The unbelievably colorful art of Palekh is known in all countries of the world. The elegant black-lacquered art pieces come to our life with the firebirds and troikas subjugated us with beauty of the fantastic world of Russian folk and admired us of harmony of their color chords. Village Palekh is situated about three hundred eighty kilometers (250 miles) to the north of Moscow in Ivanovo region. Its present population is over 7000 and nearly three hundred fifty artists work there.

Village Palekh was sprung at the earth of Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Nobody knows a certain date of Palekh foundation. But it's clear that the settlement was here before the 15th century. The people immigrated to those places had brought their icon painting. Documents of the 17th century tell us about icon-painting handicraft in Palekh. Because of bad roads Palekh was seldom visited by customers and influenced on the development of Palekh art. That is why it had kept old icon painting traditions. In 18th century Vladimir icon-painting was going to end. It was spread only in Mstera, Palekh, Kholuy. Up to the 19th century to the contrast of industrial Mstyora and Kholuy Palekh had kept its simple forms of family icon-painting. Palekh masters continued to work both in agriculture and icon-painting, the last was when they had free time. In the 40s of the 19th century some capitalist relationships began to penetrate to Palekh life. The family icon-painting became rarer. The masters began to do business - they brought icons and sold them in the towns.
At the beginning of the 20th century traditional icon-painting began to decline.

After the Revolution as icon and mural paintings were no longer in demand. In 1918 the icon painters formed a partnership for painting tableware, but its work was unsuccessful. In 1922 Ivan I. Golikov being in Moscow saw a black papier-mache piece using techniques of icon painting and technology of the Lukutin (Fedoskino) lacquer work. The Crafts Museum supported his venture. After him some Palekh painters began to produce lacquered boxes. New times demanded new themes and subjects, such as reaping, hunting, circle-dancing, matchmaking, and horse-ridding. From the very beginning of miniature art Palekh painters made generous of folk motives. One of the mainstreams of their art drew upon folk songs, tales by Pushkin, Lermontov, and epics. The range of articles painted in Palekh was very wide including brooches, Jars, small boxes, bead-boxes, panels, spectacle-cases, tea-chests, glove boxes and so on.

Though Palekh miniature art is not 100 years old as a matter of fact there is a way in 400 years. Palekh art today is a result of century-old traditions in new historical conditions based on the knowledge of icon-painting craft of many generations.

Artists use single-hair brushes, real gold and egg tempera. Palekh miniature is signed on the same pattern. On the cover of a thing there is a mark of the place of production (Palekh), the date (year) and the author's autograph.

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