The bowl presented in the permanent exhibition of the Russian Museum was painted by the outstanding master of Khokhloma painting Olga Pavlovna Lushina (1928–2015), who was an Honored Artist of the RSFSR, and a laureate of the State Prize named after I.E. Repin.
The bowl was turned on a lathe. Its shape resembles that of traditional peasant wooden vessels. The item is painted in a unique technique of Khokhloma decorative painting, using a method that imitates gilding and was discovered by icon painters. Exquisite combinations of cinnabar and black paint are applied on an aluminum background, which produces the effect of Khokhloma “gold” shining through the layers of lacquer. All this makes an ordinary wooden vessel a work of art. The bowl is painted by hand in a free manner — this technique belongs to the type of top “grass” painting. It is made with oil paints and perfectly fits the rounded shape of the object. At the bottom is a branch with black and red blades of grass, studded with graceful berries. On the outside, there is a horizontal winding branch. The sophisticated pattern is combined with a deep sense of nature.
Khokhloma is an ancient folk craft of decorating wooden products, which got its name from the trading village, where painted wooden utensils were brought for sale. The homeland of the craft is the Nizhny Novgorod Trans-Volga region, which has long preserved ancient artistic traditions. The Khokhloma painting is based on the high mastery of the floral ornament that developed in icon painting and manuscript illumination.
Olga Pavlovna Lushina was a hereditary craftswoman, the granddaughter of the famous Khokhloma artist of the early 20th century, Arkhip Mikhailovich Serov, from whom she inherited the skill of grass ornament. Olga Lushina has her own signature style. Every brush stroke of her painting is performed with surgical precision. The artisan has mastered the ancient techniques of decorative painting: “under the background”, “curly” and Khokhloma decorative painting, which is distinguished by its special beauty. The favorite theme of her work is the beauty of wild herbs. Compared to the masters of the past, Olga Lushina paints the old Khokhloma “grass” in a new way. She creates expressive compositions from the simplest herbal strokes and conveys various states of nature, consonant with human experiences. The restrained coloring of black, red and gold colors emphasizes the expressive graphics of “various grasses” — ornamental motifs that came to Khokhloma painting from the art of Old Rus.
The bowl was turned on a lathe. Its shape resembles that of traditional peasant wooden vessels. The item is painted in a unique technique of Khokhloma decorative painting, using a method that imitates gilding and was discovered by icon painters. Exquisite combinations of cinnabar and black paint are applied on an aluminum background, which produces the effect of Khokhloma “gold” shining through the layers of lacquer. All this makes an ordinary wooden vessel a work of art. The bowl is painted by hand in a free manner — this technique belongs to the type of top “grass” painting. It is made with oil paints and perfectly fits the rounded shape of the object. At the bottom is a branch with black and red blades of grass, studded with graceful berries. On the outside, there is a horizontal winding branch. The sophisticated pattern is combined with a deep sense of nature.
Khokhloma is an ancient folk craft of decorating wooden products, which got its name from the trading village, where painted wooden utensils were brought for sale. The homeland of the craft is the Nizhny Novgorod Trans-Volga region, which has long preserved ancient artistic traditions. The Khokhloma painting is based on the high mastery of the floral ornament that developed in icon painting and manuscript illumination.
Olga Pavlovna Lushina was a hereditary craftswoman, the granddaughter of the famous Khokhloma artist of the early 20th century, Arkhip Mikhailovich Serov, from whom she inherited the skill of grass ornament. Olga Lushina has her own signature style. Every brush stroke of her painting is performed with surgical precision. The artisan has mastered the ancient techniques of decorative painting: “under the background”, “curly” and Khokhloma decorative painting, which is distinguished by its special beauty. The favorite theme of her work is the beauty of wild herbs. Compared to the masters of the past, Olga Lushina paints the old Khokhloma “grass” in a new way. She creates expressive compositions from the simplest herbal strokes and conveys various states of nature, consonant with human experiences. The restrained coloring of black, red and gold colors emphasizes the expressive graphics of “various grasses” — ornamental motifs that came to Khokhloma painting from the art of Old Rus.
