In 1795, a merchant named Pavel Korbachov purchased a small village near Fedoskino called Danilkovo, where he established a factory producing lacquered snuff boxes. Some depict scenes from the lives of both country and city dwellers, while others are based on fairy tales, landscapes, cityscapes, and famous paintings. Each village is known for its distinctly recognizable style, although thematic considerations greatly vary. Historically, workshops in the villages of Fedoskino, Palekh, Kholui, and Mstera have been the primary producers of Russian lacquer boxes. As with other decorative arts introduced during Peter's reign, the manufacture of lacquerware was gradually taken over by private companies and later, in the Soviet period, by cooperative artels. This art form first appeared in Russia in the eighteenth century, when Peter the Great commissioned lacquered panels, painted by Russian iconographers, to decorate a room at his Monplaisir Palace. This history of Russian lacquer boxes is a fascinating story of the artist as entrepreneur, drawing on and adapting local traditions. Taking their name from the many layers of lacquer (most often, black and red) that are applied both inside and out, the boxes are known for their stunning shine. They shifted their creativity to the craft of making papier-mâché decorative boxes and panels that featured intricately hand-drawn miniature paintings based on a variety of secular themes, including fairy tales, poems, country life, troikas (a three-horse led carriage), landscapes, battle scenes, and old art masterpieces. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the icon painters who previously had been employed creating icons for churches and private homes, needed a way to make a living. The art of Russian lacquer, among the most beautiful and distinctive of Russia's art achievement in the 20th century, is deeply rooted in the art of icon painting. This exhibition is made possible through the generous gift of lacquer boxes from the private collection of Dennis H. The papier-mâché treasures, decorated with miniature paintings of folk scenes and fairytales, are lacquered and polished to a high sheen. The development of Russian lacquerware from the four small rural villages of Fedoskino, Palekh, Kholui, and Mstera, is a fascinating story of artists adapting local traditions to produce new enterprises. Miniature Masterpieces: Russian Lacquer Boxes, an exhibition featuring more than 100 intricately painted lacquer boxes widely renowned for their exquisite detail and bright colors will be on view at the Museum of Russian Icons, Octo– March 31, 2021.
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