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KHOKHLOMA ARTS To buy Khokhloma items click here The North of the Nizhni Novgorod province is a bountiful land. Villages and small hamlets are hiding in the forests or lurking near the streams. The lands beyond the Volga made a major contribution to the Russian history, it is a country of many legends. The deep forests around the ancient town of Semenov gave shelter to the Old Believers hermits hiding from the persecution of the official Moscow Orthodox Church and preserving ancient Russian cultural customs that had gradually expired elsewhere in Russia.  Another
ancient town on the Volga is Gorodets, one of the major strongholds of
the Suzdal Principality of medieval Russia which grew to become a major
Volga navigation hub and a center of crafts and trading. The folk arts
and folklore flourished in the Trans-Volga area of the Nizhni Novgorod
province. No other territory in Russia could equal it in the number and
originality of the folk arts and crafts that had sprang to life and were
developed in the local communities. Even today in the villages beyond
the Volga one can see wooden houses richly decorated with wood carvings
depicting amiable lions guarding the homesteads and sly pixies hiding in
intricately twisting tree branches. The Khokhloma painting on wooden articles is, perhaps, the one type of Nizhni Novgorod folk craft that became most popular in Russia and foreign countries. The Khokhloma Russian handicraft became known as early as the 18th century. The Russian handicraft of manufacturing wooden utensils with peculiar decorative painting imitating gilding received the appellation of Khokhloma art from one of the villages where it originally had been practiced in ancient times and which grew to become a trading post to which the local craftsmen brought their wares for sale starting from the 18th century. Customers highly valued the light and strong Khokhloma cups, dishes, and other household utensils, which were handy for the household chores and beautiful to look at Their classic time-tested shapes, exquisite flower and plant ornaments painted in festive yet serene colors and combinations of a deep black background, the cinnabar vermilion, and the gilding glittering under a varnish layer made the wooden utensils in modest village kitchens look like precious-metal plates and dishes in noblemen's houses. The lush "grass-leaves" decorative ornaments and their peculiar color scheme suggest that the Khokhloma art is rooted in the ancient Russian decorative culture while the imitation of gilt ornaments on wood dates back to the medieval Russian handicraft skills. The painting technique has been somewhat upgraded but remains essentially the same as in the ancient time. The gilding effect is produced by means of the following process. The walls of the wooden containers are first primed with clay in water, impregnated with boiled linseed oil, and dusted with aluminum powder (tin powder was used in the 18th — 19th centuries). The silvery-looking surface is painted over, the article is varnished and heated in a special oven. The varnish acquires a yellowish tint with heating and the silvery ornaments under the amber-colored varnish layer look gilded.  It is traditionally believed
that the Khokhloma Russian handicraft was originated by the Old
Believers in the Semenov district. There exists evidence suggested that
the Volga craftsmen could have learned how to emulate gilding on the
wooden articles from one of the fugitive Moscow icon painters known from
the Old Believer legends, however, the Nizhni Novgorod artisans employed
a technique for painting the wooden utensils which was similar to the
art historians date back the origin of the Khokhloma painting style to
the 17th century.The Khokhloma dishes, cups and wooden drink pots were used for serving food at holiday feasts. The wooden articles manufactured by serfs for the use at the Moscow house of an important statesman had to look valuable; accordingly, they were modeled on the rich painted plates decorated with real golden fabricated by the jewelers for the luxurious homes of the Russian nobility. The Khokhloma style generally exhibits a combination of the red, gold, and black typical of the decorative painting of that region in late 17th century and first half of the 18th century. The three colors had a profound symbolism for decorating the sacred church vessels and the dishes and cups used in the monasteries and nunneries, as well as in icon ornaments. The red color represented the beauty, the gold color symbolized the spiritual heavenly light, while the black color signified the gracious grief cleansing the human soul. There were other sources of inspiration that shaped the painting style of the Khokhloma craftsmen, such as the precious ornamental fabrics and prints, embossed ornaments on the silver sacred vessels, and the decorative cases of manuscripts and icons. Having learned the artistic skills and styles developed by the Volga artisans in other decorative art contexts, the Khokhloma craftsmen adapted them for the purpose of mass production of folk art articles for the expanding market. In the Khokhloma art, as in the folk poetry, the plant images are endowed with a special meaning and the blooming plants symbolized the intensely invigorating power of the nature. The Khokhloma art evolved in the mainstream of the folk art of the Volga region and was influenced by other folk arts and crafts. New ornamental styles emerged in the Khokhloma painting in mid-19th century as the Khokhloma craftsmen adopted and reworked the motifs they found in the wood carving decorating houses, the gold embroideries, and the peculiar style of painting on the wooden articles manufactured near the town of Gorodets. CAPITAL OF THE KHOKHLOMA INDUSTRY  The town of Semenov is
famous for the skilful craftsmen who lived there in the last three
centuries. Even in our days a visitor can see in its streets many wooden
houses decorated with intricately sawn and carved wooden ornaments
around window frames and doorways, and on the chimney tops, and carved
wooden weathercocks on the roofs. The town retains the traditional
homely appearance of small Russian towns while serving as a major center
of the Russian folk arts and crafts. The output of the gilded dishes and
cups and painted furniture pieces has expanded considerably. The arts
and crafts company "The Khokhloma Ornaments" currently has
about fifteen hundred employees. The company employs about six hundred
artists painting the articles, wood turners and carvers, spoon and cup
makers, furniture designers, and the specialists who have mastered the
secrets of the traditional Khokhloma color recipes and are developing
the most advanced know-how in the Khokhloma painting techniques and
materials.The variety of the Khokhloma articles currently manufactured in Semenov is wider than ever as about one thousand types of articles are regularly produced. Some of the Khokhloma articles are sold directly as souvenirs or decorative objects. Many have everyday household uses, such as dishes, cups, plates, salt cellars and set of kitchen utensils and dishes for serving Russian ethnic foods and setting festive table in a way traditional for Russian hospitality in which special decorative dishes are employed for serving various types of hot and cold soups, pancakes, famous Russian pirogi (pies), pelmeni (dumplings with minced meat filling), diverse berries, honey, home-made jams, or kvas (non-alcoholic beer). The contemporary Khokhloma artists have revived some types of old Russian dishes traditionally used for serving food and drinks for festive occasions, such as large turned and chiseled vessels and carved scoops or goblets. Semenov artists currently produce a wide variety of articles appropriate for interior decoration, such as vases, ornamental panels, carved clock cases, furniture pieces for the nursery rooms, coffee tables, and counters for potted plants. Since the Khokhloma articles are increasingly purchased by many customers for giving away as gifts and souvenirs the factory manufactures a wide assortment of such articles. The new shapes for the Khokhloma articles are designed by the contemporary Semenov artists with a purpose to accommodate the contemporary Khokhloma painting style which is highly emotional in its images, requires subtle and fine brushwork in execution, and employs complex color schemes enriched with unusual tints. The contemporary Khokhloma painters introduced new motifs of the Russian nature into the ornaments painted against the colored backgrounds. Such as juicy berries such as raspberries, strawberries, and ashberries, as well as the common field flowers. Semenov artists tend to employ the "background" painting style. It is the most visually impressive style and it provides an artist with a wider choice of color schemes and painting techniques. When employing this style artists often find inspiration in the pieces of ancient Russian decorative arts—printed fabrics, shawls, golden embroideries and precious brocade fabrics, embossed silver cases for books and icons, and carved wooden ornaments. KHOKHLOMA BIRTHPLACE  The Kovernino district of
the Nizhni Novgorod province is famous as the birthplace of the
Khokhloma painting style. In the 17th—19th centuries residents
throughout all areas beyond the Volga manufactured wooden utensils but
only the residents of the villages along the Uzola river near the
villages of Khokhloma and Novopokrovskoe were practicing ornamentation
arts and crafts.The articles produced by the Khokhloma craftsmen can be seen in any Russian household and have become an integral part of the Russian culture. The Khokhloma articles are exported to 35 countries where Russian folk arts and crafts become increasingly popular. The Khokhloma artists have been widely recognized in Russia as one can see from the numerous awards bestowed on them. In particular, the Russian government awarded the official State Prizes and other honors to many Khokhloma artists.
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