to bake.
  6. When the time has elapsed, turn off the oven and allow the dishes to cool before removing.
  7. The result is beautiful dishes that only you have!

Master class number 2: painting mugs and cups with acrylic paint

A fairly simple drawing will be used here, which does not require special artistic skills, so all you need is desire, materials and a little time.

Materials:

  • white cup (mug) and saucer (ceramic or porcelain),
  • marker Pebeo Porcelaine 150,
  • several colors of acrylic paints (blue, sapphire, white, rainbow colors),
  • one or two brushes
  • palette for mixing paints (you can use a plate),
  • a few cotton swabs (to correct mistakes),
  • alcohol or glass cleaner, ordinary kitchen stove.

Painting technology:

  1. First you need alcohol or window cleaner clean ceramics and dishes from fingerprints or grease.
  2. We draw on the cup and saucer (except for the center of the saucer where the cup is placed) raindrops, that is, their contours. Draw a rainbow in the center of the saucer.
  3. Thus, it turns out that when the cup is on the saucer, the rainbow will not be visible, but when the cup is lifted from the saucer for tea drinking, there will be a pleasant little surprise, iridescent in the literal and figurative sense of the word. Remember that the paint dries in 5-10 seconds.

TIP: If you have never used a marker before, you need to get the paint to start flowing out of it. To do this, you need to shake it for about 30 seconds, and then press the tip onto a sheet of paper until the paint starts to flow. Once the paint has gone, you can start painting.

  1. Take a medium size brush to paint the raindrops. Use blue paint. You can paint right away with the paint that is in the bottle, or you can add a little water so that the color is not so saturated. Do not shake the paint, this can create bubbles that will reduce the quality of the drawing.


If you got out a little beyond the contours and the paint has not dried yet, this can be corrected with a cotton swab or napkin. If the paint is already dry, first moisten a cotton swab with alcohol, and only then correct the mistake. If a big mistake was made during painting and you want to start over, then rinse dishes under warm water or wipe with alcohol and let it dry well before starting again.

  1. These paints mix well with each other, so you can paint some of the droplets with blue, then mix with sapphire and paint the rest. You can paint a part with just paint, and often with paint mixed with water.
  2. It is important to wash and wipe the brush well when switching to each new color of paint.


  1. After you finish the raindrops, move on to the rainbow. To do this, use a very thin brush so that the drawing is neat and does not crawl out of the contours.
  2. Remember that green can be obtained by mixing yellow and blue, and orange can be obtained by mixing red and yellow.
  3. The drawing is already finished, but this dish is not yet ready for use. Leave to dry for 24 hours.
  4. After this time, put the dishes in a cool oven, set the temperature to 150 ° C. When the oven warms up to the set temperature, set a timer for 30 minutes and leave to bake. When the time has elapsed, turn off the oven and allow the dishes to cool before removing.
  5. Now that's all. You can enjoy your tea!

In general, with the help of the same tools, you can draw any other drawing that appears in your imagination.

Master class number 3: Stenciling a plate

If you are worried that you will not be able to immediately take and draw something on a plate, then a stencil can help you. It is also useful if you want to make a set of dishes from several identical plates or cups, then the stencil will help save time and achieve identity.

In this method, it is worth knowing one trick: the stencil must be removed before the paint begins to dry, since then it can be removed with part of the paint.

Materials:

  • porcelain, ceramic or even paper plates,
  • acrylic paint,
  • stationery knife,
  • contact paper for stencil,
  • brushes,
  • oven.

Manufacturing steps:

  1. You can draw stencils yourself or you can take already finished drawings and print them on contact paper.
  2. Lay the patterned contact paper on the plate.
  3. Carefully cut out the pattern with a utility knife.
  4. Using a brush, apply paint to the plate inside the stencil. If you have mixed paints from different colors, make sure you get enough paint for all the plates so that they are all the same.

  1. Leave to dry for 24 hours.
  2. After this time, put the dishes in a cool oven, set the temperature to 150° C.
  3. When the oven reaches the set temperature, set the timer for 30 minutes and leave to bake. When the time has elapsed, turn off the oven and allow the dishes to cool before removing.


The set of dishes is ready!

All dishes painted with these paints can be used for food. But it can also be used in decorating rooms. Either way, she's beautiful and unique!

Ideas for painting ceramics

Below are some ideas and drawings for decoration. ceramic dishes and inspiration. Such plates handmade is, Birthday or Valentine's Day.






Stencils for painting

The easiest way to paint is, of course, a stencil. If you really don’t know how to draw at all or don’t like to draw, we take a ready-made drawing, print it out, cut it out and attach it to a plate with adhesive tape. We paint in the desired color.

Here are the most simple and popular stencils for plates.

Publications in the Traditions section

Riddles of patterns of Russian paintings

Have Gzhel dishes always been blue and white, what traditional painting was born after the October Revolution, and why do the painted caskets glow? We understand the secrets of folk art crafts.

Golden bowls. Khokhloma painting

Golden bowls. Khokhloma painting

Golden bowls. Khokhloma painting

The master began his work by beating the buckets - he prepared wooden blocks (buckles) from linden, aspen or birch. They made wooden spoons and ladles, cups and salt shakers from them. The dishes not yet decorated with painting were called linen. The linen was primed and dried several times, and then painted in yellow, red and black tones. Floral ornaments, flowers, berries, lace twigs were popular motifs. forest birds on Khokhloma dishes, they reminded the peasants of the Firebird from Russian fairy tales, they said: “The Firebird flew past the house and touched the bowl with its wing, and the bowl became golden”.

After drawing the pattern, the products were covered with drying oil two or three times, tin or aluminum powder was rubbed into the surface and dried in an oven. After hardening with heat, they acquired a honey hue and really shone like gold.

At the beginning of the 18th century, dishes began to be brought to the Makariev Fair, where sellers and buyers from all over Russia gathered. Khokhloma products were known throughout the country. Since the 19th century, when Nizhny Novgorod Fair guests began to arrive from all over Europe and Asia, painted dishes appeared in many parts of the world. Russian merchants sold products in India and Turkey.

Snowy background and blue patterns. gzhel

Snowy background and blue patterns. Gzhel. Photo: rusnardom.ru

Snowy background and blue patterns. Gzhel. Photo: gzhel-spb.ru

Snowy background and blue patterns. Gzhel. Photo: Sergey Lavrentiev / Photobank Lori

Gzhel clay has been known since the time of Ivan Kalita - from the 14th century. Local craftsmen used it to create "vessels for apothecary's needs", dishes and children's toys. At the beginning of the 19th century, factories appeared in the Gzhel volost, where porcelain was made. The first enterprise here was founded in 1810 by the merchant Pavel Kulichkov. At first, painting on porcelain dishes was colored, but in the middle of the 19th century, the fashion for white and blue Dutch tiles and Chinese porcelain of the same shades came to Russia. Soon, blue patterns on a snowy background became a hallmark of Gzhel painting.

To check the quality of porcelain, before painting, the product was dipped in fuchsin - red aniline paint. Porcelain was painted in an even pink color, and any crack was noticeable on it. Masters painted with cobalt paint - before firing it looks black. With the help of special techniques, working only with a brush and paint, the artists created more than 20 shades of blue.

Gzhel plots are lush roses (they were called "agashki" here), winter landscapes, scenes from folk tales. Children go sledding, Emelya catches pike in the pond, country people celebrating Maslenitsa ... After drawing the picture, the dishes were covered with glaze and fired. Pink products with black patterns acquired their traditional look.

Luminous brooches and jewelry boxes. Fedoskino lacquer miniature

Luminous brooches and jewelry boxes. Fedoskino lacquer miniature

Luminous brooches and jewelry boxes. Fedoskino lacquer miniature

“When we organized the artel, we had only one collection of Pushkin’s works for seven people ... This largely explains the fact that we wrote most of our miniatures on Pushkin’s stories.”

Alexander Kotukhin, miniaturist

In 1932, Palekh artists met with Maxim Gorky, who called the Palekh lacquer miniature "one of the miracles created by the October Revolution". At his request, Ivan Golikov drew miniatures for the deluxe edition