Russian Palekh Lacquer Painting

[Kazimiera]

Palekh miniature is a Russian folk handicraft of miniature painting, which is done with tempera paints on varnished articles made of papier-mâché (small boxes, cigarette and powder cases etc.). The technology of making a semi-finished product was borrowed from the lacquer handicraft masters of Fedoskino. The Palekh miniatures usually represent characters from real life, literary works, fairy tales, bylinas, and songs. They are painted with local bright paints over the black background and are known for their delicate and smooth design, abundance of golden shading, and accurate silhouettes of flattened figures, which often cover the surface of the lids and sides of the articles completely. Poetic magic of the Palekh characters, decorativeness of landscapes and architecture, and elongated proportions of the figures go back to the icon-painting traditions. The miniatures are usually set off with a complicated pattern made with gold dissolved in aqua regia. Palekh is the most renowned of four such famous villages, the others being Kholuy, Mstyora, and Fedoskino, each producing similar, but clearly distinct artistic style.

[Atlantic Islander]

Very pretty.