COLOUR CULTURE OF BYELORUSSIAN
COLOUR
CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL MULTICOLOUR PAINTING IN BYELORUSSIA
Colour culture is a complicated phenomenon of Byelorussian
culture as a whole and a lot of branches of science are necessery for studing
this one.
Colour features of historical monuments and people
architecture, painting and decorative arts we can use a base for studying
the national colour preferences.
The investigation gives the opportunity to distinduish
6 different historically-ethnografical colour space regions of Byelorussia
and to reveal their ethnic originelity. And the reseaches of colour preferences
permited to oserve the correlation betwwwwwween tradishional and modern
ones.
Among the factors that determine the artistic traditions
and the colour culture of region as a whole the most important is the natural
phenomen. Analisis of surroudings show that regional light - climic and
natural (mineral, vegetable and water) conditions - have important influence
on formation of colouristic palette of Byelorussian architecture.
The theoretical model of colouristic of architecture
we can represent as a system of two structure coordinated parts:
1). Of "chromatic material" (it is a colouristic
of ordinary buildings).
2). Of "chromatic frame" (it is a colouristic
of unigue buildings).
"Chromatic material" is characterized by
palette of warm grey-broun, ochre tone of natural tints, that don't contrast
with landscape, there are mainly objects of wooden architecture. Wood is
the uppermost building material not only for habitable and household, but
for cultural and civil buildings of the past.
The
colour of wood (pine, fir, oak and the combination of various wood) was
supplemented with colour of thatch, boards and sometime with colour of
stoun and tiles. The warm calm range of "chromatic material"
make nuance harmony with landscape surroundings.
If the "chromatic material" form the background,
that the objects of "chromatic frame" are colour accents, which
are distinguished on the background. There are unique architectural edifices
and complex, that have leading position in landscape surroundings owing
to more concentrated colour range, where the contrasts exist.
There four main groups of objects of "chromatic
frame", that have different colour features. Let us consider the features
of colour organization of that groups.
For the first group it is significant that polychromatic
appearence was formed by combination of dark-red and yellow colours of
brick, sometimes with red-brown brick and dark brown tiled roof. These
objects haven't no additional decor. The colour Is putted in structure,
it is longlived and in that way show the tectonics of bildings.
The arciutectural monuments of the second group are
characterized by range warm colours with contrast of mixed type (red and
white, red and black). That combination of colour of stone and brick with
white colour of lime for decorative elements givs them especially smartness
and grandeur. Besides this colour composition was the traditional symbol
of energy and perpetuity. In the folk clothes this combination has used
for especially vulnerable places and served as a sign-symbol, guarding
against the evil spirits.
That objects use not only longelived colour-bearers(
stone, brick, tiles), but short-lived too (quick lime).
The
main tendency of colour interpretalion of monuments from third group is
using the middlewave part of colour's spectrum: yellow, green, ochre and
sky-blu. That colours give the possibility of forming of contrast background
for sculpture-ornamental and architectural form, that are painted with
white colour. The colouristic of that buildings is dependent not on building
methods and materials, but on composition and tectonic of buildings. The
sticked elements are painted with dark colour, the stepped out elements
are painted with white colour. In combination with red tiled roof that
design of facade give to that objects picturesque and colourful appearence,
particularly by natural solar light. Nearly all of colour-bearer here are
short-lived.
The monuments of Byelorusaan architecture with polychrome
elements of decorative and applied art form the fourth group of "chromatic
frame". Their main feature is rich decoration of facade that is formed
by manycoloured building materials
( natural stone-boulder, face brick, mullicolour ceramic
and majolica).
The
colour of facade was formed from different natural materials, beginning
from grey to black, from pink to red. It was added and stressed by ceramic
insertions of different colours. The additional introduction of gilt, ochre,
green, yellow and sky-blu colours made the palette significant wider. The
objects of fourth group have an interesting feature - they are long-lived
and have a maximum of colours.
In harmony with surroundings theó don't lose their
colouristic activity. Their colour ensure clear visibility in conditions
with diffusion light of Byelorussia since exist well contrast white - red,
black - red, white - ochre - guilt, white - green, white - blu and so on.
Heaving learned the principal features of colouristic
palette of architectural monuments of Byelorussia we can state:
1). The colour of Byelorussian architecture was formed
for many centuries on the base of countly building malerials with using
of the elements of folk applied art in corresponding with light climat
and landscape characteristics of our region.
2) Among the factors that determine the formation
of byelorussian colour culture the most influential is the russian colour
culture phenomenon.
The most interesting monument of Russian architecture
from viewpoint of polychromy Pokrovsky cathedrale in Moscow is. It is designed
from brick and white stone covered with quick lime and painted as a "brick"
by paint on the base of brick. Different kinds of polychromic cupolas of
cathedrale sunround the main gold cupola as a symbol of divine light. Multicolour
decor express here independence and composition activity of polychromy.
Monuments of Naryshkin architecture is pure Russian
barocc. lt is the synthesis of form using in wooden architecture of plastic
patterns and of variety of colours.
Arclutecural
polychromy of Russian barocc take the tintes by nature. The contrast of
two or three colours with gilding where the architectonic elements are
more bright and the background is more intensive is intended for passive
perception. The characteristic feature of barocc polychromy is clear colour
dividing of building. In baroque interiors the architecture, sculpture,
painting 2nd decor create the surrounding of richness and mosaic of colours.
We must also dwell on the deep traditions of light
and colour in the ancient Russian art - icons, frescoes and decorative
art. Moreover, we now openly can speak about another glorious heritage:
it is the famous Russian avantgarde of the 20th. The back perspective of
fonn and bright decor of icons and folk art were analogous to the cubofuturism,
that appeared in Russia at the beginning of the century.
According to this conception all human culture has
experienced its development through light , through its mythology, trough
its magic, philosophy, religious symbols, through its associations with
natural world. The colour system of old russian icons includs 4 main colours
white, green, blue and red. They were symbollized 4 elements ( Air, Earth,
Water and Fire) and all seasons also. The gold colour of backgrounds means
absolute of divine light, it is symbol of God, he is everywhere as a symbol
of sunshine, power and will. It is interesting, that there is not any shades
in these icons. All colour of spiritual world was luminous. Black colour
is anticolor, image of darkness and gloom. That's why you can't see black
in the icons, there is only dark-blue and dark-green as a symbol of the
earth life.
The artists of avantgard of the 20 th( Kandinsky,
Popova, Malevich, Filonov and many others) were looking for methods of
expression of spiritual development, truth and kindness. Their art was
under a strong influence of primitivism of the old icons and the ancient
Russian folk art.
Freedom
of colour and space formation, interpretation of constructive device, dynamics
and expression are sharacteristic of these abstract works. Here we can
find the conception of the unity of colour and architectonic structure
of the creative activity of architects, deagners and colourists.
The main task of our investigation of architectural
coloristics and colour culture as a whole is to develop the professional
colouristic thinking and to possess complet knowledge of colour for successful
use in the architectural projects nowadays.
At present this is very important wok for our country
and especially for our Minsk as a capital of Byelorussia ,now independent
republic in Eastern Europe which borders on Russia to the East, on the
Ukraine in the South on Poland in the West and on Latvia and Lithuania
in the North.
Our city was founded more than 900 years ago on the
crossroads of the most severe winds of history. Minsk has repeatedly been
balbarically destroyed during wars ever since the times of Kiev Russia
one until the not so distant past. ( lst and 2d World Wars ). Hytlerites,
in the course of the Great Patriotic War, occupied the city and turned
it into a concentration camp and virtually razed it to the ground.
But now Minsk, one of the most fast-growing dries-"millionnaires"
of the Europe, has doubled its population. The reconstruction of the "
historical crandle" district "Troitskoye Predmestye", where
Minsk or Mensk, which name originates from the word "mena"( it
means "exchange" ) has already been completed.
The idea of colouristic in the city is based on the
conception of a "circular- radial" planning of the city as a
whole and it has the following noticeable features
1). The main city diameter is the Skorina Avenu, crossing
the city from West to the East, being the most respectable city axes with
the main city squares, is characterized mainly by classical and neoclassical
colour combinations with elements of modernism and constructivism ( white
ochre, red, grey colours).
2).The "green-and-blu" diameter (a kind
of a belt formed by parks, public gardens, by a cascade of reservoirs)
crosses the city from the North to the South forming the main recreation
zone.
3) The system of vast living zones formed the peripheral
parts of the city and each of the residential areas has own conception
of colour solutions.
For creation of optimum colour climat and achievement
of artistic expressiveness of building, for stimulation of aesthetical
perception we use of colouristic on the level of all ranges of detailed
elaboration. I mean the silhouette, mass of building, tectonics of facade,
plasticity of surface and texture of material
In order to secure of visual and psychological interaction
of colouristic of residencial area and landscape we tried to use different
means of realization:
- colour confluence of building with laedscape;
- contrast of architectural colouristic with natural
background;
- creation of artificial colour landscape that will
compensate the lack of natural colours.
For these aims colour and plastic forms may be combined
by analogy and by contrast, another words, by tectonic colour design and
atectonic, supergrafic colour design as the expression of modem colour
culture.
Besides, for determination of connection with artistic
traditions and with colour culture of region as a whole the byelorussian
architects try to restorate in colour of building of principale palette
of historical polychromy, using of data about the main laws of historical
formed and modem colour preferences.
For this aim we have prepared a special programme
of discipline "Colouristics in Architecture " in the School of
Architecture of the Byelorussian State Polytechnical Academy.
It includs the different main directions: lectures
about significance of coloring in architecture with its historical analysis,
the study of phisics, psychology, physiology and sociology of colour, but
also the practical exercises and seminars, which help to study the means
and methods needed for paintings, applied arts and architecture in the
terms of colour harmony as a reflection of the general colour culture of
Byelorussia.
HOME ll
INTRODUCTION ll
SITUATION ll
EDUCATION
CATALOGUE ll
GALLERY ll PROJECTS
ll Dr. SHAKINKO
ll NEWS
your
Question and Wishes to Dr. Larissa M. Shakinko
(c) 1996
WWW Belarus, Minsk, Belarus
Click Here
to Return Back
Webmasters,
contact Belarus.net support
Click Here
to visit Belarus.net
