Uftyuzh painting is one of the peculiar art crafts of the Russian North. From the 18th to the 20th century, peasants living on the banks of the Northern Dvina produced wooden and birch bark products, decorated with paintings and carvings.
History and Geography
The history of the occurrence of the Uftyug painting originates in the village of Verkhnyaya Uftyuga, located on the river of the same name in the Arkhangelsk region. This region has developed an original culture due to its great remoteness from other large settlements. Even today, you can get here only by water.
Uftuga was not only a center of commerce, but also religion. Here was the only Orthodox church for many kilometers - the church of Dmitry Solunsky. Until now, it is considered one of the best monuments of wooden architecture.
In the 17th century, Russian Old Believers from other regions massively moved to the north. They brought with them the carefully preserved way of life of pre-Petrine Russia. In local art crafts, the influence of ancient Russian art is very strong: icon painting and book miniatures.
Birch bark
Northern peasants did not know serfdom. They paid taxes to the state, the funds for which were obtained by fishing, hunting, deforestation and crafts.
Every year large fairs took place, at which the craftsmen presented their products: tues, dishes, spinning wheels, cribs and even children's toys. The UFTUZ painting owes its development precisely to these things necessary in everyday life.
Tuesa (birch bark vessels with a lid) were widely used in peasant farming. They kept cereals, salt, milk and wool, even salted mushrooms for the winter. Masters painted them not only for sale, but also for their relatives and friends.
A cheerful and vivid manner of drawing turned simple things into real works of art.
Painted huts
The interiors of houses in Russia were decorated with paintings and carvings in pre-Mongol times. This was considered a sign of great wealth, because peasant huts were drowning "in black", it was impossible to decorate them. But after the chimneys began to be led out onto the roof, the villagers began to paint walls, ceilings and shutters.
In Verkhnyaya Uftiug, they liked to decorate interiors with plant motifs on an orange-red, blue or pale green background. Bright colors reminded of a summer so short in the Russian North.
Among plants and flowers, strange birds and overseas animals were found. Even stoves with the image of formidable lions have survived.
Most often, painted huts are found in Old Believer settlements. It was there that folk traditions were especially carefully preserved.
Main motives
Due to the fact that the Ufa painting on wood was truly folk art, its main theme is peasant life against the background of nature. Stylized images of plants are found on tueses, spinning wheels, carved platbands.
Often artists depicted birds. Among them are swans popular throughout the North, as well as chickens, pigeons and even peacocks. Sometimes it could be strange mythical birds strolling under the trees and cleaning feathers. You can see the familiar Sirin and Alkonost.
Geometric patterns are also common, especially the circle symbolizing the sun. Inside there may be a flower with six petals. In the Ufa art, it symbolizes fertility.
Masters loved to portray flowers that they had never seen themselves. It could be a rose - the queen of all plants. Or a tulip - a symbol of youth. The idea of spring transformation and the revival of nature was expressed by a fantastic flower called krin. It is found in paintings throughout the North.
The range of shades is dominated by blue, pink, brown, cyan, green and white. The background is left light, emphasizing the natural beauty of the material.
Famous masters
Not so many birch bark and wooden painted objects have survived to our time. And even less - specific names from the history of the Ufa art. But some artists are still known. Most often, authorship is determined by the characteristic style of the image.
Often, peasant craftsmen painted with entire families, knowledge was passed from father to son. Later they began to unite in artels, but by the 20th century only loners remained.
When making birchbark tueski, the mark of the master who collected it was always put It was a vertical line drawn with a blunted awl. These tags were individual for each family.
Among the famous authors, one can distinguish several bright surnames. A.D. Kuvakin preferred light strokes and light colors. In contrast, F.I. Bestuzhev strove for a clear contour and dynamic composition. The Novinsky family passed on craft traditions up to the sixties of the XX century.
Their works, preserved to this day, can be seen in the collections of large museums in St. Petersburg, Vologda, Moscow, Arkhangelsk. Researchers and local historians still collect the history of northern crafts and make photos of the Uftug painting for archives.
Features of work
Old masters used tempera and oil paints to create the Ufa art. Now they are replaced with gouache with a small amount of PVA glue. You can also use modern squirrel brushes with a sharp tip and a short pile.
You can paint wood, birch bark and even plywood. To image the background, the product using a foam swab must be covered with ink, gouache or watercolor.
The drawing is executed in a certain sequence. The paint is applied in layers: first light, then darker, and only after that the outline, dots and other subtle details are drawn. At the end of the work, gouache must be fixed with colorless varnish in three layers.