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Bogorodsk mobile wooden toys. Bogorodsk Toy Museum

Bogorodskaya carving, Bogorodskaya toy - Russian folk craft, consisting in the manufacture of carved toys and sculptures from soft woods (linden, alder, aspen). Its center is the village of Bogorodskoye (Sergiev Posad district of the Moscow region).

Story

Origin

Sergiev Posad and its environs have long been considered the historical center of toy making in Russia. Sometimes it was called the "Russian toy capital" or "the capital of the toy kingdom." Toys were made in many surrounding villages. But the most famous was the village of Bogorodskoe, located about 29 kilometers from Sergiev Posad. The toy crafts of Sergiev Posad and the village of Bogorodsky are called by experts as two branches on one trunk. Indeed, crafts have common roots: the traditions of ancient pillar-like plastics and the school of three-dimensional, relief woodcarving at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, known since the 15th century.

According to folk legend, a long time ago a family lived in the village. The mother decided to amuse the little children. She cut out an “auka” figurine from a block of logs. The children were happy, played and threw the "auka" on the stove. Once the husband began to gather for the bazaar and said: “I’ll take the “auka” and show it to the traders in the bazaar.” "Auka" bought and ordered more. Since then, the carving of toys has appeared in Bogorodskoye. And she began to be called "Bogorodskaya".

It is rather difficult to determine the real date of the origin of the fishery. For a long time, most researchers believed that already since the 17th century Bogorodskoye had been engaged in volumetric woodcarving. The basis for such statements was the palace books of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, which speaks of buying toys for the royal children on the way to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Moreover, they usually refer not to the primary source, but to the works of D. Vvedensky and N. Tseretelli, well-known researchers of Russian peasant toys in the 1930s, who also rely not on archival documents, but on the research of I. E. Zabelin. However, the latter made a mistake: the purchase of wooden toys is indicated in the book of expenses of Ekaterina Alekseevna, the wife of Peter I, in the entry of 1721. But, as I. Mamontova writes in her article: "However, the source unambiguously states that the purchase was made in Moscow ...".

It is believed that the earliest surviving works of Bogorodsk craft (located in the State Historical Museum, the State Russian Museum, the Museum of Folk Art named after S. T. Morozov and the Art and Pedagogical Museum of Toys) date back to the beginning of the 19th century. Most likely, it would be legitimate to attribute the origin of the carved Bogorodsk toy to the 17th-18th centuries, and the formation of the craft by the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries.

At first, the craft was a typical peasant production. Products were made seasonally: from late autumn to early spring, that is, when there was a break in agricultural work. For a long time, Bogorodsk carvers were directly dependent on the Sergiev craft, working directly on orders from Sergiev buyers and manufacturing, mainly, the so-called "gray" goods, which were finally finished and painted in Sergiev Posad.

At the same time, it was at the initial stage of the formation of the Bogorodsk craft that works began to appear that are considered masterpieces of folk art, including: “The Shepherd”, which has become a kind of Bogorodsk classic, lions with cubs, dogs with puppies.

The craft arose in a purely peasant environment, but developed under the strong influence of handicraft production with a different type of culture - township. This type of culture is a symbiosis of urban and peasant traditions, which has been influenced by porcelain sculpture, book illustrations, popular popular prints and works of professional painters.

Development

Already in the middle of the 19th century, the center of carving moved to Bogorodskoye, and the Bogorodsky craft gained independence. A great influence on the formation of the Bogorodsk style proper was exerted by the work of such masters as A. N. Zinin, and somewhat later by the activity of a professional artist, a native of Bogorodsk P. N. Ustratov. The period of the 1840s - 1870s, according to a number of experts, is the heyday of the Bogorodsk carved handicraft.

The next stage in the development of toy business in Bogorodskoye is associated with the activities of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo in 1890-1900 in this area. In 1891, an educational and demonstration workshop was organized in Sergiev Posad, which combined the functions of a research and educational institution, and also sold toys in Russia and abroad. A few years earlier, in Moscow, with the support of S. T. Morozov, the Moscow Handicraft Museum was opened. In fact, it was a whole movement, reviving and supporting the national basis in the dying folk art. Such zemstvo figures and artists as N. D. Bartram, V. I. Borutsky, I. I. Oveshkov played a significant role in the development of the Bogorodsk craft.

A professional artist, collector, and later the founder and first director of the State Toy Museum (now the Artistic and Pedagogical Toy Museum) N. D. Bartram was one of the first to try to preserve and revive ancient traditions. However, seeing that the old works did not captivate the handicraftsmen, he began to orient them towards the creation of works in the folk style, but following the models of professional artists. The opponent of this path was the artist and collector A. Benois, who considered this process an artificial rescue of the fishery.

You can talk a lot about what is more - harm or benefit brought the intervention of professional artists in the folk craft, but the indisputable factor is that for several decades, the products of the Zemstvo period were a kind of standard for master carvers.

In 1913 an artel was organized in Bogorodskoye. This helped the people of Bogorodsk gain economic independence from the Sergius buyers. The initiators of the creation of the artel were already well-known at that time carvers A. Ya. Chushkin and F. S. Balaev. At the head of the artel was a kind of "artistic council", which consisted of the oldest and most experienced craftsmen. Newly joining the artel, the carvers were first assigned to the easiest work, if the young master coped with the manufacture of a simple toy, the task was complicated for him: the execution of animal figures, multi-figure compositions.

In the same 1913, an educational and demonstration workshop with an instructor class was opened in Bogorodskoye, and in 1914 a zemstvo school was opened on its basis, in which boys studied at full board.

In the first decade after the October Revolution, old zemstvo samples were preserved in Bogorodskoye, and the products of the trade were exported in large quantities. In 1923, the artel "Bogorodsky carver" was restored, in which the masters of the older generation continued their work and the Bogorodsky craft occupies one of the leading places. The change in the social structure stimulated the craftsmen to search for new forms and artistic solutions. However, it was precisely at that time that the problem of “easel painting” that emerged back in the “zemstvo period” arose. In the 1930s, the so-called toy-sculpture appeared, which was distinguished by the novelty of the theme and its disclosure.

For the next two decades (1930s - 1950s), professional artists and art critics again intervene in the affairs of the craft - mainly employees of the Scientific Research Institute of the Art Industry (NIIKhP) created during this period. Not only in Bogorodskoye, but also in other fields, outright politicization begins. The masters were called themes that were alien to the peasant nature and the people's understanding of beauty. In Bogorodskoye, the reaction to ideological pressure was the development of a fairy tale theme. The conventionality of Bogorodsk carving was the best way to express the unusual in a fairy tale, to create vivid and memorable images. The historical theme in these years has significantly narrowed, localized. First of all, it reflected the events of the Great Patriotic War.

One of the most tragic dates in the history of the Bogorodsk craft can be called 1960, when the artel organization of labor traditional for art crafts was liquidated and replaced by a factory one. This process is sometimes aptly referred to as the "manufacturing" of the fishery. From that time on, craft began to slowly die, and the concepts of “art industry”, “plan”, “val” and other completely alien concepts came to replace it. A decade and a half later, by an evil twist of fate, the village of Bogorodskoye with its peculiar landscape and the features of the Kunya River attracted the attention of power engineers. The situation in the field has worsened. Log houses with lace architraves were demolished, gardens were cut down, and traditional Bogorodsk gatherings and the simplicity of rural communication left with them. Master carvers moved to high-rise buildings on the upper floors, traditional crafts became more and more problematic. Back in 1984, G. L. Dine wrote in the journal “Decorative Art of the USSR”: “... the village seems small, miserable next to the new buildings advancing on it. Probably the security zone will not save her now either. Inevitably, the way of life of people, their spiritual and moral appearance will change, which means that Bogorodsk art will also be transformed.

In the 1970s - 1980s, about 200 carvers worked at the Bogorodsk Art Carving Factory. Among them were high-class masters who developed interesting samples, there were master performers. In connection with the turbulent events in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the situation in the fishery worsened even more. Currently, the Bogorodsk fishery is in an endless process of struggle for survival. Its position is unstable: traditional sales markets have been lost, raw materials have risen in price, high energy prices - all these factors are not conducive to improving the situation. The Bogorodsk art carving factory has changed its name so many times over the past decade that, according to the current chief artist of this organization, “we barely have time to change signs and stamps.”

In Bogorodskoye, two organizations were created that produced the same products. The best craftsmen leave the "official craft", but at home they continue to create high-class things, although not everyone can do this. Most of the young craftsmen follow the market, performing works that are either insignificant from the point of view of folk tradition, or completely far from it. You don't have to look far for an example. One of the leading craftsmen, still working in the field, S. Pautov, said with bitter irony: “The frosts killed the French near Moscow in 1812, the Germans in 1941, and will soon kill the Bogorodsk carvers.” The artist had in mind wooden carvings depicting Santa Claus - a favorite character of the New Year holidays, who replaced the notorious bear for homeworkers. On the opening days and on the shelves of shops, the worst of what is still being done in Bogorodskoye is most often found. Interest in the Bogorodsk toy and sculpture is declining due to the low quality of workmanship, low artistic level and rather high cost.

Modernity

At present, the situation in the field is difficult, but the factory continues to produce products. A difficult situation has developed in the Bogorodsk Art and Industrial College. This is a constant shortage of local youth; the influx of students from the subjects of the federation, on the one hand, promotes the popularization of Bogorodsk artistic carving, and on the other hand, nullifies the classical Bogorodsk tradition.

Among the Soviet masters of Bogorodsk carving are F. S. Balaev, A. G. Chushkin, V. S. Zinin, I. K. Stulov, M. A. Pronin, M. F. Barinov and others.

Fishing features

Bogorodsk carving is performed using a special "Bogorodsk" knife ("pike").

One of the distinguishing features of the craft has always been the manufacture of moving toys. The most famous toy is "Blacksmiths", usually depicting a man and a bear, who alternately hit the anvil. This toy, which, according to some sources, is more than 300 years old, has become a symbol of both the Bogorodsk industry and Bogorodsky itself, having entered the coat of arms of the village.

Harvesting linden in the village of Bogorodskoe is a continuous process. Indeed, in order for high-quality blanks to come out of the trunk, the linden must dry for at least four years in natural conditions. That is why, after primary processing, linden trunks are put into huts or stacks and left for several years in special hangars.

The dried tree is sent to the notch. On a lathe or manually, with an ax, craftsmen outline the most general contours of a future toy, cutting or sawing out a workpiece according to a template. Then the product is processed with a chisel and a special knife, the so-called “pike”, which are made by hereditary village craftsmen especially for Bogorodsk carving.

The carved and carefully processed parts of the future movable wooden toy are polished, then the roughness is polished, making the wood absolutely smooth and velvety to the touch. The resulting parts are assembled into a moving composition, if necessary, painted by hand and several layers of varnish are applied.

The symbol of the craft is moving wooden toys.

The Bogorodsk craft of a wooden carved toy is akin to Sergiev Posad. carving school Trinity-Sergius Lavra is the ancestor for both of these crafts and known since the 15th century. In the 18th century, fishing was a seasonal peasant production. From November to early April, as a rule, there is no work in the village, so in order to somehow occupy themselves and earn some money, the peasants took up knives and carved wooden toys out of linden. Sell finished products were taken to Sergiev Posad.

By the middle of the 19th century, Bogorodsk carving became an independent handicraft, which gained Russian and then world fame.

Gradually, the Bogorodsk toy moved from the category of handicraft peasant crafts to the direction of folk art, acquired its own unique features.

In 1913, the artel "Bogorodsky carver" was organized in the village, which allowed the craftsmen to gain economic independence and bring samples of their craft to the international market. By this time, moving wooden toys had become a distinctive feature of the craft, which sharply distanced the artel from the neighboring Sergiev Posadskaya, which retained the traditional Russian nesting doll as a symbol and main operating model.

The symbol of the Bogorodsk trade, known throughout the world, was the toy "Blacksmiths", which is a wooden figure of a man and a bear alternately beating hammers on the anvil. Blacksmiths usually do not paint carved from light linden wood, but simply cover it with several layers of colorless varnish.

The price of urbanization is the decline of folk craft.

By 1960, under the influence of the so-called fabrication of folk crafts, an artistic carving factory was created on the territory of the village of Borogodskoye. The disappearance of the artel organization of labor gradually alienated the craftsmen from each other, depriving them of the simplicity of rural communication so necessary for the development of craft. Under the yoke of the universally imposed principles of the planned economy, village traditions withered, and the development of the village territory with panel high-rise buildings, deforestation and the demolition of old carved wooden buildings gradually nullified the harvesting and drying of wood, which led to the need to purchase expensive third-party raw materials. High energy prices exacerbated the already increased production costs, master carvers who moved to the upper floors of new buildings completely lost touch both with each other and with folk roots, and traditional sales markets became inaccessible, because the price of the Bogorodsk toy has greatly increased, and the quality Unfortunately, it left much to be desired.

Bogorodsk toy from the manufacturer. High quality and reasonable price.

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20.10.2010

The capital of the Bogorodsk toy

"Bogorodskaya toy" owes its birth to the village of Bogorodskoye, now located in the Sergiev Posad district of the Moscow region. In the 15th century, the famous Moscow boyar M.B. Pleshcheev, after whose death, the village, together with the peasants, was inherited by his eldest son Andrei, and then by his grandson Fedor.

From 1595, the village of Bogorodskoye became the property of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and the peasants became monastic serfs. It was the peasants who laid the foundations of woodcarving in the 16th-17th centuries, which glorified Bogorodskoye, the current "capital of the toy kingdom", to the whole world.

Legends of the village of Bogorodskoe

Which of the peasants carved the first wooden toy that laid the foundation for folk art craft, the inhabitants of the village of Bogorodskoye no longer remember, but for more than 300 years two interesting legends have been passed on from mouth to mouth about this event.

The first legend says: “A peasant family lived in the village of Bogorodskoye. So the mother conceived to amuse the children - she cut out a funny figure from a block of logs and called it "auka". The children played with the "auka" and threw it behind the stove. So the husband of a peasant woman went to the market, and he took with him an “auka” to show to the traders. “Auka” was immediately bought and more toys were ordered. They say that since then the carving of wooden toys began and they began to be called "Borogodsky".

The second legend tells how a resident of Sergiev Posad once carved a nine-inch doll from a lime churak. I went to the Lavra, where the merchant Erofeev traded, and sold it to him. The merchant decided to put a funny toy in the shop as a decoration. I didn’t have time to deliver, as the toy was immediately bought, but with a big profit for the merchant. The merchant found a peasant, and ordered him a whole batch of the same toys. Since then, the Bogorodsk toy has become famous.

The history of the development of folk art craft

According to historians, woodcarving in the 17th century was carried out by peasants in many villages, including those in Sergiev Posad and Bogorodskoye. So both of the above stories are true.

At first, the carvers of the village of Bogorodskoye were dependent on the buyers of Sergiev Posad, fulfilling their orders. The Sergievsky trade was based on the purchase from the peasants of the so-called "gray goods", which were then processed, dyed and sold. Approximately from the middle of the 19th century, the center of folk craft moved from Sergiev Posad to the village of Bogorodskoye, which by this time was “the personification of local traditions of woodcarving”. According to researchers, the Bogorodsk carving industry flourished at the end of the 19th century. A great merit in the formation of the “Bogorodsk style” of the toy belongs to such ancient masters as A.N. Zinin. However, the close cooperation between Sergiev Posad and Bogorodsk carvers also had a great influence on the formation of a unified system of images and plots of toys.

In 1913, on the initiative of the oldest carvers F.S. Balaev and A.Ya. Chushkin, an artel was organized in the village of Bogorodskoye, which gave the Bogorodsk craftsmen complete economic independence from the Sergiev Posad buyers. In 1923, due to the replenishment of the staff with new craftsmen, the previously created artel was transformed into the Bogorodsky Carver artel, at which a school began to work, teaching children, starting from the age of 7, the skill of woodcarving. In 1960, the artel "Bogorodsky Carver" received the status of an art carving factory. This event was timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the birth of folk art craft in Bogorodskoye.

How is the Bogorodsk toy made?

Bogorodsk toys are traditionally made of soft wood - linden, aspen, alder, as soft wood is easier to work with. Harvested linden logs are dried using a special technology for at least 4 years, so linden harvesting is a continuous process. Dried logs are sawn and sent to the notch. The master marks the resulting blanks according to the pattern and then cuts out the toy with a special Bogorodsk knife. In the work of the carver, a chisel is also used. The finished parts of the toy are sent to the assembly shop, and at the final stage they are painted. Toys that are not subject to coloring are covered with a colorless varnish.

Features of the "Bogorodsk style" toys

Bogorodsk carving

The history of the fishery

In Sergiev Posad, there is a legend about how in the middle of the 18th century, a resident of the town carved a doll of 9 inches (40 cm) in size from a lime churak and sold it to the merchant Erofeev, who traded at the Lavra. He put it as a decoration in the shop. The toy was immediately bought at a great profit for the merchant. After that, Erofeev ordered a whole batch of such toys.

According to another folk legend, a long time ago a family lived in the village. The mother decided to amuse the little children. She cut out an “auka” figurine from a block of logs. The children were happy, played and threw the "auka" on the stove. Once the husband began to gather for the bazaar and said: “I’ll take the “auka” and show it to the traders in the bazaar.” "Auka" bought and ordered more. Since then, carving of toys has been carried out in Bogorodskoye. And she began to be called "Bogorodskaya".

Folk craftsmen, working with a primitive tool, managed to create truthful, realistic images of the surrounding reality from wood. They carved figurines of animals and people from linden, from folk life, fables and fairy tales.

Particularly interesting are toys with movement: on slats, with balance, with a button. These uncomplicated, but always witty devices make the toy lively, expressive and especially attractive.

Bogorodsk carved toy cavalier and mistress

At first, the craft was a typical peasant production. Products were made seasonally: from late autumn to early spring, that is, when there was a break in agricultural work. For a long time, Bogorodsk carvers were directly dependent on the Sergiev craft, working directly on orders from Sergiev buyers and manufacturing, mainly, the so-called "gray" goods or "linen", which were finally trimmed and painted in Sergiev Posad.

Already in the middle of the 19th century, the center of carving moved to Bogorodskoye, and the Bogorodsky craft gained independence. A great influence on the formation of the Bogorodsk style proper was exerted by the work of such masters as A. N. Zinin, and somewhat later by the activity of a professional artist, a native of Bogorodsk P. N. Ustratov. The time of the 1840s-70s of the XIX century, according to a number of experts, is the heyday of the Bogorodsk carved handicraft.

For the next two decades (1930-1950s), professional artists and art critics again intervene in the affairs of the craft - mainly employees of the Scientific Research Institute of the Art Industry (NIIKhP) created during this period. Not only in Bogorodskoye, but also in other fields, outright politicization begins. The masters were called themes that were alien to the peasant nature and the people's understanding of beauty. In Bogorodsky, the reaction to ideological pressure was the development of a fairy tale theme. The conventionality of the Bogorodsk carving, as well as possible, contributed to the expression of the unusual in a fairy tale, the creation of vivid and memorable images.

Subject composition "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel"

In the 1970s and 1980s, about 200 carvers worked at the Bogorodsk Art Carving Factory. Among them were high-class masters who developed interesting samples, there were master performers. Due to the turbulent events in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the situation in the fishery worsened even more. Currently, the Bogorodsk fishery is in an endless process of struggle for survival, but the factory continues to produce products. A difficult situation has developed in the Bogorodsk Art and Industrial College. This is a constant shortage of local youth; the influx of students from the subjects of the federation, on the one hand, promotes the popularization of Bogorodsk artistic carving, and on the other hand, nullifies the classical Bogorodsk tradition.

How to create a Bogorodsk toy.

For a Bogorodsk toy, linden wood, a soft and pliable tree, well dried in the open air, is needed. You can also use aspen and alder, which have the same soft and uniform wood. The material intended for carving must be well dried. Drying wood is very troublesome. In the open air, under a canopy, the tree dries from several months to three years. Drying can be accelerated many times over if the wood is steamed. The old masters steamed wood in a Russian stove in free heat (that is, after raking out the coals).

Steamed wood not only resists cracking, but also acquires a deep brownish-golden color.

Toys are turning and manual processing. With the first one, everything is simpler - the details of future toys are machined, cut out according to a pattern, the assemblers connect them, and the painters do the painting, if necessary, and varnish it.

But manual work is much more difficult. The trunk is sawn into pieces, which are then cut along the fibers into triangular logs, depending on the required size of the toy.Then the toy is "hacked to death", i.e. give it the most general outlines of the future work.

"Notch" of the product

With the sharpest straight Bogorodsk knife (“pike”), they remove all excess wood and model the shape. The final finishing of the toy is connected with the work of small semicircular chisels (error), with the help of which animal hair, bird feathers or details of people's clothing, heavy and light fabrics, fur, lace, ribbons are depicted.

Work with a Bogorodsk knife

Another method of finishing the toy is associated with sanding the mold with fine sandpaper. This technique is usually used to convey smooth surfaces. Then the wooden miracle is painted or varnished. But more often toys are left unpainted, preserving the natural color and structure of the tree.

Distinguishing handmade from factory is easy. Handmade is characterized by the elaboration of the smallest details, the exact observance of proportions. Yes, and such a toy is valued much more expensive.

The most traditional dolls made in Bogorodskoye were ladies and hussars, nannies, nurses with children, soldiers, shepherdesses, and peasants.

The carved figurine had a trihedral shape, as it was made from a chock obtained by cutting a log into several parts.

At first, the toys were painted, later the Bogorodsk sculpture remains unpainted - the texture and nature of the carving perfectly convey the form and movement, and therefore the color can interfere here.

Painted Bogorodsk toy

The toy becomes a sculpture and requires the carving style from the master, and this changes the nature of the carving. Instead of traditional angular, it becomes complex patterned. The master is trying to convey plumage from birds and wool from animals.

Bogorodsk carving can always be recognized by the famous trace from the carver's tool in the form of a groove and the circle of depicted characters - people, animals, plots.

Sculpture "Rider"

A large place was occupied by the image of animals, among which the bear was the most beloved. By the will of the Bogorodsk masters, he, along with a person, actively participated in various works - he bent arcs (albeit unsuccessfully), forged metal, and played musical instruments during his leisure hours.

Among other toys there were small figurines in the form of a soldier or gentleman, the so-called clickers. They not only served as a table decoration, but also had a certain practical purpose - they cracked nuts. The lower jaw of the nutcracker was part of the lever, lifting which a nut was put into the nutcracker's mouth. When the lever was pressed, the nut cracked easily. A similar nutcracker (nutcracker) became the hero of the famous Hoffmann fairy tale and Tchaikovsky's ballet.

Clickers. 19th century Trinity-Sergiev Posad

Mobile Bogorodsk toys are especially interesting. They have always enjoyed the special love of children and adults, bringing children and their parents into indescribable delight. Make toys move with the help of simple devices. There are toys on slats, with a spring, with a balance and a button.

Some figurines are mounted on parallel movable planks fastened with studs. This is how, for example, the toy "Blacksmiths" is made.

You pull the planks by the ends to the sides, and the figures come to life: a cunning and good-natured bear unanimously knocks on a small anvil with hammers, hares feast on carrots, a fisherman catches a fish.

When the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin was presented with the popular Bogorodsk toy "Blacksmiths", he said: "The people who created this toy are a great people."

The toy "Blacksmiths" is more than 300 years old, it is one of the oldest Bogorodsk toys. Today, the movable toy "Blacksmiths" has become a symbol of Russian wooden toys and is a registered trademark of the Bogorodsky Carvers enterprise.

And the toy "Chickens" is also a long-liver. She was played by children back in the days of Pushkin and Lermontov. But even in our time, with all the abundance of toys, a simple game with painted chickens still pleases both children and adults. It is arranged as follows: painted hens are mounted on a stand, under it is a round balance tied with ropes with the heads of hens. The rope is pulled - the head of the chicken leans. It is worth slightly shaking the toy in your hands, as the chickens will begin to peck at the grains. You spin it harder, and the chickens knock their beaks more amicably. The more you swing the toy, the more actively the chickens peck. You stop rocking, and the movements of the chickens become slow, lazy - the chickens are "full". And only a hill of millet on a stand does not decrease, like a "fixed" nickel.

Toy on the circle "hens"

Toys with a ball suspended at the bottom are similar to them, for example, drummers

Drummer Bear

Twitch toys. They are made in the form of an owl or a bear. The bear stands calmly, its paws are down, but if you pull the rope, it will start waving them.

Bear-twitch

Some toys are mounted on stands, bedside tables, and a spiral spring is inserted inside, it sets the figure in action ("Skiers", "How an Apple Tree is Planted", "Teddy Bear").

bear lumberjack

For others, with the help of a spring inserted inside, only a certain part “comes to life”. The "Russian beauty" shakes her head, the leaves on the birch tremble and the umbrellas in the hands of the "ladies" ...

leaves on springs

Witty and entertaining toy "acrobatic" with ease and dynamism making unimaginable pirouettes on the horizontal bar. There is also an acrobat bear.

Bear acrobat

Another traditional mechanism is divorce, when the figures are attached to sliding bars. This is how "Soldiers on Divorce" is arranged.

"Divorce" riders on movable slats. Early 20th century

In more complex compositional Bogorodsk toys, each character comes to life and moves.

They also make whole compositions: “Peasant hut”, “Peasant yard”. At the "Peasant Yard" all the heroes are busy with their work: the mother milks the cows, the father chop wood, the daughter feeds the chickens, and they knock with their beaks, and the little son swings on a swing. The figures are set in motion by a push-button mechanism. Details are fastened on a harsh thread to the inner bar. The bar has moved - and the figures "come to life".

Movable composition "Peasant hut"

Uncomplicated, but always witty in design devices, "enliven" the toy, make it mobile, more expressive and attractive.

For young children, these toys are the best: you set the toy in motion - the hand develops, and the natural material is not some kind of plastic.

Images of people and animals have been in the customs of the Eastern Slavs since ancient times. The figurines had a symbolic meaning: the bear is a symbol of power, the goat is the patron of the harvest, the ram and the cow are fertility, the deer is abundance. Due to the abundance of forests, wooden toys existed almost everywhere in Russia. The village of Bogorodskoye and Sergiev Posad are considered the center of the production of wooden toys, and the time of occurrence in our usual form is the 15th century.

The history of the fishery
In the middle of the 15th century, the village of Bogorodskoye belonged to the Moscow boyar M.B. Pleshcheev (the first mention of Bogorodsky refers to August 1491 in the spiritual letter (testament) of his son Andrey), in 1595 it became the property of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and the peasants became monastic serfs. It was they who laid the foundations of woodcarving, which glorified the current "capital of the toy kingdom" throughout the world. The village of Bogorodskoye became one of the centers of folk art and Russian applied art.
The largest feudal lord, the Trinity Monastery, around which the settlement is located, has played a role in the social and political life of the country since the 14th century. The monastery attracted pilgrims, and besides, it was a fortress guarding the approaches to the capital, which contributed to its material well-being. In the 15th century, artisans began to unite around the monastery, which ensured their prosperity. Skillful icon painters, wood and bone carvers, and turners worked here. Posad not only sent skillfully made wooden products to the kings and patriarchs (“Trinity” gifts), but also received orders from the rulers. That is, the woodworking crafts of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery have long been highly valued, and not only peasant children, but also Russian princes played with Bogorodsk wooden toys. Sergiev Posad was called the "Russian toy capital". In many surrounding villages, toys were made (they were called “chips” and “axes”), and the village of Bogorodskoye became the most famous. The toy crafts of Sergiev Posad and the village of Bogorodsky are called two branches of the same trunk.
At the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, crafts developed in Russia, this is due to the formation of a centralized Russian state and the development of a market that created conditions for the sale of household products (fishing is a form of existence when a craft serves as a livelihood for a family or an entire village, and entire areas are occupied production of a certain type of product).
It is not known who made the first wooden toy that laid the foundation for folk art craft, but for more than 300 years, the legend of St. Sergius of Radonezh, who carved dolls from wood and gave them to children, has been told by word of mouth. There are other legends as well. According to one of them, a resident of Sergiev Posad sold a doll made of lime churak, 9 inches (40 cm) in size, to a merchant who traded near the Lavra. He put it as a decoration in the shop. The toy was immediately purchased. In another way, in the village of Bogorodskoye, a mother, in order to amuse the children, made toys for them. Cloth dolls were torn, straw crumbled. Then the woman carved a toy out of wood. The children called her Auka, and when she got tired, her father took her to the fair. The third legend tells of a deaf and mute tradesman Tatyg, who carved a large doll from a linden tree and sold it to a merchant. All stories are similar in that a doll made of linden was sold to a merchant, he made a large order for toys, unable to cope with which the master recruited students from the townspeople.

Since then, most of the inhabitants of the village of Bogorodskoye have taken up the “toy” craft, and the doll has become known as “Bogorodskaya”. And Sergiev Posad by the beginning of the 19th century turned into the Russian capital of the toy kingdom. The local bazaar amazed with the variety of wooden toys: turning, carpentry, carving.
At first, Bogorodsk handicraftsmen made only separate parts, from which the townspeople collected whole toys. Then the Bogorodsk people began to completely make toys “in linen” (unpainted wood), and in Sergiev Posad they painted and sold them. Such economic dependence of the Bogorodsk masters lasted for quite a long time, in addition, they often had to work to order and according to the models of Sergiev toys. As a result, it formed a single system of images and plots, which over the years has developed into an independent artistic style of carving, which has formed a craft with the name "Bogorodskaya toy", which has taken an exceptional place in the Russian art industry. To this day, wooden carved toys are often not painted, but only carefully finished, sometimes cleaned with “glass” paper.

The traditional Bogorodsk toy is unpainted figures of people, animals and birds made of linden, and whole compositions from the life of a Russian peasant. The “man and the bear” are still considered the symbol of the craft, and the main difference between Bogorodsk toys and all others is the moving parts, driven by a slight movement of the spring.

The craft that developed by the end of the 18th century was originally a typical peasant production. The first figures of people, animals and birds were single, unpainted, and the beauty was inspired by patterned carvings.

From the second half of the 19th century, carvers began to make sculptural groups of several figures on a common basis in various plot settings.
Masters, working with a primitive tool, were able to create truthful, realistic images of the surrounding reality, animals and people, characters from folk life, fables and fairy tales from wood.

From the middle of the 19th century, the craft completely moved from Sergiev Posad to Bogorodskoye, in the same period the Bogorodsk carved handicraft industry flourished. Carving in the village was mainly done by men, since in addition to skill, physical strength and free time are needed, because they worked 14-16 hours a day (now most of the carvers are women). But often the whole family participated in the work: the eldest sons prepared the material, cut down the main form with an ax without preliminary sketches. The younger children sanded the finished figurines and performed other simple operations. They worked sitting, holding the workpiece on their knees (the leg was tightly wrapped with a rag to protect it from cuts). Each family specialized in only one or two types of toys. Masters were divided into "figure skaters" (cutting little men), "animalists" and "poultry farmers".

Products were made from autumn to spring (a break in agricultural work). Already at the first stage of the formation of the craft, works appeared that today are considered masterpieces of folk art. Although the craft originated in a purely peasant environment, it developed under the strong pressure of the township type of culture (a symbiosis of urban and peasant traditions, coupled with the influence of porcelain sculpture, book illustrations, popular popular prints and works of professional painters).
The next stage in the development of toy business in Bogorodskoye is associated with the activities of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo (1890-1900), which sought to revive the best traditions of Bogorodsk craft. By the beginning of the 20th century, the fishery was going through difficult times. The influx of cheap foreign machine-made goods has led to the rapid displacement of traditional handicrafts. The artistic level of toys has declined, and some of their types have completely disappeared. The craftsmen were helped to expand the range of products, organized their sale. With the support of S.T. Morozov, the Moscow Handicraft Museum was opened, later - a workshop that combined research activities, an educational institution, and the sale of toys in Russia and abroad. It was a whole movement, reviving and supporting the national basis in the dying folk art.
A professional artist, collector, founder and first director of the State Toy Museum (now the Artistic and Pedagogical Toy Museum) Nikolai Dmitrievich Bartram was one of the first to try to preserve and revive ancient traditions. Realizing that the old works did not captivate handicraftsmen, he reoriented them to carving in the folk style, but according to the samples of professional artists (lubok images, motifs of paintings and old engravings), which brought a naturalistic interpretation and excessive detail to the toy.

The idea also had opponents (for example, the artist and collector A. Benois), who considered such a rescue of the fishery artificial. There is still a debate whether the intervention of professional artists in folk craft brought more harm or benefit. Bartram was looking for a "toy" form, close to children's perception, and in the late 1900s he switched from three-dimensional image to silhouette, believing that "the silhouette of the figure is the beginning of fine art in a child."

In addition, in his mobile toys, the elements did not move equally rhythmically, but slowly and randomly, so that each figure attracted attention. However, Bartram abandoned silhouette toys, noting that children prefer three-dimensional form and developed educational series for collective play: egg toys, architectural toys and ethnographic toys-complexes.

N.D. Bartram encouraged the creation of unique sculptural compositions dedicated to folklore and historical themes. What was in line with tradition: Bogorodsk masters always responded to what was happening. The military victories of the Russian army in the 19th century, the difficult era of the civil and First World Wars, collectivization are captured in sculptural compositions: there were sets of soldiers, figurines in military uniforms, horsemen, genre compositions on the theme of the Russian-Turkish campaign. Foreign samples of toys with movement, creatively interpreted by local carvers, were also used as samples.

In 1911, local residents decided to organize an artel and training workshops, and in 1913 the Main Department of Agriculture and Land Management created an exemplary workshop with full board for students from 7 years old and an instructor class in carving under the guidance of a graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts K.E. Lindblat (later his place was taken by G.S. Serebryakov, who actively introduced foreign samples, mainly from Germany and Switzerland, which left an indelible mark on the history of fishing traditions). The training methodology was developed and introduced by the master Andrey Yakovlevich Chushkin. Children were taught drawing, woodworking technology and woodcarving. At the same time, the artisans founded the "Handicraft and Toy Artel" - a small joint production, where they jointly solved the problems of acquiring material, improving the quality of tools, marketing products, etc. (creators A. Ya. Chushkin and F. S. Balaev), it included 19 talented carvers who worked according to the charter approved by the Vladimir Governor-General I. N. Sazonov. The artel gave the craftsmen complete economic independence from the Sergiev Posad buyers. The First World War (1914-1918) and the economic crisis that followed it led to the decline of the fishery. Although in the first decade after the October Revolution, old zemstvo samples were preserved in Bogorodskoye, sold for export, with the advent of the Bolsheviks, the Bogorodsk craft began to serve the cause of the world revolution - craftsmen carved carts, Chekists, revolutionaries, heroes of the struggle for the dominance of the world proletariat.

In 1923, with the advent of new craftsmen, the organization was transformed into the artel "Bogorodsky carver", under which the school worked. But the bulk of the carvers were families who passed on knowledge from generation to generation. After all, any craft rests on dynasties. Along with traditional products, the craftsmen created unique works for various exhibitions on the themes of the new Soviet life.

The change in the social structure stimulated the craftsmen to search for new forms and artistic solutions. However, it was precisely at that time that the problem of “easel painting” that emerged during the Zemstvo period became more acute. In the 1930s, the so-called toy-sculpture appeared, and for the next two decades, professional artists and critics (mostly employees of the Scientific Research Institute of the Art Industry (NIIKhP) created during this period) intervened in the craft.

Outright politicization began not only in Bogorodskoye, but also in other crafts: topics alien to peasant nature and the people's understanding of beauty were imposed on craftsmen, including forms that were forcibly changed and stylized under the influence of the small plastic arts of the Gzhel masters, Gardner porcelain and other crafts.

In Bogorodsky, the reaction to ideological pressure was the development of a fairy tale theme, which was facilitated by the conventionality of the shapes of the figurines and the brightness of memorable images. But fairy-tale themes were also solved as a decorative sculpture, and not as a toy.

The historical theme at that time lost its relevance, but revived during the Great Patriotic War, for a while pushing the work on the toy into the background. Although even here it was necessary, for example, to carve not a simple soldier, but a Red Army soldier dressed according to the charter with full detailing of insignia, create complex sculptural compositions with serious patriotic pathos, develop themes for the exploits of partisans and scouts, and the participation of animals in hostilities. This turned a child's toy into an easel sculpture, destroying the image and purpose of the doll. Since the late 1950s, it was required to reflect space exploration, new construction, sports.

In 1960, on the eve of the 300th anniversary of the birth of folk craft, the artel was transformed into an artistic carving factory. This period is estimated differently. On the one hand, the traditional artel organization of labor was liquidated and replaced by a factory one. After this “manufacturing”, the craft slowly died under the pressure of the artistic (local) industry, the plan, the rampart, and other concepts alien to folk art. On the other hand, there was a clear surge of new interest in folk culture. Artists and craftsmen carefully studied and creatively mastered the traditions of Bogorodsk carving, developed samples of products dedicated to subjects of Russian history, Russian folklore. In addition, the NIIHP not only dictated the assortment, themes and plots to the craftsmen, but also saved folk crafts from destruction (which nevertheless overtook them with the advent of the free market in the post-perestroika period). But it was getting harder and harder for the craftsmen to work. In the 1970s, a gigantic Union-scale construction project, a pumped-storage power plant, was launched near the village. Here they founded a village of builders of a pumped storage power plant, built new roads, built apartment buildings, for which they destroyed villages, demolished log houses with lace trim, cut down gardens, and traditional gatherings and the simplicity of rural communication disappeared with them. The new settlers had not even heard about the local craft of artistic carving, and the chief architect believed that the village had no architectural value and had outlived its time. The perennial roots of the Bogorodsk craft were dying off. Several huts remained from the former life, craftsmen moved to multi-storey buildings, traditional crafts became more and more problematic. Back in 1984 G.L. Dine wrote in the journal “Decorative Art of the USSR” that next to the new buildings, the village becomes small and miserable, and the security zone will not save it, the way of life of people, their spiritual and moral appearance will change, which means Bogorodsk art.
In the 1970s and 1980s, at the Bogorodsk Art Carving Factory, master artists developed patterns that were embodied by master performers. After 1980, the Olympic bear supplanted the Bogorodsk wooden bear, and the ceased demand for the factory's products put it on the verge of closing.
The best samples of products at that time were produced only by the efforts of homeworkers who worked outside the plan and chose the plot to their liking. And during the period of perestroika, the deplorable situation worsened significantly. In the early 1990s, the country was transitioning to market relations, the Bogorodsk factory was privatized and transformed into two enterprises: CJSC Bogorodsky Carver and CJSC Bogorodsk Factory of Artistic Wood Carving. Currently, the Bogorodsk fishery is fighting for survival. The best craftsmen leave the "official craft", but at home they continue to create high-class things, although most of the young masters follow the market's lead, performing work that is far from folk tradition.
A solid foundation is being laid in the Bogorodsk Art and Industrial Technical School, on the basis of which craftsmanship is built, developed, and improved: students master academic drawing, painting, sculpture, design graphics. Teachers develop in students observation, creative initiative, encourage participation in various competitions and exhibitions. The school produced hundreds of carvers from its walls, many of them became high-class artists. The Museum of Samples and Diploma Works of Graduates complements the huge collection of exhibits of the museum of the Bogorodsky Carver factory. But, having learned the secrets and nuances of the Bogorodsk style, graduates often work in their own individual style, which to a large extent returns to the problem of "easel art" - the toy ceases to be a doll for children and turns into an easel sculpture for collecting. The second important problem is the influx of students from the subjects of the federation, distant regions and republics, which nullifies the classical tradition, since graduates do not stay to work at the factory, but return to where the famous Russian wooden toy is not needed.

Thread technology
The material for carving is soft linden wood, less often aspen and alder. Harvesting a tree is possible only in winter, when there is less moisture in the wood. Young trees have loose, inelastic wood; trees aged 50-70 years are suitable for carving. After removing the bark, the linden is dried for 2 to 4 years in the air under a canopy. The bark is left only on the edges of the log in the form of rings so that the wood does not crack when it dries. (The old masters accelerated the drying process by steaming wood in a Russian oven in free heat - after raking out the coals. They put a log in cast iron, poured a little water on the bottom, covered it and put it in a hot empty oven until morning, then dried the chock for several days at room temperature.) Then the trunk is sawn, the logs are divided into round logs - “humps” (often I use part of the saw cut) for horizontally oriented figures, or cut into triangular bars for vertical dolls. In the finished product, the original trihedral shape is always read. There should be as few knots as possible - they do not look good on products, so they are bypassed or cut out, they also try not to capture the core of the trunk into the workpiece, the array should be with often located growth rings, without looseness and spots. The master marks the resulting blanks according to the pattern, outlining the template with a pencil, making cuts with a hacksaw, then a notch with an ax, outlining the general contours of the figure. Excess wood is removed with chisels, fine work is done with a special short and sharp Bogorodsk knife with a beveled blade (“pike”). The master must treat the material with care, admire the beauty of wood and extract artistic effects from it. For a long time, carvers have been carving without preliminary sketches - a stroke, hence the name "fly carving" (only professionals who studied at the school are accustomed to draw sketches and make samples from clay or plasticine). Linden waste (wood chips) goes to small parts or stands for compositions.

Toys of turning and carving, consisting of several parts, are assembled from separate parts. The smooth parts of the sculpture are sanded to a velvety texture. Although the old masters did without sandpaper (which was called "glass"), all operations were performed only with a knife and a chisel. Now some toys are covered with colorless varnish or painted.

Classic Bogorodsk toys are not dyed (linen), they do not have coatings, for finishing with various small chisels they apply the so-called “painting” with shallow cuts - grooves that imitate thick wool, soft skin, plumage of birds, manes and tails of horses, folds of human clothes, grass etc. Thanks to the textured surface treatment of wood, the products are distinguished by the clarity and rhythmic clarity of silhouettes, the play of chiaroscuro, the elaboration of the smallest details, the combination of ornamental fine carving with a smooth surface.

Product range
The earliest works of Bogorodsk carvers, preserved in museum collections, date back to the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century. These are elegant dolls in costumes of hussars and ladies, peasants and peasant women, multi-figure sculptural compositions, carved miniatures (“Chinese trifles” - painted three-centimeter figures; some sources claim that they were sold in glasses (5-6 figures each) for a penny - money for those sometimes considerable.) and many other characters. From these toys you can make a variety of genre scenes.

Plots of a modern Bogorodsk wooden toy - funny hussars and ladies, horsemen and dancers, ladies and nannies, nurses with children, soldiers and shepherds, men and fishermen, woodcutters and musicians, peasants and a bar, monks and nuns, horses and teams, bears and chickens , hares and chanterelles. All characters are distinguished by a combination of realism and humor, a characteristic transmission of poses and gestures, multi-figured sculptural compositions tell about peasant labor days, holidays, festivities, tea parties, and the animals look humanized.

Particularly interesting are toys with movement (twists): with a divorce (figures are attached to sliding bars), with a button, with a spring, with a balance (the details are attached to the ball on a thread). It is worth pressing the button, pulling the bar, swinging the ball - the figure comes to life. Uncomplicated, but interesting in design mechanisms make the toy lively, expressive and especially attractive, and the sound sharpens the dynamics of the toy. In working on a mobile toy, the thinking of a designer is important. Reviving the genre scenes, leaves sway on the trees, fixed on thin wires. Children used to play moving "Kurochki" back in the days of Pushkin and Lermontov. And "Blacksmiths", usually depicting a man and a bear, became a symbol of craft and the village itself, entering its flag. They say that at the end of the 19th century, at the World Exhibition in Paris, the famous French sculptor Rodin called the "blacksmiths" a brilliant work of folk art, and having received such a toy as a gift, he carefully kept it.

In addition to the traditional toys (carved, turned, painted, movable), the craftsmen of the Bogorodsk factory make custom-made carved furniture, wall-mounted wooden panels with three-dimensional images of people and animals, large sculptures and watch cases, iconostases, architraves, and are engaged in restoration of any complexity.

Despite economic difficulties, the art of wood carving continues to develop. Masters use the method of creative variation in the manufacture of each product. The enterprises regularly hold competitions, including thematic ones, to create new product samples.
Bogorodsk master artists are participants in numerous exhibitions. All-Russian exhibitions held in huge halls (Great Manege, Central House of Artists) require an appropriate scale of works. So there are two-meter bears and huge spoons higher than human growth. So, on the one hand, large expositions help the masters to fit into the modern artistic environment, on the other hand, they distance them from the traditions of folk craft.
Modern Bogorodsk carving is diverse in terms of subjects and forms of artistic expression. Sometimes it organically enters the artistic culture, preserving the ancient traditions of the craft. Carvers find original forms that allow them to combine tradition and the realities of the 21st century, for example, a moving composition in which a Bogorodsk bear, carved according to all the canons, beats a computer keyboard with its paw. Other craftsmen work in a different vein - they choose motives and plots that are not characteristic of craft: angels and saints, Santa Claus and Pinocchio, plastically close either to mass cult or to stylized easel things. Some artists, preserving traditions, continue to work in the archaic style characteristic of folk carving, recreating old ones and developing new ones, and some, in search of a solution to plastic form, invent new versions of toys. As a result, having lost its natural habitat, the folk toy has become for us a work of art, a part of folk art, an artistic phenomenon. If people buy Bogorodsk sculpture, it is not as a child's doll, but only as a decoration of a house, often decorated in a modern style. Time will show what tendencies will prevail, whether the fishery will remain viable in their confrontation.