Palekh (Ivanovo Oblast)

Palekh (Russian: Палех) is a village in the Ivanovo region of Russia. It is known as the center of Palekh lacquer miniatures and icon painting – ancient Russian folk crafts. It is also the administrative center of the Palekh urban settlement.

Since 2021, the village has been included in the list of “The most beautiful villages of Russia“.

Legacy

Icon painting and miniature

Palekh miniature is a Russian folk art craft that developed in the village of Palekh. Lacquer miniature is mainly executed in tempera on papier-mâché. Usually, boxes, chests, money boxes, brooches, paintings, ashtrays, tie pins, needle cases, etc. are painted.

Palekh has been famous for its icon painters since pre-Petrine times (along with Mstera and Kholui). Palekh icon painting reached its greatest flowering in the 18th – early 19th centuries. The local style was formed under the influence of the Moscow, Novgorod, Stroganov and Yaroslavl schools. In addition to icon painting, the Palekh people were engaged in monumental painting, participating in the painting and restoration of churches and cathedrals, including the Faceted Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, the churches of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, and the Novodevichy Convent.

After the 1917 revolution, Palekh artists were forced to seek new forms of realizing their creative potential, since icon painting was banned. In 1918, artists created the Palekh Art and Decorative Artel, which was engaged in painting on wood.

The Union of Palekh Artists was founded in 1932. In 1935, the artel was transformed into the Association of Palekh Artists, and in 1954, the Palekh Art and Production Workshops of the USSR Art Fund were formed.

Attractions

Palekh is a Russian settlement and a unique cultural center of the Golden Ring of Russia route. Despite the fact that Palekh was located far from large cities, it always shared a common cultural life with the rest of Russia, attracting scientists, art lovers, and cultural figures. Palekh is also called the “academy village” and “Russian Hellas.”

Best attractions of the town:

The State Museum of Palekh Art (founded in 1935). The museum has a rich collection of Palekh lacquer miniatures, icon painting, graphics and sculpture.
The house-museum of Ivan Golikov, one of the founders of the art of Palekh lacquer miniatures and icon painting. The museum presents sketches for paintings, documents and photographs telling about the life and work of the artist.
The museum-workshop of the sculptor, Honored Artist of the RSFSR, Nikolai Dydykin. The museum is located in the house-workshop of the sculptor, where works from different years are presented.
The museum-workshop of the People’s Artist of Russia Nikolai Golikov.
The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, built in the 18th century, amazes with its tented bell tower and carved iconostasis. The paintings, made by Yaroslavl masters in 1807, give the temple a special atmosphere.
A memorial to fellow villagers who participated in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and died in battles with the Nazi invaders, erected in 1968.
The Ilyinskaya Church with an ancient churchyard, an architectural monument of the 17th century (1790). The church has preserved a five-tiered iconostasis from the second half of the 18th century.
The central park and the square near the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross were transformed in 2018. At the same time, 3D printing was used for the first time in the world to restore a fountain. In the center of the park stands a monument to V. I. Lenin, next to it is a memorial to fellow countrymen who fell during the Great Patriotic War.
House-museum of the artist Pavel Korin.
House of Ivan Bakanov.
House of Ivan Vakurov.
House of Mikhail Petrovich Vakurov.
House of the Solonin brothers.

How to get to?

By bus

To get to Palekh without transfers, you need to take a bus to Yuzha in Moscow. The bus departs from Shchyolkovsky bus station. Travel time is about 7 hours, the ticket price is from 892 rubles.

You can also get to Palekh from such cities as Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod and Ivanovo.

By train

The nearest railway station to Palekh is in Shuya (30 km). Trains go there from Moscow, Vladimir and Ivanovo.

By car

From Ivanovo: 1hr 15min (70 km)

From Moscow: 5hr (350 km)