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NESTING DOLLS : ALMOST EVERYTHING
Russian nesting doll, or matrjoshka (matryoshka) is worldly known. It
appeared in Russia at the end of 1890's in the Moscow crafts workshop named
"Children Education". It was a period of impetuous economic and cultural
development, growing sense of national Russian identity. The workshop started to
make dolls with different costumes of Russian inhabitants - representatives of
various uyezds and gubernias and were a rather concrete reflection of ethnic
features of peasants' dresses.
The name matryohska (nesting doll) came from a very popular woman's name at
the end of 19th century -Matryona. It derives from the Latin root "Mater"- mother. The name
also symbolized the union of the family, of the village, of the nation. It was
applied to describe painted wooden dolls fashioned in such a way that they could
be taken apart and reveal smaller dolls fitting into one another. Matryoshka
along with the egg also became one of the strongest symbols of the motherhood, fertility and love.
The first designer of the Russian nesting doll was S.V.
Malyutin (1859-1937), a professional artist and one of the pioneers of the
Russian style in art. He made the first sketches of the nesting doll. Viktor
Zvesdochkin, who used the sketches of S. Malyutin was the first manufacturer of
the Russian doll. It contained 8 pieces.
The concept of a take a part nesting doll was borrowed from a
Japanese toy, which was brought from the island of Honshu and was further
developed in Russia. That figure showed a sage by the name of Fukuruma, a good
natured bald-headed old man. Interestingly enough, the Japanese say that the
first take a part doll on that island was made by a Russian monk.
The first nesting doll, however, was a town-girl, it was highly
influenced by modernism, the major style of the period. A partial pastoral
effect was achieved by tender pastel colors of her costume in a combination for
instance with a rooster, a sickle, or a loaf of bread, the things particularly
typical of a peasant household.
The most common kinds of of tree used for nesting doll are
birch, lime and sometimes pine. The trees chosen are cut in early spring,
stripped of their bark leaving a few rings to prevent the wood cracking when
dried. The logs are arranged outside in piles with a clearance between them to
allow aeration. The logs are kept in the open air under the roof for a number of
years. It is very important not to over dry the wood and dry it enough. Only an
experienced carver can tell that the wood is ready.
The logs are then cut into pieces. Every one of them passes
through as many as 15 turning operations before being fashioned into a doll.
Fashioning a doll on a turning lathe requires a high degree
of skill, an ability to handle a beguilingly small set of tools - a knife and
chisels of various length and shape. The first to be made are usually the
smallest figures which cannot be taken apart. In the making of the next matrjoshka the bottom part is fashioned first. Then it is processed to a
necessary height and the top end is removed. After that the upper ring is made
on which the top part of the matryohska will be fitted and then the lower part
is made. Then the nesting doll's head is fashioned and enough wood is removed from
within the matryoshka's head to slip on the upper ring. All these operations do
not involve any measurements, and rely on intuition. The upper part of the
matryoshka stuck on the lower part dries and tightens the ring so that it sits
securely in place. The turning work done, the snow-white wooden doll is
thoroughly cleaned, primed with starchy glue to make its surface ideally smooth
and to prevent the paint making smudges and then dried. The matryoshka is now
ready to be painted.
The pattern of the first matryoshkas was poked and it was painted with gouache
and covered with varnish.
A new genre is always an experiment. That is why the first matrjoshkas often
being far from the canon had a very important quality which was diversity.
Depending of the author's imagination the pattern themes were ethnographic,
historical or fairy tale for the decoration of nesting dolls artists used a
variety of devices: from poker-work followed up, by painting, ornament painting
to pictorial methods of using color shades. In certain places authors left wood
unpainted or used gilding and lacquer.
Not all of these nesting dolls presented a piece of art. At
the same time there was not a great output of them. Artists were able to
experiment in for perfection. Unfortunately, the mace production of nesting
dolls in the years to follow to a great degree leveled their achievements and
foisted a souvenir stereotype on matrjoshkas. It is partially understandable
since a nesting doll was initially made as a toy and meant to be utilitarian. A
many-piece and dissembling matrjoshka was by no means interesting, cognitive,
and aesthetic. At the same time children liked it very much. The toy became more
and more popular.
Matrjoshka, a bright fair toy was generally recognized at the
Paris World Exposition in 1900. When it was exhibited at the biggest Russian
Fair in Nizhni Novgorod it won the hearts of the hereditary toy makers there.
Ever since then there appeared crafts shops producing matrjohskas. In 1904 the
Russian craftsmen partnership opened a permanent selling outlet in Paris. It was
then that the first foreign order for wooden dolls was made. In 1910 a crafts
workshop named "Amateur Artist" was set up in Sergiev Posad. There beginning
from 1913 they started producing nesting dolls. It helped to fulfill the orders
from abroad which in the middle of 1910s came from 14 countries. In the 20's the
majority of local handicraftsmen joined together in the workshop.
Undoubtedly, the
Sergiev Posad or Zagorsk matrjoshka as a
type of nesting doll is connected with the traditions of local village crafts
which have been flourishing for several centuries in the environs of the
Troitsko-Sergiyev Monastery. Previously there existed the so-called troitsky
toys also made of wood and painted. The patterns were fairly diverse-from smart
peasant women to noble ladies and hussars. Skillful hereditary craftsmen /toy
makers/ worked out the major types of painting of the Sergiev Posad matrjoshkas
combining traditional and new ideas.
The matryoshka industry flourished in Sergiyev Posad. The
list of products at the Sergiyev Zemstvo training workshop in 1911 included 21
types of nesting dolls, each with a distinctive decorative pattern. Besides they
differed in sizes and had different amount of nests.
Matryoshka became mostly a genre matrjoshka. It is always
interesting and even instructive. That is why by gathering a collection one can
get enough information about the history of Russian national costume, Russia
epos, and even Russian literature. All this has also been reflected in the form
of shape of matrjohskas: some of them were made in the form of an ancient
Russian helmet, others in a cone shaped form. However, the traditional ones were
more popular than the rest of them. The variety of nesting dolls was achieved by
the number of pieces mainly ranging from 3 to 12. There exist super matrjoshkas
having 48 or even 64 pieces but these are unique. The exhibits of the Sergiev
Posad Museum of Toys opened in 1918 vividly demonstrate the evolution of the
Sergiev Posad matrjoshka till today.
Another well known type is the Semjonov nesting doll.
It got its name after the town of Semjonov in which there also existed an
ancient tradition of a turneroy toy. The thick, often impenetrable forests in
the Volga area had over the centuries given refuge to Old Believers persecuted
by Patriarch Nikon, the Streltzi (soldiers in regular army in Russia of the
16-17th centuries) during the time of Peter the Great and run away serfs.
The old Russian ornamental art was well known in these parts and was applied to
decorate various items. This is the birth place of the famous Khokhloma painting
whose ornamental drawings hark back to the Old Russia culture.
The Khokhloma painting preserves the free brushwork which was
a feature of old Russian ornament and which contributed to a difersity of
composition. The Semjonov matryoshka tradition owes much to the proximity of the
Khokhloma center.
Toys were cut from wood in Semjonov from time immemorial.
These took the shape of buckets, apples, pears, carafes, etc. Bright decorations
were applied with a brush made from the local grass belous. The pattern
consisted of alternating red and green stripes and covered with light varnish.
Painted nesting dolls trace their origin to the time when the son of the famous
toy maker Averyan Vagin from the village of Merinovo, 5 miles from Semjonov,
brought a wooden bell shape doll made in Sergiyev Posad from a fair in Nizhni
Novgorod. It was painted with light green vegetable paint (glaze) and it
portrayed a mushik with a painted beard and moustache. The doll was cut in half,
like Easter Eggs, and this gave rise to a prototype of the future Semyonov
matryoshka. The early dolls were painted with Fuchsine ( a red aniline dye),
then coated with glue which resulted in a darkish hue of the final pattern. Some
of the first interesting toys came from the Vagin workshop, for instance, a
bald-headed mushik with a beard and whiskers and stout mushik in a hat and thick
overcoat.
Among other contributors to the Semyonov doll are the
Mayorov toy-making family from the village of Merinovo. Once the head of the
family Arsenty Mayorov brought an unpainted bell shaped doll from the Nizhni
Novgorod Fair and his elder daughter Lyubov used a quill to apply a drawing and
color it with a red dye placing a pink daisy-like flower in the middle and
crowning the matryoushka's head with a kokoshnik, an old Russian head dress.
Gradually a distinct Semjonov type of matryoushka emerged which is more
decorative and symbolic than the Sergiyev Posad matrjoshka. The Semjonov doll is
not a character of the modern life. Rather, it goes back to the floral ornament
of Old Russia. It is painted in aniline dyes with lots of space left blank and
then varnished. First, light touches of the brush make the outlines of the face,
eyes, the lines of the lips and apply color to the cheeks. Then a kerchief is
drawn on the matryoshka's head, a skirt and apron and the hands. The focal part
of the composition in the Semjonov doll is the apron which features bright
bouquet of flowers. It is in the way the bouquet is drawn that the decorative
techniques of Old Russia can be discerned. Early Semyonov
dolls were more in the spirit of Old Russia decorations and the lines were
lighter and more graphic. Over the time the bouquet was suffused with the sap of
the grass, and became more dense, colorful and graphic, producing an effect of
embroidery.
Besides the Semjonov craftsmen paint ornaments over pure wood
without the background painting. They only make the edge of an apron or shawl
stand out against the background. Hence part of wood is left unpainted, but
lacquered. The major component of the ornament is an apron, the major color is
red. The shawl and the Sarafan add two more traditional colours-yellow and dark
blue. Unlike the short Sergiev Posad matrjoshka, the Semjonov one is taller and
slimmer. The top widens sharply into a thick bottom. The famous Semjonov nesting
doll is also remarkable for containing many pieces (15-18 varicolored dolls).
Semjonov also claims the credit for the biggest doll ever made - 72 pieces, 20
inches in diameter and 40 inches high.The Semjonov Souvenir factory is one of
the biggest in Russia.
Also in Nizhni Novgorod province there is another place
called Polhovskij Maidan famous for its turnery wooden toys. Unlike the Sergiev
Posad matryoshkas which were characters from everyday life, the Semeynov nesting
dolls which followed the ornamental tradition of Old Russia, the Polhovsky
Maidan matryoshka is a specimen of primitive peasant art reminiscent of
children's drawings.
Wood workmanship was an old tradition in the south west of
the Nizhni Novgorod Region. Many of the toys were made on a turning lathe. They
included samovars, birds, piggy banks, salt-cellars. It is not surprising that,
after Semeyonov, the matryoshka appeared in this area. The early nesting dolls,
like the Sergiev Posad ones, featured poker work, but then the local craftsmen
took to decorating wooden dolls with floral ornaments. Like the craftsmen in
Semeonov, they used aniline dyes. The matryoshkas were pasted over, brightly
painted before being coated with varnish.
The colors of Polhovsky Maidan nesting dolls are more aggressive and vigorous.
Green, blue, yellow, violet and crimson colors contrast with each other
conferring a special vitality on the items. Richness of color is achieved by
superimposing one layer of dye on another. The decorations are larger than on
the Semyonov doll.
The matryoshka of Polhovsky Maidan is typically a village belle with knitted
brows and a face framed in black locks. The ringlets of hair are a genuine
element of local women's headgear. The women stuck their hair under the
kokoshnik, the maids under ribbons and in their head dress they stuck black
drake's feathers curled like locks. The artists favor a floral design on the
apron and omit all other costume details. The main element in the Polchovsky
Maidan nesting dolls is a dog-rose with many petals. The flower has always been
considered to be a symbol of femininity, love and motherhood. This nothern rose
is a hallmark of Polchovsky Maidan compositions. The motif is often elaborated
by the addition of rose buds on branches.
Krutetz and Merinovo are other places in Nizhni Novgorod region producing
Russian Matrjoshkas. There is less tradition and more experiment in them as
regards ornament, shape and pattern.
The northerest of all Russian matrjoshkas is the one which comes from Vjatka. It
is also the youngest- they began producing nesting dolls in Vjatka only in the
30s. Being a typical northerner she is blue-eyed and shy. Its most distinctive
feature is rye straw inlay stuck on wet lacquer.
Apart from all these well known places where they make matrjoshkas there exist
others as well. For instance, a tiny and slim matrjoshka made in Tver with
painting over poker work. There also exist crafts workshops in the Mari and
Mordovian Autonomous Republics of the Russian Federation, as well as the Ukraine
and Belorussia. All these matrjoshkas are marked by their national
peculiarities.
The evolution of matrjoshkas is interesting. From toys they gradually became a
Russian traditional souvenir. Its production started as an individual
craftsmanship and has turned into an industrial output. In the initial period of
its development matrjoshka became simpler: they were only few patterns used, the
ornament became poorer, the form - crude. By the beginning of the 80s alongside
the industrial output there appeared unique exhibition samples. It might be
connected with the setting up of the Institute of the Toy in Sergiev Posad with
its research and art laboratory. Genuine craftsmen who felt themselves
uncomfortable in the specific atmosphere of mass production were greatly
encouraged by the growing market. Matrjoshka, which had long been a symbol of
political stability of Russia, its aesthetical constant was suddenly identified
with the changes in the tenor of life in Russia. As if it responded to these
changes and had an impulse for its development.
Demand to a great extent determined supply. New stimulus, both artistic and
material made old craftsmen enrich ornaments and the techniques of painting and
which is more important attracted a new galaxy of distinctive artists. The best
of them reached the highest individuality and originality in their work. It is
symbolic that the turn of the century is traditionally a time of summing up. It
is an anthology of the most significant traits in every genre. Authors
remembered the former variety of themes, the richness of ornaments: they also
remembered that matrjoshka can not only be a toy. After having passed the stage
of accumulation the genre has grown mature.
The customer has also changed. The brilliant individual manner of the best
craftsmen who did not work for the average buyer retained in the memory. There
appeared collectors and connoisseurs of definite styles which made some of the
authors and the genre itself close to real art. We strongly believe that in the
future we will read passionate and profound essays about the art of designing
and making matrjoshkas as about the art of painting in general. The authors
whose names became famous have gone a traditional way in their artist growth.
They began to receiving professional training at art schools, add their
knowledge of the history and traditions of Russian crafts, the history of art in
general. Their individuality, sense of humor, their own experience are reflected
in their work and highly individual.
In the first place let's mention the graduates of the Abramtsevo Art
School named after Vasnetsov. The geography and history of the place where the
art school is situated makes every student devote his life to art. Nearby there
is a country estate of Mamontov turned into a museum after his death. The art
school appeared from its craft shops. At the end of the 19th century Abramtsevo
was the Russian art Mecca. The famous Russian artists Vasnetsov, Polenov, Vrubel
and Serov worked there. The museum exhibits, the nature and the creative spirit
of the place defined a vast range of the students' interests and a high level of
artistic aspirations. Not far from Abramtsevo there is already mentioned above
Sergiev Posad with its Crafts Museum and magnificent architecture of
Troitsko-Sergiev Monastery. This atmosphere attracted to the art school creative
and skillful teachers. The teachers cultivate a real artistic taste in the
student, give assistance in their first steps to mastership. Some of the
teachers are former students of the same school.
Graduates of this school make nesting dolls which are highly professional and
original, characterized by good taste and a variety of themes. The techniques
used are also diverse. We come across dab painting combined with mastery drawing
as well as quite a variety of artistic devices - from icon painting to
experiments in the taste of Malevich. Some authors prefer the violent uproar of
the Russian cheap popular print with its cunning cheerfulness but they raise it
to real art.
The oldest in Russia Moscow Art and Industry College /the former Stroganov Art.
School/ was founded as far back as in 1825 by S.G. Stroganov as a drawings
school. Today it is a big art school with various training programs. Students
here are taught monumental painting, fresco and mosaic. It may be hard to
believe that with this kind of training its graduates should start producing
nesting dolls. But their high professional standard and profound aesthetical
education combined with a great love for the Russian traditional art made it
possible for them to create wonderful pieces of art.
The painting of matrjoshkas in its period of renaissance awoke the creative
potential of various artists. There are graduates of the Rjazan School of Art,
Moscow architecture Institute as well as other art schools all over the country.
Their geography is diverse as well as the themes used. Such artists as Petrov,
Simouchina, Korchougova, Brysina, Nikitenko, Bochegova, Manohin, Soulyagin,
Ovchinnikov, Mitrochin, Antonov in between dozens of others constitute the cream
of matrjoshkas authors.
Russian epos as a source of themes is very popular with matrjoshka makers now.
Sometimes the resort to the Palech traditions, though initially Palech is an
icon painting school characterized by very strict rules. If some authors have
their own somewhat ironical look on certain epical themes they tackle them with
in their own way. The same goes for Russian fairy tale, though, classical
interpretations seem to prevail.
Sometimes matrjoshkas have ornaments based on plots of popular European fairy
tales, even modern ones. Have a look at very fine ornaments based on Alice in
Wonderland or Mary Poppins. The authors seem to have put part of their own
childhood in them with a sincere belief in miracles and genuine love for these
characters.
Russian history has received a reflection in the authors' matrjoshka. In the
ornaments we come across Russian tsars and great Russian writers as well the
characters from the fairy tales, bilinis and other folk tales. Pushkin's famous
poem "The poet and the Tsar" has found its specific reflection here. An interest
to Russian history presupposes an interest in the mode of life, morals and
manners of the past centuries as well as present day customs and traditions.
Among the ornament themes there are scenes of folk outdoor fetes, fairs, a
classical Russian large family, affecting relationship of children and animals.
There are also merchant and high life motifs, funny rendezvous. Here we find
every living thing as long as we are alive.
Tightly linked with the historical theme is the religious nesting doll.
Matrjoshkas with icon painting ornaments have taken their worth place among the
authors' works. The most popular themes are borrowed from the orthodox icons -
Trinity, Our Lady with the Infant. Quite a number of authors develop the themes
of the orthodox holidays such as Annunciation, Ascension and Christmas.
Present day authors of matrjoshkas also make use to the themes of Russian and
European paintings, landscape painting and still life. There are serious grounds
therefore to consider the art of making matrjoshkas as a genre of art in
general.
Sources: Yelena Phillipova. Russian Matrjoshka. Larissa Soloviova, Marina Marder.
Russian Matryoshka.
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