Palekh (russian: Па́лех) is an urban locality (a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

) and the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

Palekhsky District Palekhsky District (russian: Па́лехский райо́н) is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Ivanovo Oblast, Russia.Law #145-OZ It is located in the center of the oblast. The area of the district is ...

Ivanovo Oblast Ivanovo Oblast (russian: Ива́новская о́бласть, ''Ivanovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It had a population of 927,828 as of the 2021 Russian Census. Its three largest cities are Ivanovo (the ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Population:

Painting

Palekh has a very long history in Russian

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

, the art of painting Russian Orthodox

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s for homes and churches. The village emerged as a leading center of Russian icon- and mural-painting in the 19th century. A good example of the Palekh school are the murals and icons from the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross (built in 1762–1774).

Miniature painting

Today, Palekh is known primarily for the

Palekh miniature Palekh miniature (russian: Палехская миниатюра) is a Russian folk handicraft of a miniature painting, which is done with tempera paints on varnished articles made of papier-mâché (including the creation of small boxes, cigaret ...

. Following the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

with its outspoken

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

ideology. Around 1923, the Palekh masters of iconography began to paint papier-mâché boxes while applying the same principles they had learned from painting icons. Palekh is the most renowned of the four famous villages, the others being Kholuy, Mstyora, and Fedoskino, each producing similar, yet a very distinct artistic style.

Materials

They used mainly tempera paints of bright colors and painted over a black background. The work usually represents themes from real life,

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

, literary works, and folk songs.

References

External links

Old photos of Palekh
{{Authority control Urban-type settlements in Ivanovo Oblast Golden Ring of Russia Vyaznikovsky Uyezd