Traditional Khokhloma painting

Traditional Khokhloma painting – a unique phenomenon in world culture. This style of painting wooden utensils, native Russian, nowhere in the world is no longer repeated. Khokhloma painting originated from the Volga, and received its name in one of the villages in the Nizhny Novgorod region – Khokhloma. In the second half of the XVII century after so many church reforms Old Believers seek refuge in these places. Among them were painters, thanks to whom there appeared Khokhloma painting.

Then the painting of icons used this technology: not to paint background in golden color, craftsmen used gold and silver powder, that was cheaper. After painting the icon coated with linseed oil and baked in the oven, resulting in the background becomes golden color. That’s the alchemy! Similar technologies use masters in Khokhloma painting, but instead take the silver tin powder, and the result is the same – the products become sun-gold. Truly, dishes worthy of the king’s table, but affordable to simple people.

The main colors used in Khokhloma painting – gold, black and red. Sometimes these colors are complemented with green, brown, orange, yellow. Motifs used in painting are mainly natural: it is grass, flowers and berries. A horse painting presents in several varieties, surrounded by “herbal painting”.

The painted background is performed as follows: Master draws black or red contours of the composition, and then paints the background and draws details. This is a very time-consuming work.

There is also a green Khokhloma, made by the company “Khokhloma Painting” of Semenov, Nizhny Novgorod region. In Khokhloma painting there are several types of ornaments: composition in a circle, composition in a “branch”, composition in a “spiral Wreath”, squared composition, tree composition. Examples of Khokhloma ornament:

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