On one of the sheets of the manuscript collection (c. 1457—1530), stored in the British Library91, three chests are shown. Red one has straight walls and a sloping lid, upholstered with strips of iron; on the front wall there is a figured metal plate. The other represents a typical travel «bag». Such things will later be done in many European countries and in Russia. The third type is the so-called «chest – teremok». It is painted red and upholstered with iron strips. There are no decorations on the examined items. The dimensions of the products are unlikely to correspond to the real ones. The miniature testifies not only to the wide distribution of chest products in England of that period, but also to their diversity.

We must also mention a page from a book (c. 1480)92, owned by Mary of Burgundy, on which the artist Nicholas Spiering depicts one of the scenes of the Passion of Christ. Below it there are images of various objects, among which you can see a small turquoise box. It has a high sloping lid and straight walls (no legs). The surfaces of the box are most likely upholstered with velvet, placed under thin iron strips, the ends of which resemble the shape of lilies. On the front wall there is a rectangular face made of brass (internal lock). The hinge is located on the lid. The inside of the box is either painted or also upholstered with velvet (red). Since the lid is open, you can see what was stored in the box. These are women’s items, a scarf and jewelry. Despite the fact that this miniature cannot be used to judge the design of the casket, its shape and decoration can be seen quite clearly.

In Russia, as in European countries, chest products became widespread very early. One of the first mentions is found in «Izbornik of Svyatoslav» (1076)93. In Novgorod birch-bark documents of the 12th century, there are references to chests and boxes.94. Images of large chests that are used as a bench are found in miniatures of the Radziwill Chronicle (end of the 15th century). There you can also see a chest with a sloping lid and a chest with a gable roof95. Russian icon painting did not avoid images of chests. On the icon «Christ the Almighty on the throne, in 28 scenes» by Semyon Spiridonov Kholmogorets96, originating from Yaroslavl and dating from about 1682, a large chest is depicted. It has straight walls and a sloping lid, upholstered with tin sheets with a picturesque ornament consisting of plant motifs. The front side and the cover are divided into two equal parts, side walls are divided into four parts. This image indicates that already in the 17th century there were chests of the type that would become widespread in Russia much later.

In numerous icons depicting St. Panteleimon, a chest is depicted, which the healer holds in his hands. It is necessary to point out not this peculiarity of iconography, but the variety of caskets. They can be depicted large and small, with a flat lid and gable, painted and carved, with or without legs. This testifies to the wide prevalence of this type of chest products.

Several chest centers developed in Russia over time, such as Kholmogory and Veliky Ustyug, the Middle Urals, the city of Makaryev, Nizhny Novgorod province. The works of local masters were popular among Russian painters.

The works of the masters from Kholmogor and Veliky Ustyug were most vividly reflected on the historical canvases of Konstantin Makovsky «Boyar wedding feast in the 17th century» (1883)97, «Minin on the square of Nizhny Novgorod…» (1890s)98. The artist carefully depicted chests, coffers and caskets. These are typical products of northern craftsmen, upholstered with wrought iron with colored linings. Makovsky, as a rule, depicted items historically authentically. But on the canvas «Minin on Nizhny Novgorod Square…» one can see a large red chest made in the second half of the 19th century (most likely in the Murom district). It was the time of the dominance of manufactories. However, this anachronism does not interfere with the perception of the canvas.

Another major center of Russian chest production was the factory settlements of the Middle Urals. It is known that the Ural chest is depicted on the canvas of the artist N.D. Dmitriev-Orenburgskij «The fire in the village», dating from 187999. It is among other household items rescued by the peasants from the fire. The artist scrupulously drew the details of the shape and decor of the chest. It is rectangular, with a slightly sloping lid, upholstered with slotted metal plates and floral ornaments made using the embossing technique. The front wall is divided into three fields: two wide and one narrow. Each contains «mirrors», i.e. pieces of polished iron. The decoration of the sides repeats the decor of the front in an abbreviated form. In general, the depicted chest is a typical work of the Ural masters of the second half of the 19th century.

There is evidence that influenced by the Ural products brought to the local fair in the 18th century, residents of the city of Makaryeva (Nizhny Novgorod province) began to make chests100. The popularity of the Makaryev chests is evidenced by the works of Boris Kustodiev, for example, the sketch «The chest man» (1918), the painting of the same name (1920) and the painting «The merchant» (1923), which depicts numerous chests placed in the form of a «mountain»101. If in the sketch the chests are presented in a generalized way (although one can catch the main motifs and compositions of the painting), then in the paintings the artist carefully drew every detail of their external appearance. Chests serveв as chairs and tables. Large bouquets of flowers are depicted on their front walls, some are decorated with «frozen» tin and strips with embossed ornament.

Artists did not always depict chests with sufficient accuracy. For example, on the canvas of Vasiliy Pukirev «The reception of a dowry in a merchant family by list» (1873)102 a chest is depicted, the reverse side of which is decorated as richly as the front. This has never been the case with products of this type. The combination of refined painting, consisting of plant motifs, with rough metal strips is also not typical for Russian chests.

So the important role of chest products in culture was clearly reflected in the fine arts. These images testify to the wide distribution in European countries of a wide variety of chest products: chests of several types, caskets, trunks. They were decorated with cut-out iron strips with colored linings, velvet, painting and inlay. Many images are an important historical source that can clarify certain aspects of the life of people of the past. They not only illustrate the features of the existence of chest products, but also record all the main changes in their design and artistic style.

Published: Сундук в изобразительном искусстве// Петербургские искусствоведческие тетради. Статьи по истории искусства. АИС. – 2020. – Вып. 58. – С. 187—194.

Chests with the «comb painting» (Vologda province, II half of the XIX – beginning of the XX century)103

At present, the scientific literature on northern wood paintings is huge. In the works of V.M. Vishnevskaya, N.V. Taranovskaya, O.V. Kruglovoi, S.K. Zhegalova, M.I. Milchik, A.A. Glebovoy, O.V. Alekseeva, T.M. Oleinik, M.D. Uryupina and many other researchers analyze certain aspects of the artistic paintings of the Russian North, determine the main features of various centers, and explore the creative manners of folk masters.

Despite the successes achieved, there are still many unresolved issues and problems. In particular, this applies to such a type of decorative design of the surface of household items as «under the comb» painting (another name is «under the rubber»). To date, there is not a single work dedicated specifically to this type of painting. And this is all the more surprising that a significant number of products have been preserved, the names of the masters and some circumstances of the receipt of works in museum collections are known.

The purpose of this article is to identify the main centers of comb painting, an analysis of its artistic and technical features. When working on the topic, information from special literature was involved. The material of the study was mainly works from various museum collections of the Vologda region.

* * *

The essence of painting «under the comb» is the application of a pattern on wet oil paint using a special device. It can be a comb (hence the name) or a special tool made of rubber. Masters could use other improvised means, for example, a napkin. The painting was carried out directly on a wooden base (fig.1).

Fig. 1. The «comb painting» (XIX – early XX century, Vologda province). Detail.

Quite often, with the help of this type of painting, they imitated the texture of wood. But in most cases, this can be said with a high degree of conventionality, since we are talking only about work «based on», i.e. about painting under the impression of beautiful natural patterns on wood.

This type of painting was used for the most part to decorate household items: chests, caskets, cabinets, and in house paintings. It should be however noted that this type of painting reached its greatest prosperity when ornamenting chests. If in house paintings it acted only as part of a general decorative solution (for example, it decorated the main background or the edges of objects), then when painting chests it became the main means of ornamentation104. It can be asserted therefore with confidence that, as an independent artistic phenomenon, «under the comb» painting is typical for the decorative design of chests105.

Most of the materials available for research are of Vologda origin, but it can be assumed that the distribution area of this type of decorative finishing of household utensils is somewhat wider (as an auxiliary means, comb painting is often found, for example, on Vyatka chests). The circumstances of the acquisition of most museum items indicate the time of their production – the second half of the XIX – beginning of the XX century106.

Two large centers can be at present distinguished in which chests with comb painting were made: the village of Sizma and the city of Veliky Ustyug (ornamentation options in other places are spontaneous, arbitrary). Perhaps this is due to the more serious organization of chest production in these places, while in other areas it was of a domestic, «amateur» nature. Here, «due to the specifics of historical and socio-economic conditions, relative isolation and the lack of strong ties between them, favorable conditions were created for the formation of independent schools and directions against the backdrop of a common tradition»107.

Sizma is an old village in the northeast of the Sheksninsky district of the Vologda region. The road to Vologda ran through Sizma. For this reason, the village was rich and crowded. Before the revolution of 1917, several thousand people lived here, among whom there were many not only craftsmen (brewers, weavers, gingerbread men), but also merchants. Therefore, the existence here of the production of chests with painting is quite understandable.

Local chests with comb painting are medium-sized boxes, the walls of which are fastened in a dovetail pattern (the lid and bottom are made of two boards, the side walls are made of one board). The lid is flat, the handles are figured, cast, there are no legs. Small hinges for the lock are located vertically in the center of the front side. The design of the chests, the shape of the hinges confirms their Vologda origin, the products in question are analogous among the chests of other districts of the province, in particular, Gryazovets108.

The painting covers all surfaces of the chests in a carpet-like manner (without any voids). The color scheme is usually strict and concise. A limited number of colors were used. They did not mix, the masters wrote in pure active color. The paints were not superimposed in a dense layer; a wooden base shines through under them. When the master used ocher tones, it softened the sharp contrasts. The painting is characterized by a light, improvisational manner of execution and a variety of decorative compositions. Wavy lines form various geometric shapes on the surface of the chests and mark the edges, emphasizing the shape of the chests. Sometimes they imitate «grids» – a composition of thin strips, which is found on the chests of many other centers, for example, the Ural and Vyatka. Compositions of the comb painting are somewhat reminiscent of the painting of the Gryazovets chests, they are related by a clear division of the decorated surfaces into large geometric shapes, a wide strip under the hinges, and an underlined selection of the edges of the products.

Consider for example two chests from the Bread Museum (Sizma village). The first is of medium size, its design is typical for the chests of this center: a rectangular box, a flat lid with hinges. Legs or any supports are missing. The decoration of the chest represents one of the variants of the composition of the local painting: the front wall and the lid are divided into strips of the same width, while there are seven of them on the lid, and six on the front side. Inside the wide stripes are wavy lines dividing them in half. The same lines frame the compositions, emphasizing the clarity of the product’s form. Below the hinges, that is, exactly in the middle of the front side, there is a wide strip imitating the tin strips of other types of chests (if in the latter they often serve to protect the key hole or the lock mechanism, then here they are useless in this respect and are simply decor). The master easily and freely, in an improvisational manner, reproduced familiar compositions. The painting is distinguished by nobility of color combinations, ocher tones gave it a special decorative effect.

The second chest demonstrates the variety of comb painting, the richness of its decorative possibilities (the design is similar to that discussed above). Its front side is divided into two fields, decorated in different ways: one is a typical comb painting, made at a high professional level, and the other, cruciform, is decorated with wavy stripes, reminiscent of the shape and arrangement of iron bars on the windows of churches. The soft color combinations of the painting, its fast, improvisational nature, gave the overall artistic solution of the chest lightness and decorativeness. The decoration of the thing is enriched by the texture of the wood, translucent through a thin layer of paint. The composition of the painting gives the chest visual stability, solid solidity. The chest under consideration is characterized by decorativeness, constructiveness and ornamentality, about which Vasiliy Voronov wrote: «These main artistic features… merging together in each individual artwork, give a solid and strong artistic foundation to the peasant everyday creativity, grant it an indisputable right to be called art»109.

Veliky Ustyug is one of the oldest cities in the Russian North. It is located 450 km northeast of Vologda on the banks of the Sukhona River. Since ancient times, Ustyug has been not only a large merchant city, but also a center of various crafts, including artistic ones. Ustyug niello (on silver), iron forging, «frozen» tin, carving and painting on birch bark are known far outside the city. Painted chests and caskets were also made here.

The long tradition of making chests here has been repeatedly mentioned in the literature. Even Flegont Arseniev in his «Essay on handicrafts», published in 1882, noted that «in Veliky Ustyug, from time immemorial, there has been the production of chests, all in one anciently established form …». He also wrote about the division of labor between carpentry and locksmith specialties. «For five pieces of wood (five pieces – one to one), Shemogodsk craftsmen charge a price according to the outer color of the chest: for colourfully painted ones from 1r. 20 k. – 1 p. 30 k., painted from 80 k. – 90 k. …, Ten independent craftsmen in Ustyug are engaged in upholstery and assembly of chests; they have up to 36 workers. Completely upholstered and folded chests are sold then. Colourfully painted cost 3 rubles, painted ones cost 2 rubles. 60k. Chests are sold on the local market in Ustyug and mainly to buyers in the counties of Yarensky, Totemsky, Velsky, Nikolsky, Kadnikovsky, Ustsysolsky and Vologda»110.

Ustyug chests decorated with comb painting (the essence of it was to apply a pattern on wet oil paint using a special device. It could be a comb or a special tool made of rubber.) are of medium size that is quite standard for this type of product. Their lid is sloping (consists of 3—4 boards), there are no legs or stands. On the sides there are molded handles, on the front there is a ring for opening the lid. The fastening of the chests is simple: they were upholstered with thin iron strips on all sides. Thus, the design of products came into conflict with their painting. The walls and lids of the chests were painted in advance and only later fastened with strips.

It should be noted that the prefabricated nature of these type of chest production is noticeable: sometimes the wavy stripes do not match the lid and sides. The painting, as a rule, consists of two or three colors. The locks on such chests have always been protected by metal plates of various shapes (today the locks are removed from most products). Sometimes additional plates were attached to the lid or corners to strengthen the chest.

Beautiful chests of this type are in the collection of the Totma Museum Association and the Veliky Ustyug State historical, architectural and Art Museum Reserve111. Let us consider two of them as an example. The first is in the collection of the Totma Museum112. Its shape and dimensions are typical for the products under consideration. The walls are fastened with iron strips, which were simply damaged during the life of the thing and disappeared from the side walls. But on the front wall they were cut off on purpose. A small ring attached to the lid makes it easier to open the chest. The lock is protected by a trapezoidal iron plate.

The painting consists of several wavy stripes of brown and light green colors, formed by wavy lines (chests with a similar painting are kept in the Dionysius Fresco Museum113). The sonorous major scale is built on the use of bright local colors. The master applied the drawing on wet paint with precise movements. The ease of performance, the clarity and confidence of movements testify to the great experience of the author of the painting. Composition with stripes arranged at an angle is often found in this type of chest. Due to this arrangement of the strips, the shape of the product is somewhat «blurred». In general, such a composition can be called universal, since it can be used for any three-dimensional object. In addition, it testifies to the inexhaustible wealth of options for comb painting. Although the starting point for the craftsmen was probably the texture of the wood, their creative imagination often took them far from this natural pattern. Using only a few colors and the simplest techniques, the author of this painting managed to achieve color harmony, clarity of the drawing and, in general, the expressiveness of the artistic solution.

The second chest is in the Veliky Ustyug Museum Reserve114. Its shape and dimensions are similar to other considered products. The differences include the location of the handle on the top surface of the lid but not on its front side. There are no handles for holding, usually located on the sides of such products. Perhaps, especially this chest most clearly characterizes one of the features of the production of such products, meaning its «prefabricated» nature.

Despite the very high level of performance of the painting, the master thought little about the general artistic solution of the thing. He mechanistically connected the walls. Therefore, the iron plate «hung» on the surface of the front side. Most likely, the chest was painted and assembled by different people. At the same time, as noted above, the painting is made at a high artistic level, it exposes the hand of a professional master. The painting is decorative and dynamic. This is achieved by the sonorous combination of colors and the wavy shape of the bands that form cells on the entire surface of the chest. Such a thing brought a bright emotional accent to the interior of a peasant hut. The artistic features of the painting in question are such that only technology makes it related to other works of this type.

An interesting example of the connection of the comb painting with the so-called «Shemogoda» painting represents a chest from the collection of the Kirillo-Belozersky historical, architectural and Art Museum Reserve115 (it should be noted that it also again proves the Ustyug origin of the chests in question). The design of the thing corresponds to the design of Veliky Ustyug products. The painting consists of wavy and straight stripes located at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. At the same time, the colors are typical for the «Shemogoda» painting. The hybrid of chest116 does not interfere with calling it a wonderful work of folk art, with its own artistic merits.

In addition to Sizma and Veliky Ustyug, chests with comb painting were made in the Kharovsky district. While considering the paintings of Kharovsk the Vologda researcher Angelina Glebova first mentioned the existence of such a type of painting as imitation «like a tree»117. However, there are too few chests with comb painting in this area today. The main motive in this region is the continuous covering of the entire surface of the chest with such a pattern. The names of the craftsmen are known, for example, Nikolai Alexandrovich Skorodumov, originally from a farmstead outside the village of Yesyunikha in Leshchevskaya volost, born on July 12, 1919. He most often used «waves» in his works.

As an example of Kharovsky products, we can cite a chest decorated with a painting, which consists of hinge-shaped motifs in a dark brown background.Th118e chest is a box with walls connected by a dovetail mount. The lid is hinged and flat. The clear, confident nature of the work, based on improvisation, testifies to the great experience of the master (he may had been left-handed). Several rows of «waves» completely cover all the walls of the chest. However, neither the carpet-like filling (without any voids) of large surfaces with painting, nor its dynamism «conceal» the shape of the product.

Comb painting is typical not only for medium-sized chests discussed in this article, but also for small items119. However, the principles of their decoration are almost the same, so they remained outside the scope of the work.

As for the origin of the comb painting on the chests, several conclusions are possible to make today.

1. Painting on household items and interior painting were often done by the same people. The painting of each hut must be considered as a single, integral stylistic complex. «Multiple variation of the ornament on different things emphasized their kinship, interconnection, included in the general subordinate circular action of the interior of the hut»120. Therefore, the origins of the comb painting must be sought in the decoration of peasant huts. Imitation of precious wood species as an additional ornamental motif is found in house paintings of the Russian North, for example, Povazhye121. This fact, in turn, leads to the need for a more careful consideration of the interiors of city mansions, since it is known that folk «painters» were guided by «high» art in their work.

2. The statement about the significant role of Kostroma otkhodniks122 in the development of Vologda murals has already has become fundametal. Among them there were many specialists in the imitation of valuable wood species, who worked in cities as «room painters» in the late 19th and early 20th centuries123. It is possible that the comb painting spread in the chest industry of the Vologda region through the Kostroma painters and the house paintings (or rather, as part of the house paintings). Petersburg scientist Michael Milchik rightly wrote that «the decorative and ornamental principle finally prevailed among the Kostroma masters»124 and most clearly manifested in the murals with the comb painting. It can be assumed that this was an economical option for decorating household items, since it represented in a sense part of the house paintings.

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