16 may / 19:00
Gorodets painting appeared in the middle of the XIXth century in the Volga region, near the town of Gorodets. The inhabitants of the surrounding villages traditionally decorated wooden spinning wheels with carvings. At first, the pattern was created with the help of inserts from other types of wood, then the carved decoration began to be painted, and later the painting replaced carving completely. The favourite subjects for decorating spinning wheels were genre scenes, walking ladies with cavaliers, brave horsemen, rich tea parties and feasts. Another favourite motif of Gorodets masters were flowers and images of horses and birds, often in pairs, reminiscent of heraldic symbolism. All these motives moved from spinning wheels to decorative panels, chests and caskets. Over time, from painting flat items, the Gorodets masters moved to painting round-shaped objects, boxes, caskets, boxes and plates. The painting of Gorodets is characterised by bright, ringing colours, lush bouquets and festive garlands.
At the lecture we will talk about the stages of development, periods of prosperity and decline of the craft, about the masters who stood at the origins, about collectors and researchers, thanks to whom the craft is alive, and horses, people, birds and flowers are still decorating the ornate Gorodets products.
Lecturer: Tatiana Chubarova, art historian, keeper of the wood department of the All-Russian Decorative Art Museum.