Canvases by Russian artists with professions that have sunk into oblivion

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Today we will talk about how the labor market of our country has changed. Some professions are corrected by technical progress, while others disappear into oblivion. What occupations were in demand in the past centuries? Considering the paintings of Russian painters.

Water carrier

If in the Russian village almost every yard had its own well dug, in the city it was difficult to find water. In the central regions, the water in rivers and ponds was most often unsuitable for drinking, so the townspeople had to bring clean water. The delivery was handled by a water carrier. To become one, one had to have a horse-drawn cart or two-wheeled cart and a large barrel. In St. Petersburg, the color of the barrel spoke of the quality of the water in it: water from the canals was transported in green barrels, and drinking water in white ones. Often the water carrier was accompanied by a dog: she notified the residents of the arrival of the cart with a loud bark. In large cities, this profession persisted until the beginning of the 20th century, until a centralized water supply appeared.

In 1873, the work of a water carrier was captured in his painting by the artist Sergei Gribkov. At that time, this profession was considered prestigious and, importantly, very profitable: this can be judged by the good-quality clothing of the employee. Water carriers often took advantage of the fact that the townspeople had no choice, and they took from them exorbitant prices.

Batman

Order officers were soldiers of the Russian army who were on permanent service with an officer as a servant. According to historians, the name is derived from the French de jour, which means "orderly, duty officer." The orderly transmitted the officer's orders to subordinates, cleaned his uniform and boots, and, if necessary, performed the duties of a bodyguard. Under Peter I, this post was served not only by commoners, but also by people from a noble family. The latter, as a rule, carried out diplomatic and secret assignments of the king. This "profession" was abolished in 1881, but unofficial orderlies existed during the Great Patriotic War. Their duties were performed by drivers.

Pavel Fedotov's canvas depicts an officer's everyday evening. Presumably, the artist painted himself in the picture. The prototype of the servant lighting the pipe is the real orderly Korshunov, a friend and assistant of the author.

Burlak

Barge haulers were called hired workers who, walking along the coast, pulled the ship against the current. "Eh, club, hoot", - the team leader of the artel - a lump, dragged on, and the barge haulers began their hard and monotonous work. To facilitate labor, it was necessary to walk synchronously, swaying evenly. And it's good if the wind was fair. They hired workers, as a rule, for the season - in spring and autumn. In the USSR, the burlak draft was banned in 1929. In some countries, such as Bangladesh, you can still see the poor pulling barges on them.

At the mention of barge haulers, images from the famous painting by Repin immediately appear before our eyes, but the first Russian artist to depict this hard work was Vasily Vereshchagin. Living in 1866 on his uncle's estate in the village of Lyubets, he observed barge haulers on the banks of the Sheksna River. Making sketches of hard workers, he planned to create a large canvas in order to draw attention to the inhuman working conditions of barge haulers. However, Vereshchagin soon went to serve in Turkestan and never finished the large-scale painting.

Ofenya

The first mentions of abouten are found in historical sources in 1700. In Russia, this was the name of wandering merchants who sold various trifles, books, popular prints, paper, and fabrics in the villages. To a large extent, the entrepreneur's success depended on his sonorous voice. From childhood, fathers taught their sons a special craft: how to invite buyers and how to be able to sell them a product with a 200-300 percent mark-up. The peasants were wary of the women, but when a visiting merchant appeared, they immediately ran to him: if they didn't buy something, then find out the latest news and gossip. The Ofeni folded their society, came up with a code and even invented their own slang - fenyu. The proverb "He who does not work, he does not eat" in their dialect sounded like this: "Kchon does not work, he does not shave." Vladimir Dal said that this language was invented "for the cheating meetings of traders."

Nikolai Koshelev called his painting, depicting a visiting merchant, "Ofenya the peddler". The fact is that mainly those peddlers who came from the peasants of the Suzdal and Vladimir provinces were christened with the `` osen ''. Elsewhere they were called peddlers. For this work, the author was awarded the second prize of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists.

Chimney sweep

Chimney sweeps stained with soot often frightened naughty children. Always silent, they were doing some kind of "secret" work. Nobody saw the result of their work: after all, customers will not climb to check how the stove, fireplace or ventilation pipes were cleaned! And not everyone would have climbed: to work as a chimney sweep, they usually took people thin, slender. Denmark is considered the birthplace of this profession, and it came to Russia in 1721 with the appearance of the first hearth with a chimney. At the police stations, then the position of a furnace cleaner was introduced, which was later called in the European way - a chimney sweep. Representatives of this profession can still be found in the Nordic countries.

Firs Zhuravlev depicted a chimney sweep stained with soot and soot in practical black clothes. The worker was shod in slippers that could be easily removed to climb the pipes. For this painting, the artist was awarded the honorary title of academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1874.

Lamplighter

The profession of a lamplighter in a more simplified form existed in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome: even then at night the streets were illuminated with the help of oil lamps and torches. In Russia, in the 19th century, retired military men who could work night and day were taken to the position of a lamplighter. In an hour, they walked around at least 50 lanterns: they adjusted the wicks and filled in hemp oil. Theft was not complete. To stop this, turpentine was added to the oil, and later it was completely replaced with kerosene. With the advent of electric lanterns, the work became somewhat easier, although they were still turned on and off manually. Only after the 30s of the XX century did the automatic mode of lighting the lanterns appear, and this once prestigious profession has sunk into oblivion. In some cities, you can still find a lamplighter, although this is more an attempt to preserve traditions than a necessity.

In the painting by Leonid Solomatkin "Morning at the tavern" you can see how the lamplighter, having climbed the ladder, goes about his business - extinguishing a candle. Each worker also had a long pole with which he lit and refueled the lanterns.

Saddler

Blinders were called eyecups that obscure the horse's view from the sides. This is where the word "blinkered" comes from - this is how people who are unable to accept other points of view are called. The harness element gave the name to the whole profession. However, the master was engaged in the manufacture of all horse harness: saddles, bridles, stirrups. Each harness had to be unique. The first saddlers existed in Ancient Russia, and now only rare specialists decorate thoroughbred horses for racing.

Mikhail Klodt's painting shows a saddler at work. This craft was laborious and required skillful skills. What was it worth to choose the right skin! And still it was necessary to sew belts, put rivets. Everything was done by hand with the simplest tools. Each artisan adhered to certain rules. For example, it was possible to bend arcs only during the summer sap flow, and dry them exclusively in the shade.

Cooper

Traditionally, wooden barrels are used for pickling cucumbers and aging wine. In the old days, the cooper was engaged in their manufacture. Widespread in Russia, this profession came to naught in the XX century. Previously, the number of professional coopers reached a thousand people in each province, but now there are only a few of them. Filling the barrels was extremely difficult. Suffice it to recall an episode from a book about Robinson Crusoe: on the island he tried to learn how to make kegs. I pored for several weeks, hammered together boards, but still I could not do anything worthwhile.

In the painting by Sergei Skachkov, you can see the cooper at work. With the help of an ax and improvised carpentry tools, he attaches wooden or iron hoops to the body. The boards should be knocked down so tightly to each other that they do not let water through.