Zhostovo Painting

a folk craft, developed in the village of Zhostovo, Mytishchi Raion, Moscow Oblast. Influenced primarily by Ural floral painting on metal, Zhostovo painting originated at the beginning of the 19th century. Its subsequent development was stylistically related to paintings on porcelain and enameled ware produced in plants and fac-tories in the vicinity of Moscow, floral patterns on calico manufactured in the Ivanovo factories, and Lukutin miniature paintings.

Zhostovo artists decorate metal trays that have been covered with several layers of a thick ground and oil varnish. The varnish is usually black. The painting is executed in several consecutive operations. Oil paints thinned with linseed oil and a soft brush facilitate the application of energetic, broad brush strokes. The principal motif of Zhostovo painting, a flower bouquet, is simple in design. Large cultivated and small wild flowers are depicted alternately. A realistic, three-dimensional rendering of the flowers is combined with a decorative, bright color scheme, which is also characteristic of Russian folk painting on trunks, spinning wheels, andtuesy (round birch chests). The edges of the trays are decorated with a simple golden pattern. The completed painting is covered with three coats of a transparent varnish and polished until it shines like a mirror.

During the late 19th century and the early 20th, the Zhostovo industry entered a period of decline. In 1928, during the Soviet era, several artels merged, becoming the Metallopodnos (present-day Zhostovo Factory of Decorative Painting). Zhostovo painting again achieved artistic development. The greatest contemporary masters of this craft are A. I. Leznov, I. S. Leont’ev, A. P. Gogin, and D. S. Kledov. The Factory of Decorative Painting has a collection of Zhostovo painting.