The decorative teapot “Novgorodsky” was made at the Bronnitsky porcelain factory “Vozrozhdenie” in 1972, under the supervision of the artist Vladimir Smolyar.
Smolyar was a member of the Union of Artists and a participant of regional, republican and all-union exhibitions. He received several state awards and diplomas for his contribution to the development of Russian art. Smolyar was born in 1935 in Minsk. In 1959, the future master graduated from the Penza Art School named after Savitsky and entered the Moscow Art Institute named after V. Surikov to study painting.
Since 1966, Vladimir Smolyar began working at the Bronnitsky porcelain factory “Vozrozhdenie”. He was called “a talented artist, an innovator in spirit”.
For the teapot “Novgorodsky”, Smolyar chose an unusual shape: a long upturned spout, a round body that tapered to the top and bottom, and an openwork handle with porcelain scrolls. The new model was called the “patriarch of the blue Bronnitsky tableware”, and for many years this teapot was one of the most popular items among the buyers. On both sides, the author used the gold paint to depict the Cathedral of St. Sophia — the main church of Veliky Novgorod and one of the oldest stone church buildings in Russia.
The Cathedral of St. Sophia was built in 1045-1050 on the initiative of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, who wished that his eldest son, Vladimir, would oversee the construction. Since 1136, the temple was the spiritual center of the Novgorod Republic, and since 1478, when the Novgorod lands were annexed to Moscow, the cathedral became an important temple for the entire state.
Although Smolyar chose an abstract style to depict the Cathedral of St. Sophia, he still managed to feature most of the architectural details: the temple had six domes in the form of Old Rus’ helmets and crosses, three entrances, and three apses — lowered ledges. Two of them were rounded, and one was pentagonal. At the top of the central dome, there was a lead figure of a dove, which symbolized the Holy Spirit. According to the Novgorod legend, when in 1570 Ivan the Terrible launched the massacre of the city, a pigeon sat down on the cross to have some rest. The bird saw the violence and was petrified with horror. After that, one of the monks had a vision in which the Virgin said that the dove had been sent to comfort the city — while it was sitting on the cross, Novgorod was to be safe.
During the Great Patriotic War, the central cross of the cathedral was taken to Spain as a war trophy. In 2002, the governor of the Novgorod region addressed the Spanish Embassy in Russia with a request to find the cross. It turned out that the Novgorod artifact was located in the chapel of the museum of the Military Engineering Academy of Spain in Madrid. Then the head of the Cathedral of St. Sophia, Archbishop Lev, the Metropolitan of Novgorod and Staraya Russa, asked the President of Russia to help return the trophy to Novgorod. After negotiations with the King of Spain, the central cross was returned to the Cathedral of St. Sophia, and now it is exhibited inside the church building.
Smolyar was a member of the Union of Artists and a participant of regional, republican and all-union exhibitions. He received several state awards and diplomas for his contribution to the development of Russian art. Smolyar was born in 1935 in Minsk. In 1959, the future master graduated from the Penza Art School named after Savitsky and entered the Moscow Art Institute named after V. Surikov to study painting.
Since 1966, Vladimir Smolyar began working at the Bronnitsky porcelain factory “Vozrozhdenie”. He was called “a talented artist, an innovator in spirit”.
For the teapot “Novgorodsky”, Smolyar chose an unusual shape: a long upturned spout, a round body that tapered to the top and bottom, and an openwork handle with porcelain scrolls. The new model was called the “patriarch of the blue Bronnitsky tableware”, and for many years this teapot was one of the most popular items among the buyers. On both sides, the author used the gold paint to depict the Cathedral of St. Sophia — the main church of Veliky Novgorod and one of the oldest stone church buildings in Russia.
The Cathedral of St. Sophia was built in 1045-1050 on the initiative of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, who wished that his eldest son, Vladimir, would oversee the construction. Since 1136, the temple was the spiritual center of the Novgorod Republic, and since 1478, when the Novgorod lands were annexed to Moscow, the cathedral became an important temple for the entire state.
Although Smolyar chose an abstract style to depict the Cathedral of St. Sophia, he still managed to feature most of the architectural details: the temple had six domes in the form of Old Rus’ helmets and crosses, three entrances, and three apses — lowered ledges. Two of them were rounded, and one was pentagonal. At the top of the central dome, there was a lead figure of a dove, which symbolized the Holy Spirit. According to the Novgorod legend, when in 1570 Ivan the Terrible launched the massacre of the city, a pigeon sat down on the cross to have some rest. The bird saw the violence and was petrified with horror. After that, one of the monks had a vision in which the Virgin said that the dove had been sent to comfort the city — while it was sitting on the cross, Novgorod was to be safe.
During the Great Patriotic War, the central cross of the cathedral was taken to Spain as a war trophy. In 2002, the governor of the Novgorod region addressed the Spanish Embassy in Russia with a request to find the cross. It turned out that the Novgorod artifact was located in the chapel of the museum of the Military Engineering Academy of Spain in Madrid. Then the head of the Cathedral of St. Sophia, Archbishop Lev, the Metropolitan of Novgorod and Staraya Russa, asked the President of Russia to help return the trophy to Novgorod. After negotiations with the King of Spain, the central cross was returned to the Cathedral of St. Sophia, and now it is exhibited inside the church building.
