Gzhel is a traditional Russian craft. It represents a special type of painting on ceramics and porcelain with blue paints on snow-white enamel or glaze. The main motives of Gzhel are floral and floral ornaments and drawings in the Russian folk style. The craft originated in the XIV century in the village of Gzhel near Moscow and is still popular today. How the idea of Gzhel painting came about - Novate.ru will tell.
The origin of the clay industry
Clay mining began in the 17th century in the village of Gzhel. Sedimentary rock was then very valuable and was used for the manufacture of kitchen utensils and vessels. The craft began to develop already in the 18th century, when craftsmen began to create the first tiles, dishes and even bricks. Children’s toys alone were made from clay for several hundred thousand a year, and then sent to Moscow.
Each artisan had a unique "handwriting" - a unique style of painting that reflected his perception of the world. In the middle of the 18th century, the craft develops rapidly and is gaining great popularity. However, no one could compete with the masters from Gzhel.
The heyday of Gzhel painting
The end of the 18th century was marked by the historical flourishing of the craft. Painting on jugs, ferments and kumgans has become popular. Fine art was only possible for rare craftsmen, because painting required a lot of patience and excellent skills. The drawing itself was also applied to the fired product, previously covered with snow-white enamel.
Another direction is majolica plastic. Masters depicted everyday scenes from the life of peasants, military men, people engaged in craft. A couple of decades later, craftsmen began to paint fireplace and stove tiles. The most demanded were kitchen utensils: plates, mugs, kumgans, dishes, ferments, teapots, jugs. Artists decorated them with floral ornaments, trees, birds and even architectural structures of those times. Basically, blue-blue shades were used for painting, less often green, yellow and brown colors.
Whole compositions were made from dishes, painted with one storyline. And they were complemented by figures of people and animals. For example, a craftsman could create a jug with a handle resembling a branch and a spout similar to a bird's head. This is how the author of the product expressed his worldview.
Finding new types of clay
In the 19th century, near the village of Mishino, light clay was discovered, and then they began to produce semi-faience from it. Mostly jugs and ferments were made from them. But the products did not look as sophisticated as ordinary earthenware and were very fragile.
At the same time, white clay was found in the Bronnitsky district. They began to produce porcelain from it, and subsequently a factory for the production of porcelain was opened in the village of Volodino. The enterprise was run by Pavel Kulikov, who valued production secrets so much that he trusted them only to two potters and one worker. It is from this factory that the history of Gzhel porcelain begins.
A new stage in the development of Gzhel painting
By 1812, 25 enterprises were operating in the Russian Empire for the production of porcelain products: dishes, toys in the form of birds and animals, figurines depicting subjects of everyday life. The products were covered with snow-white glaze, and on top they were decorated with ornaments of blue-lilac-yellow-brown shades. The leading motives in the works of the Gzhel masters are nature, leaves, grass, flowers.
Simultaneously with the increase in demand for porcelain, less majolica was made. So porcelain and earthenware products became the basis of the Gzhel craft, which served as the economic growth of the village of Gzhel. Small workshops turn into factories and begin to expand, and with them the selection of products. Added inkpots, oil cans, milk jugs and candlesticks. Despite the great competition, products from Gzhel were still in demand, as they retained a certain "naivety" and folk flavor.
By the end of the 19th century, the painting became more laconic and restrained. Made exclusively in shades of blue with gold outlines for decoration. It was this period that became the peak of the heyday of the Gzhel craft and the improvement of the production of faience and porcelain. During the Soviet era, factories fell into decay due to nationalization, and only in the middle of the 20th century they began to restore them. Today you can enjoy the products of the masters from Gzhel in Moscow and St. Petersburg museums.
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