Читать книгу The history of Russian chest craft (19th – early 20th centuries). Collection of scientific articles - Глеб Пудов - Страница 6

From the dawn of time, the chest has been used to store valuables, documents, and food supplies. It played a special role in the wedding ceremony. It is not surprising that from an early time the chest was reflected in the works of fine arts.

In the scientific literature, this topic has not received sufficient coverage, although in some works there are references to the image of certain chests and caskets in paintings, book miniatures, frescoes, icon painting71. Researchers most often only state the fact of the image of certain chest products. Perhaps the most thorough research in this area belongs to the german researcher Paul Schubring72. His work, however, deals only with italian cassones (wedding chests).

This paper attempts to summarize information on this topic, trace the features of the image of chest products in the works of easel and monumental painting, book graphics.

It should be emphasized that the author involved only the most demonstrative works of art. The number of images of chests and caskets is truly limitless, it is impossible to cover everything in one review.

I

As early as in the painting of antique vases one can see chests and caskets with flat or sloping lids, each of which consists of four pillars and walls made of several planks. Sometimes the products are depicted in such detail that not only the design differs, but also the colors and ornamental motifs. These items were used in religious ceremonies and as home furniture. As an example antique vases from the Hermitage collection can be indicated73. Based on these drawings, we can conclude that the oldest design used to create furniture in ancient Egypt has retained its popularity.

Images of chests and caskets in Italian Renaissance art are most common. Some of them are made very carefully, so they are used as historical sources. A fresco by Giotto from the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua (1304—1306; in the scene of the Annunciation to St. Anne) shows a large red chest with a flat lid and straight walls. It is upholstered with thin iron strips, on the front side there is a figured metal plate protecting the lock. According to Italian tradition, the chest is in the bedroom. In this case, we can name two works by the Sienese artist Sano di Pietro. The first is The Nativity of the Virgin (1448—1452), in which cassone chests stand along the beds74. The front side of each of them is decorated with a painted floral ornament against a gold background, located in three rectangular figures. Since the lids on the chests are flat, the latter are used as benches. In another work by Sano di Pietro, The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist (1450—60)75 cassons are also located along the beds. Unlike the chests depicted on the previous canvas, they are devoid of painting. Their only decoration is profiled panels. Antonello da Messina on the canvas «Saint Jerome at work» (around1475)76 depicted a small chest with a flat lid and carved legs, reminiscent of Stollenrtuhe (one of the common types of chests). It is locatecd to the right of the saint. The item is devoid of any decorations, it is simple and elegant. And in the famous painting by Titian «Venus of Urbino» (1538)77 two chests are shown in the background. They have rounded walls and are decorate perhaps with intarsia. The ornament consists of whimsically twisting vegetative scrolls and anthropomorphic images. Even on the front panels of the chests themselves, wedding cassones were depicted, as, for example, on a Florentine work of the 15th century from the collection of the State Hermitage78. Two servants on a donkey carry richly decorated chests with sloping lids. Their sizes do not correspond to the real ones. Examples of the image of Italian chests on frescoes, canvases and panels can be listed almost endlessly. Thus, based on the images examined, it can be concluded that chest production has developed significantly: in the 15th century in Italy, various designs and techniques for decorating products were used.

Painters of other countries also paid attention to chest items. On the triptych of Pieter Aartsen «Adoration of the Magi» (1560)79 a large chest is depicted in some detail. It has a sloping lid reinforced with thin wooden strips from the inside; walls are straight, upholstered with iron strips, on the sides there are handles and terer are no legs. The chest may have been upholstered with leather having an ornament made in the embossing technique. And on the canvas of Hieronymus Bosch «Death of a Merchant» (1485—1490)80 even more detailed than the thing discussed above, a chest is depicted, reproducing the design of tuugkist («sarcophagus») chests. In the grooves of the four «pillars» the boards are strengthened (they also form the legs) that make up the walls. The lid is flat, it was raised and lowered with the help of wooden hinges. The front side of the chest (lower part) is decorated with geometric motifs performed in carving technique. Attention is drawn to the powerful iron plate that protects the key hole. It consists of two parts of different shapes (triangular and round), superimposed on each other. A long iron hinge is attached to the lid. The title is on the left. An interesting detail shows how the lid was held up: a dagger was used. In German painting, images of chest products are no less common. They can be seen, for example, on Stefan Lochner’s Altar of the Cologne City Cartridge (after 1426), on his own painting Madonna in the Gazebo (1440), on the left wing of the Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald (1506—1515). There is a chest with flat lids and walls, consisting of paneled panels; a chest with a flat lid, the walls of which are connected «in a dovetail»; richly decorated casket with a gable lid. The desire of German painters for a reliable depiction of objects (which is called by researchers as one of the features of German Renaissance painting81) made it possible to consider their canvases as a source of the history of everyday life.

The collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art contains a portrait of Sir Anthony Mildmay (around 1590—1593) by the English painter Nicholas Hilliard (around 1547—1619)82. To the right of the person being portrayed there is a large black chest with a sloping lid, upholstered with iron strips arranged as a checked one. On the front side there are three figured iron hinges. Among the furnishings of the tent of an English aristocrat, the chest occupies one of the main places.

By the 18th—19th centuries, when chests gradually fell into disuse in the higher social strata, their appearance changed. Like the other changes mentioned above, this was also reflected in painting. An idea of such chests can be given by numerous canvases and drawings by the famous Norwegian artist Adolf Tidemand (1814—1876), stored in the National Museum of Art, architecture and design (Oslo). For example, on the «The old pantry in Vik» (1867)83 four large peasant chests are depicted. They are decorated with paintings (this is the traditional Norwegian «rosemåling») and iron figured strips. They have sloping lids and high carved plinths. Similar products are kept in many museums in Scandinavia.

If we are talking about the countries of Eastern Europe, then it is necessary to mention the altar image «The adoration of the Magi» (1514) from the Peter and Paul Church of the village of Drysviaty, Braslav district, Vitebsk region84. One of the characters is holding a wooden casket upholstered with figured iron strips. The casket is depicted in great detail, the master obviously had some kind of sample before his eyes. The walls of the product are decorated with carved ornaments, consisting of floral scrolls and plot scenes. The gable cover is devoid of decorations. This image can serve as reliable evidence of the early acquaintance of Belarusian craftsmen with European products.

Another type of art, where images of chests and caskets are found, was engraving. Especially often German, Dutch and French artists and engravers turned to this plot. On the engraving of Albrecht Dürer «Saint Jerome» (1511)85 among the many furnishings of the cell there is a small chest with a flat lid and a figured metal mask. It is placed on a high carved plinth. On the side walls there are figured cast handles. And on the engraving «A young couple and an old woman with a piggy bank» (1589 – 1607)86 Jan Sanredam depicts a box with a trapezoidal lid in which coins are stored. The box is upholstered with iron strips and possibly cloth. On the front side there is a metal mask. During the period when the engraving was created, many similar caskets were made in the Netherlands, so the artist probably had a sample in front of him. The engraving of Abraham Boss «The Footman Following the Decree of 1633»87 depicts a chest in which a servant puts his master’s suits. This is a large chest with a sloping lid, upholstered with fabric. From the inside and along the edges it is reinforced with iron strips. The front wall is narrowed down. On the sides there are molded handles of a simple shape.

Images of chests were found not only in painting and engraving, but also in miniature. On one of the sheets of the book «Très belles Heures» (c. 1400)88, previously owned by the younger brother of Charles V, Duke de Berry, there is a scene of the birth of John the Baptist and below it is «The Baptism of Christ». In the first scene the main role is played by the landscape, but the second one represents the Flemish interior. Among the wooden furniture and metal utensils, a «sarcophagus» chest is depicted. This is one of the most ancient types of chests. It is interesting to note that it completely repeats the image of the above-mentioned work by Hieronymus Bosch (except that it has two headings, and not one, like a merchant’s chest). Storing various household items it stands opposite the bed of the woman in labor. Considering that after the creation of this miniature, almost a century passed before the appearance of Bosch’s painting, it must be stated that the «sarcophagus» type of chests is not only one of the most ancient, but also one of the most stable types of chest products. Probably, this was facilitated by the simplicity of design and the harmony of proportions, found by the masters quite early89.

On one of the sheets of the manuscript collection (c. 1457—1530), stored in the British Library90, 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)91, 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.

II

In Russia, as in European countries, chest products became widespread very early. One of the first mentions is found in «Izbornik of Svyatoslav» (1076)92. In Novgorod birch-bark documents of the 12th century, there are references to chests and boxes.93. 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 roof94. Russian icon painting did not avoid images of chests. On the icon «Christ the Almighty on the throne, in 28 scenes» by Semyon Spiridonov Kholmogorets95, 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)96, «Minin on the square of Nizhny Novgorod…» (1890s)97. 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 187998. 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 chests99. 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»100. 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)101 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.