How the Orenburg Down Shawl Found Its Place in the Tretyakov Gallery. About N.P. Eryshev's Painting "The Orenburg Down Shawl"

The Orenburg down shawl is a knitted shawl or warm shawl made of the most delicate goat down twisted together with a base thread (silk or cotton). But in fact it is a symbol, not only of the Orenburg region but of all Russia. Like the Tula samovar, Gzhel or the Dymkovo toy, it conveys the character of the country.

The down shawl appeared in the Orenburg region back in the eighteenth century. Local down knitters so impressed the local historian Pyotr Ivanovich Rychkov with their works that he proposed creating a down-knitting craft in the Orenburg region. This is where the Russian history of the Orenburg down shawl begins. The world learned about it in 1857 at the International Exhibition in Paris. After that, Orenburg goat down shawls reached the world stage and became recognisable. What distinguishes them from other down shawls? That very down of Orenburg goats. The harsh Ural climate and the specific diet of steppe grasses influenced the down of these goats. Threads of Orenburg goat down are the finest in the world, yet they are stronger than wool. It is quite surprising that down of such quality is found in goats raised specifically in the Orenburg region. When an attempt was made to take the breed abroad (to France), the breed degenerated, and the down of these animals coarsened and became ordinary. That is why the down of Orenburg goats is exported to European countries on a par with Kashmir down.

The beauty of Orenburg shawls and their exceptional role in the life of the Russian woman have been reflected in various works of art. These include songs, for example "The Orenburg Down Shawl" performed by Lyudmila Zykina to lyrics by Bokov, sculptures and, of course, paintings. The image of the down shawl is captured in the works of many Russian artists, for example A.I. Ovchinnikov, M.B. Borisov, A.I. Laktionov and others.

Among them, the canvases of Nikolai Pavlovich Eryshev occupy a special niche. The future artist was born in the Krasnodar region and in the sixties moved with his family to Orenburg. Impressed by the beauty of the region, he painted many pictures of it. The artist very much wanted to create a canvas reflecting the incredible item made by Orenburg women, so he decided to go to the village of Zheltoye, the homeland of the needlewomen, and observe their painstaking work. Thanks to this trip, the painting "Orenburg Shawl" appeared, which Nikolai Pavlovich painted from a series of his own sketches from life. After this trip, the artist's wife also began learning to knit shawls from goat hair.

The next painting dedicated to down shawls was born after a trip to the Orenburg market, where Nikolai Pavlovich's wife needed to buy thread. "I didn't want to push through the market. I watched from behind the fence. A crowd of people. And above them, white and grey gossamer shawls kept fluttering up like birds. Beautiful, mesmerising. I drew a sketch on an old receipt. And then a painting. With snowflakes." – wrote Nikolai Pavlovich Eryshev in his book "Drawings from Life". This is how the painting "The Orenburg Down Shawl" was born.

There were many more canvases about the lives of villagers; the artist grew very fond of them, and the people of the Orenburg region of him. But he was recognised not only in the Orenburg region. Today Eryshev's painting "The Orenburg Down Shawl" (and seven other paintings by the artist) can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery. The State Tretyakov Gallery collects many paintings that reflect Russian history and life, and Nikolai Pavlovich's canvases fit this description perfectly. His works are all pictures of the real life of ordinary people in the Orenburg region. Not for nothing did he head the Orenburg branch of the Union of Artists for 10 years.

N.P. Eryshev's works have taken part in many exhibitions not only in Russia but also abroad. Many paintings are in museums in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Orenburg and Kurgan, as well as in private collections in Switzerland, France and the Czech Republic.