Russian festivities picture. Wide Maslenitsa: wall-to-wall fighting and other folk amusements in the paintings of Russian artists

Maslenitsa Kustodievskaya and not only... mamlas wrote on March 7th, 2016

More about holidays

Wide Maslenitsa: wall-to-wall fighting and others folk fun in the paintings of Russian artists
7 things to do on carnival

This year Maslenitsa fell on the second week of March, from the 7th to the 13th. It has long been customary in Rus' to celebrate this holiday widely and on a grand scale. Festivities lasted all week and was accompanied by numerous games and amusements. Fisticuffs "wall to wall", taking snow town, troika and sledding, etc. More about

B. Kustodiev. Maslenitsa, 1916

Pictures of famous Russian artists allow us to imagine how the celebration of Maslenitsa took place more than a century ago. Shrovetide week begins. In order for Shrovetide to be wider, you need to approach its celebration with all the breadth of your soul. main meaning this holiday - seeing off winter. Worthy leads! To prevent winter from returning. For this necessary do 7 things.

2. G. Perov. Wide Maslenitsa, 2005

3. V. Surikov. Capture of the snow town, 1891

"The Capture of the Snow Town" is one of the most famous works V. Surikov, which depicts an old folk fun: a fortress with towers and gates was built on the ice of a river from snow, the participants were divided into defenders and attackers. They fought back with snowballs, twigs and brooms. The winner, who was the first to break into the fortress, was waiting for a test - swimming in the hole. This ancient Cossack game has long been held in Siberia on Maslenitsa.

4. A. Brusilov. Maslenitsa, 1999

1. meet carnival

The first day of Shrovetide was called the meeting. The first pancake was not eaten on Monday, it was left for the souls of the dead; he was taken out onto the porch with the words “Our honest dead, here is a pancake for your souls!” - or gave to the poor to pray for the repose. On this day, you also need to make an effigy of Maslenitsa out of straw, put on an old women's clothing, put on a pole and, singing, carry along the street on a sleigh.

5. B. Kustodiev. Maslenitsa, 1916

Troika and sleigh rides are another favorite pastime of the people during Shrove Tuesday. B. Kustodiev devoted several of his paintings to this topic. Contemporary critics call the indisputable advantage of Kustodiev’s works an elegant combination of the principles of popular print and Venetian painting the Renaissance. And the artist's contemporaries considered this a disadvantage: the purchase of "Maslenitsa" (1916) by the Academy of Arts was accompanied by a scandal - some members of the council spoke out against the acquisition of this "lubok, which has nothing to do with art."

6. F. Sychkov. Skiing from the mountains, 1937

2. Roll down the hill on a sled

Asking for what? For a good harvest! According to the beliefs of our great-grandfathers, the further the sleigh rolls and the louder the noise and laughter over the ice slide, the better and longer the flax will be born. And not only linen. Therefore, we are looking for the highest slides and create noise.

7. B. Kustodiev. Maslenitsa, 1919

8. B. Kustodiev. Maslenitsa, 1920

Kustodiev explained the chosen style of writing as follows: “I consider the variegation, the brightness, to be very typical of Russian life.” Painted sleigh, dashing triples, folk theaters and booths, multi-colored carousels - the invariable attributes of Maslenitsa Kustodiev. Village women in colorful scarves and skirts, accordionists, hawkers, merchants and merchants are regular participants in the holiday and characters in his paintings.

9. P. Balod. Maslenitsa

10. B. Kustodiev. Village Maslenitsa (Harmonist), 1916

Kustodiev's paintings were created in a difficult period both for the country and for the artist himself - 1916-1920, the time of the revolution and civil war. Kustodiev was seriously ill, he painted these pictures in wheelchair overcoming the pain. The artist from memory recreates the plots of funny folk holidays, as if opposing them to troubles, bloodshed and disease.

11. I. Shurikhina. Maslenitsa

4. Go to mother-in-law for pancakes

On Wednesday we go to the mother-in-law for pancakes. It is not known for certain what this tradition is connected with. There is a version that the mother-in-law is a personalized winter that needs to be appeased. Dear sons-in-law! The main thing is to remember that it is necessary, according to tradition, to eat all the pancakes: otherwise, problems may arise with the end of winter.

12. P. Georgian. Maslenitsa, 1889

13. V. Belykh. Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky. Maslenitsa, 1908

The same plot - riding on troikas along the snow-covered village streets - was depicted in the painting "Shrovetide" by P. Gruzinsky. The paintings by V. Belykh and A. Stepanov are devoted to the same theme. And L. Solomatkin wrote the scene of riding on an ice hill. To build a hill, they rolled up snowballs and put them in a pile, compacted the snow and then filled the hill with cold water.

14. A. Cherkashina. Maslenitsa, 2002

5. Pick up a suit

On Thursday, on Razgulay, it was customary to dress up in the most unthinkable costumes. An overseas guest who, by the will of fate, turned out to be a witness of Razgulay, could get a nervous breakdown when he came face to face with Russian mummers. Halloween could seem like child's play... By the way, there are several "images" of mummers in the Maslenitsa tradition, so choose what is closer in style to you:

Ancestors- "old men", "dead man", "tall old women".
strangers- "beggars", "hunter", "devil" (all black with horns).
Young- "bride and groom", "pregnant woman".
Animals- "Bull", "Cow", "Horse", "Goat", "Elk", "Bear", "Dogs", "Wolves".
Birds- "Goose", "Gander", "Crane", "Duck", "Chicken".

15. A. Stepanov. Riding on Maslenitsa, 1910

16. L. Solomatkin. Maslenitsa

Another tradition that has existed in Rus' since ancient times is hand-to-hand combat. Wall-to-wall fistfights were a popular pastime at Maslenitsa - before Lent, people sought not only to get drunk and eat enough, but also to give free rein to their fists. This was an imitation of the battle of two enemy units on a real battlefield. Spectators gathered at the place of skirmishes, and with them - peddlers with goods and churns with hot honey and beer. The fight was opened by “bullying”, “flirting”, “touching”, which often lasted more than an hour: the opponents tuned in to the fight, shouting battle cries and mocking the opponent. In Moscow, the fighting took place on the ice-covered Moskva River near the Babiegorodskaya dam, near Simonov and Novodevichy monasteries and on Sparrow Hills, in St. Petersburg - on the ice of the Neva and Fontanka.

17. A. Myrochkina. Maslenitsa, 1998

6. Take the "Snow Fort"

The main event of Razgulay was the assault on the snowy town, which symbolizes winter. Our ancestors preferred to build a "town" on the river or on the square of the city, village. Usually the "fortress" consisted of two walls with a gate between them. Installed on the gates of snow different figures: most often it was a rooster, a bottle and a glass, but you can experiment with other images. The participants were divided into two teams - the besiegers and the besieged. The gates should be defended on foot, and attacked on horseback. To take the "town" means to destroy it. The besieged can defend themselves with branches, brooms, and also use shovels to cover the attackers with snow. The first one to break through the gate was considered the winner. Our ancestors, by the way, had a tradition of "washing" the winner in the snow.

18. B. Kustodiev. Fistfight on the Moscow River, 1897

19. K. Makovsky. Festivities during Maslenitsa on Admiralteyskaya Square in St. Petersburg, 1869

Contemporary artists also devote their works to the theme of folk festivals on Maslenitsa. S. Kozhin depicted the farewell to Maslenitsa, which takes place on the last day of the festive week and is accompanied by the burning of a straw effigy - a symbol of winter and death.

20. S. Kozhin. Maslenitsa. Seeing. Russia, XVII century, 2001

21. E. Shtyrov. Maslenitsa. Seeing off winter

7. Burn the effigy of Maslenitsa

IN Forgiveness Sunday, according to the established Russian tradition, having bowed to each other from the depths of our hearts, we forgive each other mutual insults and sins in order to start fasting with good soul. After that, you can proceed to the culmination of the holiday - the burning of the effigy of Maslenitsa. When Winter burns down - the final fun completes the holiday: jumping over the fire. This concludes Maslenitsa.

22. T. Nazarenko. Seeing off winter, 1973

After a long abstinence during the strict Advent, after noisy New Year's feasts and the bright joy of the Nativity of Christ itself, after the Epiphany holidays following it, the daring Maslenitsa comes. Having come to us through the centuries, it is now perceived not only as a tribute ancient traditions, but also as an introduction to certain sacred actions.

Echoes of paganism

No matter how they call this amazing period of time in late February - early March, on the verge of winter and spring, cheerful and hearty treats before a long Easter fast Slavic peoples! And in church calendar, and Pancake-Obyeduha among the people! Remote festivities, sleigh rides and fisticuffs, a solemn procession with a stuffed Maslenitsa and burning it in honor of seeing off the snow and frost that had already bothered the common people - all these colorful, emotional actions attracted the attention of many representatives of art. A particularly lively and vivid embodiment was reflected in the holiday in painting. Studying artistic canvases, we come across a rare phenomenon: different Russian artists have a painting called “Maslenitsa”. Why they gave their works the same names, what is the difference between each - we will talk about this in this article.

History and traditions

During the pre-Christian period Eastern Slavs, current Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians, the onset of the new year was associated with the spring equinox, the awakening of nature, the beginning of a new cycle of life, the cult of fertility and the memory of ancestors. The farmers, who, in their way of life, were mainly the ancient Slavs, were fully dependent on the harvests on their fields. The painting "Shrovetide" by Semyon Shemyakin (2001) reflects one of essential elements holiday - the burning of a straw effigy, the ashes from which scattered over all peasant allotments. It was believed that in this way people increase the fertility of the earth, stimulate its fertile beginning.

The second meaning of the rite

Another painting "Shrovetide" - another contemporary artist Anatoly Nikolaevich Shelyakin (2005) draws our attention to another semantic moment of the holiday. The creation of a family and the birth of children, the continuation of the family - this, according to the ancients, is the main purpose of man. Therefore, various amusements were encouraged on Maslenitsa, during which young people could more freely express their feelings. The traditions of honoring boys and girls, young men and women who are able to give birth are closely connected with the same cult of fertility and the rebirth of life. From here came the Shrovetide bride of the newlyweds, and sleigh rides of young people of both sexes, and even comic persecution of bachelors.

Connection with one's family

And, finally, the painting "Maslenitsa" is also our contemporary - Anna Cherkashina (2002). She addresses the viewer to the third semantic aspect of the holiday - the commemoration of the ancestors who have gone to another world, the forgiveness of insults that family members, relatives and friends, neighbors voluntarily or involuntarily inflicted on each other during the year. pancakes like main element Shrovetide table in the painting by Cherkashina especially accurately reflect the ancient Slavic commemorative essence of the holiday.

Master of the genre

A whole series of paintings common name wrote wonderful artist Maslenitsa is presented in different options, but with the same degree of talent and accurate transmission of the peculiar color of the festival. The cycle of works was created over a relatively short period of 4 years - from 1916 to 1920. 5 full-fledged canvases and 2 versions of the same painting, executed in different color scheme, emphasize special interest artist to the chosen topic. How does Kustodiev approach its implementation? "Maslenitsa" of 1916 (one of the paintings of this time) is a typical Russian sky is colored by the sunset and blazes with crimson and gold. Its rays shine on snow-covered roofs and pavements, ignite iridescent lights on trees wrapped in furry fur coats. The domes and spiers of churches rise up, aspiring to the heavenly heights. And in the streets the people hum and have fun, the fair is noisy, not wanting to disperse, carousels flash by, painted sleighs rush by. The broad Russian soul, valiant prowess and love of life - such is the emotional background of the picture. It charges with optimism and cheerfulness, excites the imagination of the audience and awakens the desire to study the life, history and traditions of its people. Of course, our description of the painting "Shrovetide" is far from complete. But we hope it will awaken the curiosity of the readers of the article, and they will also want to learn more about Russian antiquity and Russian art.

Instead of an afterword

As you can see, the paintings of the artists "Maslenitsa" are diverse in genre and performance. Landscapes and still lifes, portrait sketches, stylized popular popular print in the works of the masters of Russian painting, they not only reveal to us certain aspects of the culture, life and beliefs of their ancestors, but also bring the past closer, making it understandable and familiar. Art, like a time machine, takes us from one era to another, not allowing us to lose touch with our roots and making us once again feel our blood connection with all of humanity.

"Shrovetide in the paintings of Russian artists"

In order to better imagine how the Maslenitsa celebration took place more than a century ago, we offered to look at the pictures famous artists. This festive fun, imbued with the Russian spirit, national color, could not but be reflected in the works of Russian artists - L. Solomatkin "Maslenitsa", A. Stepanov "Skating on Shrovetide", P. Gruzinsky "Shrovetide", F. Sychkov "Skating from the mountains ”, K. Makovsky “Folk festival during Maslenitsa on Admiralteyskaya Square in St. Petersburg”

From the paintings of B. Kustodiev, village women in bright scarves and skirts, accordion players, hawkers, merchants and merchants - constant participants in the holiday and the characters in his paintings looked at us.

We examined the painting by V. Surikov "The Capture of the Snowy City", in which the artist depicted an old Cossack game, which has long been arranged in Siberia on Maslenitsa.

Visitors to the branch got acquainted with the books of the Russian Museum: "Holidays in Russian", "From Russian Life XVIII-beginning XX century".

"Shrovetide in the paintings of Russian artists"

In order to better imagine how the Maslenitsa celebration took place more than a century ago, we offered to see paintings by famous artists. This festive fun, imbued with the Russian spirit, national color, could not but be reflected in the works of Russian artists - L. Solomatkin "Maslenitsa", A. Stepanov "Skating on Shrovetide", P. Gruzinsky "Shrovetide", F. Sychkov "Skating from the mountains ”, K. Makovsky “Folk festival during Maslenitsa on Admiralteyskaya Square in St. Petersburg”

We examined the painting by V. Surikov "The Capture of the Snowy City", in which the artist depicted an old Cossack game, which has long been arranged in Siberia on Maslenitsa.

Visitors to the branch got acquainted with the books of the Russian Museum: “Holidays in Russian”, “From Russian Life in the 18th - Early 20th Centuries”.

Maslenitsa - primordially Russian holiday, preserved from pagan times. Maslenitsa festivities begin 8 days before Lent and mark the farewell to winter.

In the old days, this week was literally overflowing with festive affairs; ceremonial and non-ceremonial actions, traditional games and undertakings filled all the days to capacity. There was enough strength, energy, enthusiasm for everything, because the atmosphere of emancipation, general joy and fun reigned.

Interestingly, in ancient times Maslenitsa lasted two weeks and fell on March. In 1698, the patriarch reduced the duration of this holiday to one week. So after that, the holiday acquired its new "schedule".

Each day of Maslenitsa had its own name, certain actions, rules of conduct were assigned to each:

Monday- "meeting"
Tuesday- "tricks"
Wednesday- "gourmet"
Thursday- "revelry", "fracture"
Friday- "Teschin Vespers"
Saturday- "sister-in-law gatherings"
Sunday- "forgiveness day."

The whole week was called "honest, wide, cheerful: the lady-carnival, madam carnival."

Of course, this festive fun, imbued with the Russian spirit, national color, could not but be reflected in the works of Russian artists. Let's take a look at these wonderful, bright and colorful paintings:

Several times addressed the topic of Maslenitsa Boris Kustodiev :

P. N. Gruzinsky "Shrovetide", 1889

K. E. Makovsky " Festivities during Maslenitsa on Admiralteyskaya Square in St. Petersburg, 1869

A.Cherkashin. "Maslenitsa", 2002

N. Fetisov "Wide Maslenitsa", 1990

V. Belykh "Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Maslenitsa", 1908

V.I. Surikov " The Capture of the Snowy City, 1891

S. Kozhin. Maslenitsa. "Seeing off winter. Russia XVII century", 2001

This year Maslenitsa fell on the last week of February, from the 20th to the 26th. It has long been customary in Rus' to celebrate this holiday widely and on a grand scale. Folk festivals lasted all week and were accompanied by numerous games and amusements. Wall-to-wall fist fights, capturing a snowy town, troika and sledding, etc. Paintings by famous Russian artists allow us to imagine how the celebration of Maslenitsa took place more than a century ago.

“The Capture of the Snow Town” is one of the most famous works by V. Surikov, which depicts an old folk game: a fortress with towers and gates was built on the ice of a river from snow, the participants were divided into defenders and attackers. They fought back with snowballs, twigs and brooms. The winner, who was the first to break into the fortress, was waiting for a test - swimming in the hole. This ancient Cossack game has long been held in Siberia on Maslenitsa.

Riding on troikas and sleighs is another favorite pastime of the people during Shrove Tuesday. B. Kustodiev devoted several of his paintings to this topic. Modern critics call the indisputable advantage of Kustodiev's works an elegant combination of the principles of popular print and Venetian Renaissance painting. And the artist's contemporaries considered this a disadvantage: the purchase of "Maslenitsa" (1916) by the Academy of Arts was accompanied by a scandal - some members of the council spoke out against the acquisition of this "lubok, which has nothing to do with art."

Kustodiev explained the chosen style of writing as follows: “I consider the variegation, the brightness, to be very typical of Russian life.” Painted sledges, dashing troikas, folk theaters and booths, multi-colored carousels are the invariable attributes of Kustodiev's Maslenitsa. Village women in colorful scarves and skirts, accordionists, hawkers, merchants and merchants are regular participants in the holiday and characters in his paintings.

Kustodiev's paintings were created in a difficult period both for the country and for the artist himself - 1916-1920, the time of the revolution and the Civil War. Kustodiev was seriously ill, he painted these pictures in a wheelchair, overcoming pain. The artist recreates the plots of merry folk holidays from memory, as if opposing them to misfortunes, bloodshed and illnesses.

P. Georgian. Shrovetide, 1

Another tradition that has existed in Rus' since ancient times is hand-to-hand combat. Wall-to-wall fistfights were a popular pastime for Maslenitsa - before Lent, people sought not only to drink and eat enough, but also to give free rein to their fists. This was an imitation of the battle of two enemy units on a real battlefield. Spectators gathered at the place of skirmishes, and with them - peddlers with goods and churns with hot honey and beer. The fight was opened by “bullying”, “flirting”, “touching”, which often lasted more than an hour: the opponents tuned in to the fight, shouting battle cries and mocking the opponent. In Moscow, the fighting took place on the ice-covered Moskva River near the Babiegorodskaya dam, at the Simonov and Novodevichy monasteries and on the Sparrow Hills, in St. Petersburg - on the ice of the Neva and Fontanka.