Carving in the 17th century in Russia

In the middle of the XVII century. The activity of the Armory Chamber under the leadership of B. M. Khitrovo is at its peak. We have reached the names of the masters of the carved wooden case: Seeds of Darevsky, Klim Mikhailov, Gerasim Okulov and others.

A masterpiece of Russian wooden art was the palace in Kolomenskoye (late 17th century), called contemporaries the eighth wonder of the world. The palace, partially built under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and greatly expanded under his son Alexei Mikhailovich, was a nearly closed ensemble consisting of four-cornered log houses, not alike. Most log cabins had two tiers — a basement and an upper room. In the palace there were 270 rooms (choir). The palace was built by the carpenter headman Semyon Petrov and the carpenter Ivan Mikhailov "and his comrades." In their conception, they proceeded from the ancient Russian traditions of wooden architecture, which were characterized by diversity and different scale of buildings. The amazing picturesque effect of Kolomna strengthened due to its various coatings and paints, creating a sense of fabulousness.

The palace was built surprisingly quickly. From the autumn of 1666, the masters began to harvest wood on the Oka and its tributaries, construction began on May 2, 1667, and by the autumn of the same year the log houses and roofs were ready. By the summer of 1669, the carvers who had decorated the walls, cornices, balusters with rich ornamentation had finished their work. And already after them more than a year painters and gilders worked here, painting and breaking down the wonderful palace. At the head of this work was a wonderful Russian painter Simon Ushakov. The interior of the palace was full of iconographic and historical images on canvases, inserted into the ceilings and walls, which were draped with multi-colored cloths. Carved wooden benches and painted tables stretched along the walls. In February 1671, in his colorful palace, Alexei Mikhailovich received foreign ambassadors, "stunned by unprecedented lepoty". When the palace came to disrepair, it was dismantled by order of Catherine II.

An example of a characteristic dwelling boyar XVII. Chambers in Zaryadye (Moscow), which now houses a branch of the State Historical Museum.

In spite of the fact that the building of chambers consists of three parts of different periods: Boyars with a storeroom (XVI century), monastic cells (XVII century) and museum superstructure (XIX century)., It is both completely outward and internal. characterizes Russian housing XVII. and the old Russian life.

The chambers have retained a type of Russian izba consisting of a cage (dwelling) and a basement (utility room). Like most Russian houses of the 16th century, they were built with a verb (two buildings were set at an angle to each other), and on the outside they had decorative furniture of the 17th century. - trim windows, cornice, half-columns at the corners. Inside the building are small rooms, low vaulted ceilings, thick walls; doors, windows and stoves with typical for the XVII century. roundings tops.

A characteristic feature of the life of the boyars of the XVII century. is a combination of the national, the traditional with the new, not yet learned alien. In the old foci of seemingly unchanged traditions in the life of the boyars in the second half of the 17th century

The influence of new trends, caused by great changes in the socio-economic development and cultural life of Russia, and the strengthening of its international relations, became increasingly noticeable. In everyday life appear items such as books, a globe, sheets of wooden printing, portraits, European furniture (chairs, cabinets), which began to actively buy.

The Boyarsky house usually included the forward chamber located near to an entrance which served as the reception room, and also the dining room during feasts. The middle chamber was not part of the living rooms of the house and was usually located at a distance from them. Removed it with a special luxury; in the decoration (tablecloths, pillows, curtains) fabrics of foreign production (cloth, satins and various smooth and patterned velvets) usually prevailed. The leading place in the ward was occupied by the front "red" corner with a table, icons and the place of the owner under them. There were benches along the walls. Not far from the table was a parade set, on the open shelves of which the valuable utensils were placed. Tableware for tableware was concentrated on a special table (fodder set). Immediately close was the hand with my stomach, which was served for washing hands to the table between meals.

In the reception room of the boyars' chambers in Moscow there is a locker of western work of the 16th century. - transitional step from the chest to the closet. It still has side handles and the top flap, like in chests. Immediately - a large tiled stove. Adjacent to the dining room chamber is the room of the boyar. In the red corner of the room under the icon is a desk with writing materials. At the table - a chair, a bench, two chairs - all Russian work. The decor of the room characterizes the science and living, practical knowledge. Here is a chest-teremok with books in leather bindings, a globe of Amsterdam work in 1642, a portrait of a Russian diplomat XVil. Duma clerk I. T. Gramotina, engraving "The siege of Smolensk by the Polish-Lithuanian troops in 1610". The walls of the room are covered with gilded leather, which was considered a particularly exquisite decoration.

In the hall there was an entrance to the female half, in which everything was adapted for women's needlework and the storage of the little things of the women's toilet - handicraft items. Furniture (armchair, two chairs, a table) is adapted for sedentary work. About The head-up of the room was the following: a mirror with shutters, hrs for fabrics and jewelery, a wide bench covered with velvet, and a headrest on it — a wooden casket with a patterned cutting iron with a sloping top (at night it was placed in the headboard under the pillow).

The bedroom is a front room decorated with special luxury. Beds with rich silk canopies .. Blankets made of luxurious patterned fabrics are lined with expensive furs, elegant pillowcases and sheets, and slept in so-called “sleeping closets” in which the beds were replaced by “sleeping benches” and sometimes just lari.

The surviving furniture of the XVII century. It mainly includes items from the church-monastic and prince-boyars household items: large and small tables, simple and adjustable benches, armchairs, wardrobes, supplies and chests.

In the descriptions and documents of the XVII century. Many types of wooden furniture are listed: wide, bench-side benches; Western-style tables on turned jug-shaped legs with a strong lid, trimmed with carved valleys, baguettes, circles in panels; various boxes for storage of property (caskets, boxes, boxes, chests, cellars). In the rich dwellings there were also imported cabinets of western work. Turned and carved chairs and armchairs decorated with sculptural images of lion heads, birds, were made in the Armory.

In churches, monasteries used book stands - lecterns, sometimes serving as lockers-libraries at the same time. The simplest lecterns had the appearance of a music stand with a high carved post or light sliding goat with a piece of leather or cloth instead of a cover. By the nature of the decor wooden lecterns are close to folk carving.

For the decoration of furniture of the XVII century. typical turning parts, carving, painting with tempera or oil paints, painting, gilding, as well as combinations of these techniques. Turning parts and thread complicated in composition and forms. The drawings were created taking into account the play of light and shadow. For turning products, soft, round shapes and helical rods are characteristic, and for threading, a variety of shapes. In the decoration of countertops in the XVII century. they began to apply a mosaic of different types of wood and stone and inlay with pieces of colored glass, mirrors, and shells.

The painting was done freely, without a stencil. The theme of the pattern was a simple plot or floral motif, an image of animals. When painting using red, blue, white, yellowish-golden color. More often, the front and sides of the cabinet were painted.

Chairs XVII. large, sometimes semi-soft, the back is straight or sloping, there is a notch in the armrests. Vividly manifested desire for great convenience, comfort. The soft details of the chairs are upholstered in velvet, brocade, smooth or embossed leather.

Russian furniture XVII. can be divided into three main groups: - made in the traditions of ancient Russian art and characterized by massiveness, brevity and structural clarity of form; - copied from foreign originals, more often Dutch and North Germanic, mainly on the orders of the royal court; - influenced by the Baroque style.