The history of batik in Western Europe. The history of the development of batik

The Dutch were the first to use batik for decorative fabrics in the first half of the 19th century. But by the middle of the century, they had lost their influence on the European market and developed entrepreneurial activities in Java. Thus, entire manufactories for the production of batik were opened, which followed the prevailing trends and were able to please the most demanding customer.

At the same time, the British cotton industry, relying on the high technology of cotton prints, is gradually overtaking the Dutch one. This influenced the fact that the already developed technologies of batik were threatened with oblivion.

But at the beginning of the 20th century, batik came back into fashion in Europe, England and America. This happened thanks to the enthusiasm of a small number of artists who, fascinated by batik, went to distant lands and studied the unique batik technique from Indian and Indonesian masters. Thus, by the middle of the last century, the batik technique had a large army of its admirers and followers around the world. Painting batik is becoming not only fashionable, but also prestigious.

Batik in Russia

For most of the 20th century, Russia remained behind the Iron Curtain, so batik appeared in our country only at the beginning of the century. It was then that a reserve composition was invented that did not require heating - cold batik appeared. But despite the new discoveries, batik in Russia developed slowly. Artists more often had not to create, but to adapt.

During the NEP, there was a significant demand for dresses with asymmetrical patterns, silk shawls with exquisite ornaments in oriental style. This provided the artists with work for a while, but gradually the fashion passed and they had to look for new sources of orders.

Basically, batik was distributed in large cities such as Leningrad and Moscow. Despite the lack of experience, the artists were fond of painting shawls, curtains, scarves. To exchange at least some experience, artists united in artels.

The plots of the murals of that time were dictated by the difficult political situation in the country. Soviet symbols were encouraged.

The second wind to Russian batik was given by the now Honored Artist of Russia Irina Trofimova. She managed to go abroad to the homeland of batik. Thanks to her, the first detailed information about this technique appeared in Russia.

In the 1970s, a new generation of textile artists appeared who were educated at the Stroganov and Mukhinsky schools, at the textile or technological institutes. They consciously chose the path of the artist, dealing exclusively with "author's batik."

Gradually, batik became a full-fledged participant in all art exhibitions, both all-Union and international.

Batik techniques

Cold batik. The technology of cold batik appeared not so long ago - with the development of chemical knowledge. This happened at the beginning of the 20th century. The main distinguishing feature of the reserve composition is that it does not require heating. This makes cold batik very accessible to a wide range of artists and hobbyists.

Cold batik is based on the fact that with this method of painting fabrics, all forms of the pattern, as a rule, have a closed contour stroke (reserving composition), which gives a peculiar character to the pattern.

After the outline is drawn, the drawing is allowed to dry. It is not recommended to leave the induced pattern on the fabric unpainted for more than 24 hours, since in this case the reserve composition gives a halo due to the released fat and the paint does not come close to the contour guidance when poured.

Cold batik is represented by three techniques: classic, multi-layered, open graphics.

So, classic batik is created by the method of picking up reserving lines that limit closed planes. As a result of this, a drawing is obtained that resembles a stained-glass window and is painted in one layer (see pr.8).

Multilayer batik is also created according to the stained glass principle. But at the same time, several overlays of color tones are used on top of each other (see example 9).

Open graphics. Signed without the use of closed planes. In this technique, the redundant lines are broken. This allows the color of one plane to enter the color of another (see example 10).

Free painting. Free painting technique is perhaps the most fast way create interesting art work. Free painting differs from classic hot and cold batik in that it is more like painting than batik. On the primed fabric create a composition, as on paper. Thanks to the primer, the paints blur less and retain the shape of the stroke. Free painting with paints with the introduction of saline into them can be combined with ordinary painting with cold batik.

Free painting also includes three techniques: watercolor, stencil, free painting graphics.

Watercolor technique - the fabric is painted "raw" with drying in certain places and the use of an alcohol effect (see pr.11).

Stencil technique. The drawing is created using a stencil and special cans for spraying the dye (see pr.12).

Freehand graphics. It is created using salt technology and aiming with a reserve (see pr.13).

Hot batik. Hot batik is the most ancient type of painting on fabric. It is called the hot method because the reserving substance that is used in painting is applied to the fabric only when it is hot. Paraffin, wax, stearin or their mixture is used as a reserve substance. It is applied to the fabric with a brush or a special copper ruler.

In hot batik, the following main methods of work are distinguished:

1. Simple batik (in one overlap).

2. Complex batik (in two or more overlaps. See pr.14).

3. Work from the stain (see pr.15).

Simple batik. The drawing according to the template is applied to the fabric with the help of brushes, stamps, knives, funnels or gurneys with a heated reserve compound. It turns out a contour drawing, a geometric or floral ornament.

Painting by the method of complex batik consists of several stages, each of which, as it were, repeats the painting by the method of simple batik: after the first overlapping of the background and its drying, the drawing is again applied with a reserve compound and again the entire surface of the fabric stretched over the frame is covered. Such overlaps can be repeated up to four times. Overlaps go sequentially from light to dark.

Before each new overcoating with paint, it is necessary to check the quality of the coating with a reserve composition and make sure that the entire pattern, in accordance with the template, is transferred to the fabric.

Spot painting is the most complex and interesting work on fabric design. In this way, products decorated with floral ornaments are usually made. The principle of operation is the same as in complex batik, but instead of continuous successive overlaps of the entire fabric, blurry spots of different colors are applied to the canvas in accordance with the sketch. For each of these spots, the initial drawing of the ornament corresponding to the sketch is carried out by the reserve composition, then the same spots or adjacent areas of the background are covered with a different color, and the further drawing of the ornament again takes place. This procedure can be repeated no more than three times. Before the last overlap, the ornament is finally drawn and, in conclusion, the entire canvas is covered with some dark color. As a rule, such drawings always have a dark background, as it is necessary that it overlap the paint that has spread outside the drawing. There is, as it were, work with complex batik on separate sections of the decorated fabric. This makes it possible, with a small number of overlaps, to achieve the finest transitions of colors and their shades.

When painting, it is necessary to ensure that each layer of paint applied to the fabric dries completely, and the reserve composition hardens.

In hot batik, color modeling of volumes is based on both contrasting and subtle combinations. As a rule, the viewer's imagination is struck by this specific feature of batik - multiple layers seem to shine through each other.

Knotted batik. Knotted batik can rightly be considered one of the oldest types of fabric design. This art has thousands of years of tradition.

According to a certain pattern of the pattern, very small knots are tied on an unpainted canvas, tightly tied with a thread. Then the fabric is dyed, the threads are removed. The result is an amazing and unique pattern. Similarly, you can dye the fabric several times, removing old knots and adding new ones.

Many countries can boast of a special way of dyeing fabric using this technique.

For example, in India, knotted batik is called a "bandana". They came up with an additional effect in technology. Indian craftswomen learned how to tie thousands of tiny knots by prying the fabric with a long sharp nail on the little finger. And thus create complex multi-color ornaments. In addition, each knot is tied not with a separate, but with a common thread. Having made several turns with it on a piece of fabric raised with a nail, the next raised area is wrapped around it. After dyeing and drying the fabric, it is not smoothed. Thus, the material retains the corrugated effect. This method allows you to create fabrics even with a complex floral or "cucumber" pattern (see example 16).

West Africa has its own ideas about the technology of dyeing fabric, which is traditionally covered with large diamond-shaped patterns. The height of such rhombuses is great - equal to the average height of a person from the shoulder to the feet. Such a large ornament looks beautiful in the folds of clothing, which is a rectangular panel the width of the arms with a slit for the head.

It is very difficult for a modern person to find time to tie a thousand knots on fabric. Therefore, we will focus on the main and more simple ways coloring.

"Shibori". The word "shibori" is of Japanese origin and means "twist", "rotate", "press". It is not surprising that this technique appeared in Japan, the birthplace of origami.

If you fold and strongly compress the fabric, and then paint the bulk bundle, then the surface of the bundle will be painted in the appropriate color. Depending on the density of the fabric, the dyeing time, and also the pressing, the dye may penetrate deeper into the fabric. In this way, different shades of color are achieved, while the base of the folds of the fabric remains undyed. The pattern depends on the different ways of folding the fabric (see pr. 17).

HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF BATIK TECHNIQUE

Garifullina Lucia Ilfatovna

5th year student, Department of Technology and Design, Vyatka State University,
Russian Federation, Kirov

Kulyabina Svetlana Alekseevna

scientific adviser, associate professor of VSU,
Russian Federation, Kirov

At present, products are of particular value handmade, and one of the most popular types of art, which involves making products by hand, is batik. Batik is a common name for a variety of ways and techniques of artistic painting on fabric. The art of batik manufacturing is based on the principle of applying a reserve. This principle lies in the fact that individual sections of the fabric are covered with a special composition that does not allow paint to pass through. And then when paint is applied to the fabric, it is these unpainted areas that form the pattern. As a reserve, paraffin, beeswax or various resins are usually used. Also in some countries, for example, in Indonesia, ancient recipes for a reserve composition prepared on the basis of rice paste, which was applied with a bamboo stick, have been preserved. But the traditional and most common type of reserve remains wax-based. Thanks to the use of wax, batik got its name, which in Javanese means “drawing with hot wax”.

Scientists have not come to a unanimous opinion about the time of the emergence of the art of batik. Most believe that this method of decorating fabric appeared in the XIII-XIV century. The oldest fragments of batik-painted textiles, possibly of Indian or Persian origin, have been found in Egyptian tombs. And the earliest information about the coloring of fabrics in the world literature dates back to the 1st century AD. e. Pliny the Elder in one of his books described in detail the method of dyeing fabrics used in Egypt: “In Egypt, clothes are dyed in an amazing way: after the white cloth is drawn, it is impregnated not with paints, but with substances that absorb paints; when this is done, nothing is visible on the cloth, but, having lowered it into a cauldron of hot paint, at the proper time they take it out painted. The description is very similar to the modern definition of batik. Only now such solutions are called "reserve", as they protect the canvas from paint, reserving its original color. There is no doubt that the roots of this art form go back to ancient times.

There are several types of batik. One of the oldest and most interesting types of fabric design can be considered knotted batik (Fig. 1). This art has thousands of years of tradition. Even the simplest and cheapest material, painted in this way, instantly becomes unique. The principle of its transformation is simple. According to a certain pattern of the pattern, very small knots are tied on an unpainted canvas, tightly twisting them with a thread. The fabric is then dyed, removing the threads, and the result is an amazing and unique pattern. Similarly, you can dye the fabric several times, removing old knots and adding new ones. The paint under the threads, where the fabric is twisted, is not painted over, retaining its color, and in other areas the fabric is dyed unevenly, thereby forming a color stretch.

In order to make the drawing more interesting and rich in color, it is recommended to repeat this dyeing 2-3 times with paints of other colors. After the first dyeing and washing of the fabric, the knots are not untied, but on the contrary, new ones are tied on other already painted areas of the fabric and again painted in a different color in the bathroom, thereby obtaining more tones and a more interesting pattern. This process can be repeated a third time, imposing new knots according to the color obtained after the second dyeing. This type of dyeing begins with a transition from a light color (first dyeing) to the darkest (third dyeing). But it is important to know the laws of mixing colors in order to get the final desired color. Knotted batik is made on various materials - cotton, viscose, linen, wool, natural silk, acetate, triacetate and nylon - with different classes of dyes.

But despite the existence traditional technology dyeing fabrics, many countries boast their own special way. For example, in India, where this type of batik is called "bandana", there is an additional effect in the knot technology. Indian craftswomen learned how to tie thousands of tiny knots by prying fabric with a long, sharp fingernail on their little finger and, thereby, create complex multi-color ornaments. In addition, each knot is tied with a common thread. Having made several turns with it on a piece of fabric raised with a nail, the next raised area is wrapped around it. After dyeing and drying the fabric, do not iron it. Thus, the canvas retains the effect of corrugation. This method allows you to create fabrics even with a complex floral or "cucumber" pattern. This painting technique is still used in India to create both additions to clothing and clothing itself. Usually festive clothes are decorated with knotted batik. West Africa has its own ideas about the technology of dyeing fabric, which consists in the fact that it is traditionally covered with large diamond-shaped patterns. The height of such rhombuses is great, it is equal to the average height of a person from the shoulder to the feet. Such a large ornament looks beautiful in the folds of clothing, which is a rectangular canvas the width of an arm span with a slit for the head.

Also, this technique was common in Japan, where it was called "shibari", which means "to tie a knot." This technique came to Japan from China and Indonesia and was already developing there in its own way, which was due to its peculiar culture, isolation and self-sufficiency. It is also interesting that another technique for creating a pattern was also widespread in the country at that time, which was formed at the stage of weaving. It was called - ikat.

In each country, knotted batik had its own characteristics. Often it was supplemented with details, for example, beads or embroidery, and somewhere with pieces of a mirror (in India), in Africa, products were decorated with pearls and shells.

Figure 1. Knotted batik

The next, one of the most popular types of batik is hot batik (Fig. 2). The technology lies in the fact that the molten reserve is applied to the contour of the pattern or covers individual sections of the canvas. This batik originated in Indonesia, having survived its heyday on the island of Java, where specialists in this matter have reached unprecedented heights of skill. There is a Javanese legend that says that one of the heavenly gods of Indonesia descended to the island, saw how bad life was for people there, and decided to help them. He scattered magnificent fabrics across the fields, thickened multi-colored clouds, collected a drop of wax from hundreds of bees and started dancing, generously spraying the wax and leaving intricate patterns of his footprints. And then multicolored rain poured down - green, yellow, blue - and painted the drawing with colorful multicolors. So people learned about batik and learned to dye fabrics in bright colors and create amazingly beautiful products.

But clothes made of fabrics with patterns made in this technique were at first allowed to be worn only by a select few - aristocrats. They devoted their free time to painting fabrics. Only over time, servants, and then the population of the island, began to be involved in this delicate and very laborious work. On the island of Java, traditional patterns and techniques for applying them have been passed down from generation to generation, with each family having a different name. For example, cheplokan, which means "with repeating patterns" or kawung - "with circular elements."

Prior to the production of the first fabrics, painting was applied to objects, in particular to the bark taken from a tree, with the help of melted wax of wild bees, and the remaining places were then dyed with vegetable dyes. With the advent of fabrics, this technology began to be used for their design. The fact is that the wax, when applied to the fabric, does not allow the dye to pass through itself, i.e. mechanically reserves the matter, which can then be dyed, so the area that is covered with wax will be lighter than the other, which makes it possible to create many different effects by removing wax or paste from dyed fabric.

Hot batik reached its greatest rise in the 14th century, when "chanting" was invented, a special device for pouring wax, which is a metal tank with a curved spout that was mounted on a bamboo or wooden handle. This device, due to the fact that the wax poured out in a thin stream, made it possible to apply thin strokes and create exquisite patterns.

Paint recipes were kept by masters in the strictest confidence. They were made from natural dyes: trees, minerals, spices, flowers, stones and applied only to natural fabrics.

A special type of hot batik has become widespread in China. There it was called "laze". The tradition of this technique was passed down in families from generation to generation. The peculiarity of this technique was the technology of painting fabric. The fabric was stretched and filled with hot wax, which was then scraped off, forming patterns. The space of patterns was filled with paint. The traditional method was also used, when the patterns were painted over with wax and, after drying, were immersed in a vat of paint, the paint covered the material, leaving areas with wax unpainted and thereby forming a pattern. Batik masters in China became famous for the Miao people in Guizhou province. In their works, they used various batik techniques and used a variety of subjects, including images of birds, animals, flowers, plants, as well as geometric patterns. The painting was predominantly done on silk.

Figure 2. Hot batik

The youngest, but no less common type of batik is cold batik (Fig. 3). This method involves applying a reserve in the form of a closed contour, creating a barrier within which painting is carried out. At the beginning of the 20th century, batik began to experience its rebirth, thanks to the appearance of oriental fabrics in Europe. But it was difficult for Europeans to reproduce the classical process of making wax batik, so another, more accessible and simple type of painting was created using a cold reserve and, accordingly, other painting techniques.

This technique differed from hot batik not only by the temperature of the reserve, its composition, tools for its application, as well as the style of painting have changed. For painting on silk, white and colored lines are most often used, separating one color space from another, while all the details of the pattern have a clear border and are painted with paints only inside the reserve line. As a result, the drawing forms clear contours.

The paint behaves differently on different fabrics: it spreads better on thin silks, worse on denser ones, and as a rule, in cold batik paints are applied only superficially, with soft brushes, sponge or cotton swabs. In this case, the brush with paint must be brought close to the reserve line. This must be done so that the paint does not stain the separating barrier and does not move to the neighboring area. If this happens, it is necessary to moisten a cotton swab with water and try to remove paint stains, trying to do it quickly, before the paint dries. This method, due to the fact that the removal of the reserve after staining is not implied, is considered the simplest and safest, which makes it affordable and popular.

In Russia, the cold batik method has been used since 1936, thanks to the invention of a reserve composition that did not require heating. This made it the birthplace of "cold batik". In industrial enterprises, both wardrobe items were made in this way: scarves, scarves, ties, coupons for dresses, and interior items: curtains, tablecloths, napkins, lampshades. Later, decorative and pictorial panels began to be created using this technique. In Europe, cold batik was widely used in the 70-80s.

Figure 3. Cold batik

The history associated with the art of batik is very long and detailed, it is passed down from generation to generation, thus being preserved. At the same time, batik does not have any rigid framework or traditions. Each artist can apply various painting options, introducing something new, constantly improving his technique.

The art of batik, which originated in ancient times, not only does not lose its relevance in our time, but is also experiencing a peak in popularity, especially in our country. This is not surprising, since the advantage of this type of art is that it is available not only for professional artists, but also for ordinary people who are interested in creativity and needlework, since the features of this technique allow you to create products that are wonderful in their beauty and amaze with their diversity. variability, brightness of colors, and are also a place for the embodiment of the author's creative fantasies and the creation of unique works.

Bibliography:

1. Goryushkina N.I. Needlework and decor // School of sewing [Electronic resource] - Access mode. - URL: http://www.osinka.ru/Sewing/Dekor/About/Batik.html (date of access: 06/12/2015).

2. Demin L.R. Art of Indonesia. Moscow: Knowledge, 1965. - 210 p.

3.Zholobchuk A.Ya. Gifts from batik // Gallery of Nadezhda Shubina. [Electronic resource] - Access mode. - URL: http://www.fine-art-collection.com/library/batik/batik8.html (date of access: 06/12/2015).

4.Sineglazova M.O. Let's paint the fabric ourselves. Craft and needlework. M .: Profizdat, 2001. - 62 p.

5. Stock Susie. Batik. Practical guide. M .: Publishing house "Niola 21st century", 2005

See eternity in one moment
A huge world - in a grain of sand,
In a single handful - infinity
And the sky - in a cup of a flower.

William Blake, translated by S. Y. Marshak

Cubic heel. Fragment. Linen. 19th century Russia. St. Petersburg, Ethnographic Museum

The word batik (Malay batek) is derived from the Malay-Indonesian word titik (titek) - dot, drop. This is the only thing that is known about the term reliably. The word "batik" in Indonesia appeared quite late, perhaps after the 16th century. Over time, the process of creating a pattern using molten wax and the finished fabric began to be called batik. The same term in our time has moved to printed factory fabric, and made with the help of modern digital printing (print).

The word "batik" has become synonymous with patterned fabric in Indonesia. In addition, wax reservation techniques are used on any surface. For example, in Malaysia, Indonesia, this is done on fabric, paper, wood, bamboo, coconut, leather, copper, glass, mirror, ceramics. And all this is called batik. Formally, it can be considered that only the traditional technique of creating a pattern on fabric using wax or similar compounds should be called batik.

The oldest method of decorating fabrics by reserving a pattern with heated wax, paraffin, resin or other substances was known in many countries, starting from Sumer. Egyptian Coptic fabrics made of linen and wool from the 3rd-8th centuries with a white pattern on a blue and red background have survived.

In Japan, Sri Lanka, Peru, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, African countries, there were also hot batik techniques.

It is known that in the VI century in Malaysia they made material from the bark of a tree. The pattern was applied with wax collected from wild bees, and painted with red stone paint (ocher) or soot. This is an ancient method of dyeing fabric in China. Written sources report that as early as the 3rd century BC. e. the Miao people and some others began to use the wax technique to create not only indigo, but also multi-colored fabrics and achieved perfection.

This is how chanting is applied to wax patterns in Indonesia

It is believed that in Indonesia, batik began to develop at the beginning of our era. It is difficult to say whether Indonesia is the birthplace of batik, or whether it came here under the influence of Indian and Chinese traditions. It is known that in the isolated highlands of South Sulawesi, fabrics were created, first with the help of rice paste, and later with wax. Most likely, the development of batik went from different directions.

The world fame of Indonesian batik is the result of a combination of unique technique and artistic skill, with which the most ancient patterns are embodied, carefully preserved to this day. There are several thousand of them, but it is impossible to take into account all the emerging options. It was in Indonesia that the batik technique was brought to perfection due to the fact that it became a court art in the palaces of Central Java. And now, first of all, the island of Java is famous for its batiks. These are traditional fabrics that are still used in the country as everyday and festive clothes by the majority of the Indonesian population, both men and women. In the traditional way, pieces of fabric made of cotton or linen were prepared for painting for several days: they were softened, washed, kept in various solutions, beaten with mallets.

After a long preparation, the drawing was applied with wax. There are many options for wax reserve. In addition to beeswax, the composition includes paraffin, fat, coconut oil, resin and rosin to thicken the composition and other components, which, at times, are a family secret. As a result, the reserve on the fabric looks like a relief pattern of different tones - from bright yellow to brown. The reserve was once applied with a bamboo stick, later with a brush.

The importation of fine cotton fabrics into the country - Indian, then Dutch and the need of the upper strata of society for exquisite clothing led in the 17th century to the invention of metal chanting with a bamboo handle. Thanks to him, wax drawing flourished in this era. The next step in creating batik is dyeing the fabric. Initially, vegetable dyes were used - roots, leaves, bark.

In the traditional version, indigo is taken for the first dyeing. The fabric is dipped in cold dye many times over a week and a half or more. It takes on an increasingly dark blue color. Antique batiks were dyed in one color. Around 1700, an additional dyeing brown with the bark of the soga tree was invented. Each stage of dyeing is completed by rinsing the fabric in running water and drying. After each dyeing, the wax is removed very simply - the fabric is “boiled” a little in boiling water and the wax melts. Then the next reserve is applied.

In conclusion, despite the strength of vegetable dyes, they are fixed in a solution of borax, alum, sugar and lemon juice. And finally, the fabric is washed. This is how real batik is born.

Indonesian batik painted with chanting is called "tulis", which literally means "written". In the middle of the 19th century in Java they began to apply a wax pattern using copper stamps - chaps. Most handmade batiks are made this way today. And the fabric is called kain chap. The pattern with the help of a stamp is more accurate, and each fragment is the same. This helps to distinguish chap batik from tulis batik. At the same time, chap-batik loses its spirituality, the charm of a man-made line, in which both thought and feeling are embedded.

Modern batik. Indonesia, about. Bali. Photo by M. Tsyganov

In the 1960s, apparently under the influence of European and American culture, Indonesia began to create batik paintings, panels, curtains with subjects close to Western painting and unusual for traditional batik: landscapes, figures of people, everyday scenes, abstract compositions. Over time, fabrics began to be used for cut clothes, furniture and other purposes. Fabrics created using traditional technology are expensive and their production is not profitable. Therefore, the ancient complex long-term technology for creating batik is now preserved only in individual workshops. A simplified version is usually used, and more often a stamp. Today, when batik is made everywhere on the islands, you can also find modern techniques similar to our hot batik. The colonization of Indonesia and India contributed to the development of batik and its penetration into Europe.

The European (including ours) way of working with wax has a very distant relation to traditional batik.

Indonesian batik became known to Europeans through Holland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and possibly earlier. But the attitude towards him was rather dismissive. In the opinion of a European, these products seemed "little and anti-artistic", although their "characteristic" was nevertheless appreciated.

Since 1835, several factories have been opened in Holland, where masters brought from Java taught batik. By the early 1900s, batik was being mass-produced in Germany. Much has been done here to develop and popularize handmade wax batik in our time. At the beginning of the 20th century, a batik pin was created in Germany for applying wax, later a battery was attached to it. Techniques of multiple overlaps with wax or, conversely, surface application of dyes have appeared. At the end of the 20th century, the popularity of batik in Europe reached its peak.

In Russia, a technique similar to wax batik has been used since ancient times. In the XVI-XVII centuries, it reached perfection. For the reserve (vapa), in addition to wax, clay, buckwheat paste with alum were used. The composition was applied with brushes. If the pattern was made with carved boards, then the fabric was called wax embossing. They dyed the fabric by immersion in indigo - cube dyeing, so now they are called cube heel.

The appearance in Europe of oriental fabrics in the batik technique led at the beginning of the 20th century to a passion for hand-painted fabrics. In Russia in 1910-1911, manuals were published on painting on fabrics, painting on silk and cotton, wax batik technique on paper, linen, woolen and silk fabrics, paper, parchment, cardboard, intended for numerous industrial artels and housewives.

“Painting on fabrics belongs to the category of the best fine crafts and has such a variety of types that cannot be found in another area ...”, one of these manuals wrote. The 1916 edition was called Batik. A new type of painting on paper, linen, woolen and silk fabrics. Then there was no time for batik ... Hot batik reappeared already in Soviet times - in 1930, when the first workshop for painting fabrics was created in Leningrad in the "Association of Artists". In contrast to the stuffing known at that time, hot batik was called "a new method of painting." Having simplified it, they painted kerchiefs, scarves, shawls.

It was difficult for Europeans to reproduce the classic process of making wax batik. Therefore, a different, more accessible way of working has appeared - a cold reserve, which is applied with a glass tube. He imitated hot batik.

In Russia, in 1936, it began to be used in the Tribuna artel. Perhaps the term "hot batik" appeared with us at the same time as "cold batik" in order to distinguish between them. The reserve composition, the tools for its application, the style and techniques of painting have changed. This method somewhat limits the freedom of the artist, since all the details of the drawing have a contour stroke with a reserve and are painted with paints inside the contour, and the drawing acquires a kind of graphic clarity and flatness. So they made scarves, scarves, ties, coupons for dresses, interior items: curtains, tablecloths, napkins, lampshades. At that time, painting was a means of agitation and the opportunity to make fabric with a pattern on your own.

After a period of avant-garde art, “... the Russian Silk Road was reliably paved. Enclosed with a fence. The era of Soviet “arts and crafts” began. And the work on silk - batik, if you like - both in practice and in the mind for a long time turned into scarves with roses, diamonds, fish, into decorative panels "Autumn", "Spring", "Sunset", "Dawn", into an element of costume , in gas scarves with stains ... ”, - the artist Marina Lukashevich succinctly characterized the Soviet period.

Our homeworkers in the 1940s and 50s painted scarves with the help of an electric pin and paraffin with additives. In the 60s they switched to glass tubes and a cold reserve. Cold batik became widespread in many countries in the 1970s and 80s. From the late 1930s to the late 1990s, all of our textbooks called "Painting of Fabrics" mainly described these two techniques. Thus, the concept of "batik" has become synonymous with "painting fabrics." A shorter designation in Russian usually wins - since the beginning of the 21st century, more and more books about Batik began to appear.

Electric batik pin by Irina Trofimova against the background of Indian batik of the middle of the 20th century

Tatyana Shikhireva:

“I got carried away with hot batik and I try not to deviate ... Anyone who has worked in this technique knows that first you need to do the lightest, then darker and darker. And all the time you have to keep in mind what I had light, what was dark. It is so interesting and exciting that it is difficult to refuse such work.

Elena Dorozhkina:

: “The more I do batik, the further I go from its classical techniques (cold, hot). They limit my creative desires, do not allow me to make complex plot compositional ideas. Cold batik is a contour - a border, it does not allow you to create subtle, picturesque shades. Hot - completely with wax, where everything is very decorative, but monosyllabic and flat, these techniques, as a rule, involve decorating fabric for clothes, in fact, for which batik was invented. It's not enough for me. In the process of many years of work in batik, I discovered my own technique that allows me to realize my plots on silk. My technique is free painting. As a rule, according to a preliminary sketch. Silk allows the paint to spread beautifully, gently, and often suggests new effects itself, you just need to catch them, show them, and emphasize them. The process is complex, subtle, but interesting. We can say that we interact with this technique.

Dorozhkina Elena (city of Korolev). Summer. 2005. Silk. Free painting. 49x50 cm.

The founder of the Latvian school of tapestry, artist Rudolf Heimrat (1926-1992), began his career in the 1950s with batik and ceramics.

I found Heimrath's work in the tapestry technique. In the 1970s, Heimrat organically introduces a variety of techniques into smooth tapestry - flooring, upholstery, openwork weaves, pile knots, uses sisal, linen, and metal thread.

Rudolf Heimrath (1926-1992). "Fisherwomen". 1968 Latvian SSR, Riga. Wool, linen, basis density 2 threads per 1 cm. 200x250 cm.

fragment

In the early 1960s, Juozas Balchikonis (1924-2010), the founder of the Lithuanian school of artistic textiles, began his experiments in the hot batik technique. These were linen curtains and wall panels based on Lithuanian folk songs and legends. His experience is still interesting, in particular because he seems to be the only artist (in the USSR and present-day Russia) who used vegetable dyes in batik. For example, the artist obtained greenish and brown tones from tree bark, moss and rust.

Balchikonis Kestutis (Lithuania). Holiday on the Neman. 1978. Cotton. Hot batik. 230x304 cm. National Museum of Lithuania.

Monumental batiks, close to fresco painting, made a strong impression at exhibitions. It became clear that batik is quite worthy to take a place in the public interior.
The exhibition of Juozas Balchikonis in Moscow in the early 1970s made such a big impression on Irina Trofimova that she devoted her entire further creative life to this art form. The artist studied the technique of batik in Delhi. She visited many Asian republics and countries of Southeast Asia. For half a century of work (since 1962) in the author's batik, she has never betrayed the hot batik, her own style and the monumental size of the canvases (usually they are 265x100 cm in size). Irina Trofimova believes that the traditional ancient technique does not limit the possibilities of the author, but helps in creativity. Honored Artist of Russia, she worked in the association "Spring" for more than 30 years. She has created over 1,000 award-winning themed and souvenir designs for headscarves. More than 100 monumental panels, many of which are kept in the museums of the country and abroad. And every year there are new series devoted to various topics. On the canvases there are usually large figures in costumes that exactly correspond to the era, objects that symbolize the chosen theme.

Trofimova Irina (Moscow). Egypt. China. Middle Ages. Triptych. 2010. Cotton. Hot batik. 265x100 cm.

For an artist working in the textile industry (design of fabrics, headscarves, curtains), the author's batik has become an outlet since the 70s, allowing him to engage in free creativity.
During the period of perestroika, batik was a good help for those artists who were unclaimed. Many tapestry masters switched to painting.

Kosulnikova Elena (Moscow). Russian North. 2011. Hot batik.

Tatyana Shikhireva:

"I want to show the drama, the tragedy that develops in this image. I always go from some kind of intrigue. I really like to draw details, for example, a neck with a frill, a wedding with flowers. An appeal to some other era is interesting. I dig a lot in books on history, fashion of different eras, I find some kind of image for myself and create my own picture.

Shikhireva Tatiana (Moscow). Annunciation. The left side of the composition. 2000. Hot batik

Chagorova Tatiana (Penza). "Many girls - I'm alone." Polyptych. 2010. Cotton. Hot batik. 180x80cm. each part

Gamayunova Olga (Moscow). Winter. The central part of the triptych. 2006. Silk. Cold batik

Lukashevich Marina. Man and cat. Silk. double batik

Lozhkina O. (Izhevsk). Song of the ancestors. Cold batik. 145x60 cm.

Shikhova Svetlana (Uzbekistan, Fergana). Melon seller. 2010. Silk. 70x60 cm.

Shikhova S. "Chor-minor". Volumetric batik. Silk, excelsior. 60x80 cm. Uzbekistan, Fergana. 2010

Shikhova S. "Spring month of Ramadan". Volumetric batik. Silk, excelsior. 65x75 cm. Uzbekistan, Fergana. 2010

Talaev Alexander. Christmas night. 2009. Silk. free painting

The plots of Maria Kaminskaya are infinitely varied. These are field and garden flowers, marine life and insects, real and fictional characters surrounded by realistic everyday details, landscapes, elegant decorative compositions, sometimes mysterious, sometimes poetic, sometimes bright, sometimes gloomy. In this artist's world, even fish have their own face and character. The interior is always with a window behind which the city is either real or invented. Multi-color or subtly monochrome panels, laconic or with details that can be looked at endlessly. Whatever is depicted in the work, it is always decorative, picturesque and realistic at the same time.

Kaminskaya Maria. Dragonflies. From the Silk Road series. 2009. Silk. Cold batik

Kaminskaya Maria. Scarf "Pomegranate", Silk/Batik 55cm x 55cm 2007

Kaminskaya Maria. Shore. crepe chiffon/batik 60cm x 60cm 2009

Kaminskaya Maria. Still life with teapots, textured silk/batik 63cm x 63cm 2010

Sergei Pushkarev (Sergiev Posad). Winter sun. 1985. Silk. Author's technique. 90x160 cm

Sergey Pushkarev. Ancient music. Part of a triptych. 1980. Silk. Author's technique. 90x110 cm. Moscow, Museum of Modern Art

Uzdenikova Elena. Illustration for the Persian fairy tale "The Golden Carp". 2002. Silk. Cold batik, painting. 15x25 cm.

Book graphic artist Elena Uzdenikova, working on batik at the same time, organically combined painting on silk with book illustrations for Persian fairy tales. When published (unlike ancient scrolls), the illustrations will be made in the usual printing way, but the miniatures will retain the unusual effect of drawing on the fabric.

Any living feelings and thoughts that excite the artist, no matter how strange it may seem to someone when talking about decorative art, can be conveyed in a painting on fabric. And if the author really has them, then it is easy to find a corresponding non-standard, natural compositional solution. Then there will be no need for formal methods of dividing the plane into squares, stripes and other geometric shapes, these "scaffolding" that do not carry any semantic load.

For the viewer, if he does not understand the techniques of painting, it does not matter in what technique the work is made. He perceives the image as a whole... Working with hot wax fascinates, it is akin to ancient magic. If an artist works in the "pure" technique of hot batik, this is of particular interest, but this does not mean that cold batik and other, author's, mixed techniques are "worse". They are just different ways of decorating fabric.

Kimono. Fragment. Japan

Painting on silk with mineral paints is traditional for China. Japanese artists have long used to create, for example, a kimono at the same time reserve, stencil, sophisticated painting, embroidery, gilding.

In our time, when not only separate types of art are mixed, but even art, technology and science, it is not surprising that an inquisitive artist combines different techniques in one work, although the purity of a certain type of painting has its own charm. New methods of working on fabric are constantly being invented.

Acrylic paints are a modern analogue of ancient mineral paints and previous methods of dealing with dye spreading, such as adding salt to paints, thickening from starch, tragacanth, gelatin, etc. Oil paint was actively used in Russian old prints, in creating theatrical costumes. A picture painted with oil paints on canvas is also painting on fabric. But painting on fabric in other techniques, which can be mistaken for oil painting, for example, can hardly be considered a positive phenomenon, as well as any imitation of one technique by means of another. Dense covering paints gave artists the opportunity to draw on the fabric freely, as on paper. The artist chooses technical means, which will help you express your intentions as much as possible.

Anna Miloserdova:

“A professional, it seems to me, is a person who is familiar with all known and owns all available technologies. I am for the experiment, as it gives rise to new effects, new techniques and technologies, often of the author's, and with them - new moods and sensations in the viewer, up to a new view of the world ...
I actively use acrylic, I think that good inventions should not be neglected. This is versatility, a wide, active palette, durability, long life, new effects. True, paints react differently to light, this must be taken into account ... Why acrylic on fabric, and not on paper? Because cloth is not paper. Acrylic does not equalize paper and textiles, and it does not determine the choice of technique. Different properties, different effects, hence different solutions, different results, different perceptions. If the work in textiles suggests why not on paper, then the author does not fully know and understand the material and does not know how to use its features.

Miloserdova Anna (Moscow). The course of things. Triptych. 2007. Silk. Cold batik, painting. 70x210 cm. Moscow, Darwin Museum

It happens that techniques are piled on top of each other, this is perceived as violence against the pattern and fabric. A laconic solution is usually the most optimal... The use of rollers, stamps or mechanized techniques reminiscent of them in easel batik seems meaningless. That's why it's author's, unique. The stamp is appropriate for the replicated production of fabrics or utilitarian products ... Bright colors do not yet guarantee a “bright” product. It is the personality of the artist that makes it so.

The works of contemporary artists show that everything is subject to batik. Any themes and scales: large-format, high-format, and even serial, thus overcoming the initial limitations of the width of the fabric. All genres are available to batik: landscape and portrait, abstract decorative compositions and genre scenes, still lifes and animalistics.

Godich Marina. Winter evening. 2010. Silk. Cold batik. 56x56cm.

Batik can impress the audience before the start of the performance with a large-scale curtain or grandiose sizes at an exhibition, in a museum or in a public interior. It can please with a small picture hanging at home above the sofa or in a strict director's office. Batik can turn into tablecloths, napkins, traditional national and European clothes.

He has only one weak spot - defenselessness before time. And yet, a short-lived fabric often outlasts its creators. If there were an archive of works of art, where they could find a haven for the work of any authors, we would be much richer. So far, to some extent, only museums have overcome this problem. It is time to create a museum in Russia, if not of batik, then of textiles in general. And one could start with a serious, large-scale exhibition dedicated to both history and modern batik.

diary entries and personal website of Irina Dvorkina

Half a century of author's batik

Half a century of author's batik. Part 2

Website of Irina Dvorkina

Shikhova S. "The seller of melons." Volumetric batik. Silk, excelsior. 70x60 cm. Uzbekistan, Fergana. 2010. Fragment

Tatyana Kuskova

Batik- a generalized name for various methods of hand-painting on fabric. The birthplace of batik is considered to be about. Java in Indonesia, where hand-painted clothing is still very popular today. In Javanese, "batik" means "drop of wax" or "painting with hot wax". Part of the word - “TIK - means a point, a drop; - "BA" - cotton fabric.

Batik- technology of dyeing and decorating fabrics. Javanese traditional batik is not just a painting, it was often used as a talisman. Classic hot batik is a very laborious type of painting. Only the preparation of the fabric took several days. Most historians agree that the origin of batik should be attributed to the XIII-XIV centuries. However, it reached wide distribution only after several centuries - by the 17th century.

The painting was done with the help of the "chanting" device invented in the 17th century (tyanting, tyantin). This is a small, copper or brass, vessel with one or more spouts, which is attached to a wooden or bamboo stick - a handle.

The waxed fabric was immersed in a dye solution for several hours. During dyeing, the fabric was carefully turned over, trying not to crack the wax layer. Then the fabric was dried and the other elements of the pattern were waxed again. Staining was carried out from the lightest color to the darkest. The operation was repeated as many times as there are colors in the pattern. In India and Indonesia, paintings were more often used to decorate clothes. In Japan and China, painting was also used to create the interior traditional for these countries: screens and paintings full of poetic associations.

In Russia, batik appeared around the 20s along with the general enthusiasm for the Art Nouveau style and developed mainly in such large cities as Moscow, Leningrad, Ivanovo, Kyiv, Odessa, Tbilisi. Russian artists adopted European technique and style, but did not know the origins and, naturally, did not rely on any tradition. The drawing was uncomplicated, dictated by the rules and the spirit of the time, there was no individuality in it; but gradually in the 70s the batik technique received a rebirth in the form of "author's" batiks.

Now, having an idea about the history of this technique, we will reveal the secret of the uniqueness of batik .... When applying paints, the artist cannot say exactly how they will spread and mix. You can only repeat the contour, the coloring will be different in any case, so that each picture or thing made in the batik technique will be one of a kind. There are several types of batik: cold, hot, loose, nodular.

"Hot batik":

(the story said at the beginning, as well as the legend about God) The technology lies in the fact that the molten reserve is applied to the contour of the drawing or covers individual sections of the canvas. This batik originated in Indonesia, having survived its heyday on the island of Java, where specialists in this matter have reached unprecedented heights of skill. There is a Javanese legend that says that one of the heavenly gods of Indonesia descended to the island, saw how bad life was for people there, and decided to help them. He scattered magnificent fabrics across the fields, thickened multi-colored clouds, collected a drop of wax from hundreds of bees and started dancing, generously spraying the wax and leaving intricate patterns of his footprints. And then multicolored rain poured down - green, yellow, blue - and painted the drawing with colorful multicolors. So people learned about batik and learned to dye fabrics in bright colors and create amazingly beautiful products.

But clothes made of fabrics with patterns made in this technique were at first allowed to be worn only by a select few - aristocrats. Hot batik reached its greatest rise in the 17th century, when “chanting” was invented.

"Cold batik":

The birthplace of "cold batik" is Russia. In Russia, the cold batik method has been used since 1936, thanks to the invention of a reserve composition that did not require heating. Cold batik allows you to get a picture that resembles an image made with wet watercolor. In the technology of cold batik, a reserve liquid consisting of gasoline, rubber glue, and paraffin is used as a reserve. A reserve is needed so that the colors do not mix with each other. The reserve is placed in a glass tube - a reservoir. And the contour of the pattern is applied to the fabric with the bent end of the tube. The contours made in reserve should be closed so that the paint does not flow behind the drawing. Then the reserve dries for 40 minutes, after which the fabric can be painted with paints.

"Knot technique":

Knotted batik is perhaps the easiest way to paint fabric.

To create unusual and colorful effects on fabric, you only need skillful tying of various knots, fabric and, of course, paints. With the help of simple devices and the ability to tie knots in different ways, you can create a variety of ornamental solutions on the fabric.

According to some sources, the technique of nodular painting was known in China even before the 7th century. A little later in India, it also became quite widespread. In India, this painting technique is still used to create both additions to clothing and clothing itself. As a rule, festive clothes are decorated with knotted batik. In the annals of the 7th century in Japan, it is mentioned that this technique was called "shibori" (binding dyeing).

"Free painting":

Free painting includes three techniques: "Watercolor technique" - the fabric is painted on the "raw" with drying in certain places and applying the alcohol effect, as well as painting with special foam brushes on the "dry"; "Stencil technique" - the pattern is created using stencils and special cans for spraying the dye; "Graphics by free painting" - created using salt technique. They are affordable and spectacular, and also allow you to solve any of your creative tasks at a high professional level - whether it is decorating a dress, making a scarf, scarf, shawl or easel panel.

Stretching one color allows you to perform a smooth transition of different tonalities of the same color (for example, three tones of blue dye).

Each type of painting has evolved, undergone changes, the application technique has been constantly improved (and continues to improve). After all the colors have been applied, the fabric must be ironed with a steam iron.

Did you know that any pattern on your clothes, up to a checkered shirt, is "batik"? But let's start in order: people from hoary antiquity decorated their clothes - sheathed them with beads, embroidered and, of course, decorated the fabric with drawings. This is how the amazingly beautiful art of batik was born, which in Indonesian means “a drop of wax”. Before covering the fabric with dyes, craftswomen from the island of Java guessed to outline the contours of future drawings with melted wax, which prevents the colors from mixing and preserves the clear outlines of the ornament. How it all began and where evolution has brought batik - read on!

The origin of batik

The labor-intensive technology of creating stunning patterns on fabric remains virtually unchanged for the Javanese to this day. To do this, melted wax is applied to the linen base - this is done with the traditional “chanting” device (a copper teapot with a thin spout from which a small “stream” can flow). Then the cotton fabric is immersed in a solution with a natural dye from the root of a local plant, the citrus morinda (Morinda citrifolia), the very one on which the little-known noni fruit grows. Next, the fabric is removed and dried, and then the Javanese women apply a new layer of wax to dip the product in a darker paint (which will not affect areas already painted in light colors). The process is completed on the darkest shades, and then the wax is scraped off. This very first technology is today called hot batik.

In Java, batik is still of great importance: for example, a girl cannot get married until she decorates her wedding dress in this way. The newlyweds are tied with a cloth with batik; children are carried in a batik shawl thrown over the shoulder; people with ailments are covered with a handkerchief - to help them recover. And even escorting a person to another world, they cover him with batik so that he safely reaches paradise. The island has its own color symbolism - purple and pink preserve youth and beauty, purple awakens patriotism, heavenly symbolizes nobility. The drawings are different - mythological, geometric and, of course, with images of bright tropical flowers, birds, animals and the riot of tropical nature of Indonesia.

Batik in India

Indian women used several natural dyes, and came up with a new way of "painting" - before dyeing, they tied small knots on the fabric with threads. After staining, they were removed and a "white polka dot" pattern was obtained. This technique was called “plangi”, and now it is called “bandan”, and it flourished until the end of the 17th century. It was here at that time that drawings began to be printed (stuffed) with various stamps with ornaments. Having reached Europe, this innovation made a real fashion revolution! By the way, going to a boutique or a banal market, you can always find some little thing with an “Indian cucumber” ornament - the Indians borrowed it from the appearance of momordica, or “crazy cucumber” (according to other sources - melons). In truth, this ornament is more like a ciliate shoe, but the fact remains that it has not gone out of fashion for several centuries, and regularly appears in new clothing collections. Or maybe you will find it in your own closet?

Batik of China and Japan

The first mentions of dyed fabrics are noted in Chinese texts dating back to the middle of the third millennium BC. Here, this art is very closely associated with silk - it was in this form that batik became known to the whole world, traveling along the Great Silk Road and being worth its weight in gold.

The Land of the Rising Sun acquired batik thanks to the strong influence that the Celestial Empire had on Japan during the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907 AD). Magnificent kimonos and screens were created here. At the beginning of the 19th century, Miyazaki Yuzen created the author's style of batik using stencils and a special protective compound - so his work became recognizable by the clear details of the pattern.

Both in Japan and China, ink painting developed not only on silk, but also on rice paper - this is how aerial scenes of nature and life were born, hovering over flowers of butterflies and birds. Nowadays, painting on silk involves free painting techniques (with modern paints) or cold batik (without melted wax), although other fabrics can also be used. In Japan, the technique of "shibori", or folding batik, also arose. It resembles Indian knots - only the local craftswomen preferred to fold the fabric to obtain more complex patterns.

Batik in Europe

The Europeans, with their craving for "mass character", modernized batik by creating electric pins - these devices made it possible to keep the wax in a molten state. The discovery of 1868 gave the world brilliant green and other aniline dyes, and a couple of years later - the same persistent indigo dye, which made the resulting fabrics much more practical. At the dawn of the last century, the adhesive material “gutta” was also discovered, thanks to which the “cold batik” technology became possible.

The modern assortment of dyes and other materials for batik today makes the eyes run wide on the shelves of specialized stores. All kinds of synthetics have long been added to the list of fabrics. Oil and acrylic paints are now preferred - in the second case, it is enough to iron the result with an iron for reliable fixing (instead of steaming). In addition to wax, there is also a reserve - a fixing composition that delimits the joints between the multi-colored elements of the pattern. The reserve can be based on paraffin, gasoline, rubber glue, special resins and varnishes. It can also be colored or transparent.

It sounds strange, but in Europe batik is salty - if saline is used in free painting on fabric. They are either impregnated with a “canvas” stretched over a frame and allowed to dry before painting, or the paints themselves are diluted with this solution. Salt prevents the paint from spreading and allows you to paint without first drawing contours. The result is loose strokes and varying degrees of color saturation. And even today, drawings on fabric are often covered with decorative beads.

Thanks to the abundance of various master classes, the simplicity of work and the availability of all materials, the art of batik is gaining more and more fans around the world. As a result of the creativity of professionals and amateurs, picturesque panels and paintings, scarves and wardrobe items, elegant handbags and cozy pillows, lampshades and curtains are born - why not express yourself in batik?