The city of Rostov in the Yaroslavl region is famous not only for its ancient history and unique Kremlin, but also for enamel. This art appeared in the second half of the 18th century, it went through a difficult path of development. Today, only the legendary French Limoges enamel can compete with Rostov enamel.
Byzantine gift
Enamel is the Russian name for enamel, glassy coating. In the 12th century, this material, previously unknown in Russia, was brought by craftsmen from Byzantium. They called it "fingitis", which means "shining stone". Indeed, the bright, clean colors of enamel products seem to glow, and are not inferior to stone in strength and durability.
Enamel is not afraid of time, it is not subject to atmospheric influences, the painting does not fade and does not lose freshness over time. In those years, such a beautiful metal was valued on a par with gold and silver. The familiar word "enamel" began to be used only in the 19th century, but painting on it is still called "enamel".
Paints against metal
Initially, the main thing in enamel was metal. From it they made the basis of some thing and a frame drawing, that is, a pattern from thin partitions. Enamel of different colors was poured between them.
In the middle of the 17th century, a fundamentally new enamel technique was born - painting, which gradually almost supplanted all previous ones. Metal became only a smooth substrate, a base, painting came to the fore.
It is performed on a layer of enamel, with thin soft brushes and special paints. This enamel steel was originally manufactured in Moscow and Solvychegodsk. Soon the craft moved to Rostov, where it really flourished.
Fiery letter
Bright, exquisite murals are born in fire. To make the colors shine and fascinate with their beauty, the product goes through many stages. And each has its own secrets.
First, a thin, slightly convex metal blank is covered with three layers of white enamel or vitreous mass. Each layer is fired in a muffle furnace, where the temperature reaches 700-800 ° C. Then the drawing is applied with special overglaze paints, and in several stages, each time fixing the next layer of painting in the fire. There are up to thirteen such layers.
The most difficult thing is that the paints acquire their real color only after firing. When an artist paints, he must mentally imagine how his work will be transformed.
The first artel in Rostov for making miniatures on enamel worked at the Bishops' House, and enamel painters were engaged in painting images and decorating church items. The most skilled craftsmen "wrote hats" - they made small icons to decorate the headdress of a clergyman. They depicted gospel scenes, images of saints.
The best examples of Rostov enamel from different periods are kept in the Russian Museum of St. Petersburg, the Historical Museum of Moscow. The largest collection, of course, is in the Rostov Kremlin Museum-Reserve.
