A splint is a type of graphic work of art in the form of a print printed on paper and then hand-colored. The term “splint” has a Slavic origin: in Russia, the inner part of the bark of trees has long been called bast. Popular prints or sheets were widespread in Russia from the middle of the 17th century to the end of the 19th century.

Lubok was originally a very popular type of folk art. Later, with the development of printing technologies, one-page sheets began to be made industrially at printing enterprises.

The history of the emergence and development of popular print Lubok

Lubok has ancient historical roots. Chinese masters were the first to learn how to make printed and hand-painted images in the 8th century. In Europe, a similar type of graphics appeared only in the 15th century in Germany after the invention of printing. Printing plates were first made from wood and then from metal (copper).

Folklore pictures of satirical, patriotic and other content quickly spread throughout Europe, and in the 16th century they first came to Russia. Here they at that time were called German funny sheets. Soon, Russian craftsmen learned how to independently produce printing plates based on the technique of longitudinal woodcut and etching.

At the end of the 17th century, popular prints in Russia were persecuted by the authorities and the leadership of the Orthodox Church. By the highest decree of the Moscow Patriarch of 1674, it was forbidden to buy leaflets printed by heretics-Lutherans. The only permitted form of visual art then were icons, which had to be painted in strict accordance with ancient Byzantine traditions. And almost half a century later, in 1723, a ban was introduced on the depiction of reigning persons on printed sheets.

But the actions of the authorities had the opposite effect.

A huge number of folk artisans appeared, who made popular prints clandestinely and distributed them among the population. Therefore, at the beginning of the 18th century, a special printing (Izugrafskaya) chamber was organized in Moscow to issue permits for the manufacture of popular prints. Later, specially appointed bishops began to perform this function.

In the middle of the 18th century, figured (printing) factories for the production of popular prints began to massively open in Russia. Until the end of the 19th century, popular print remained the only widely available type of fine art in the Russian Empire.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, popular prints became part of official propaganda. Politically satirical cartoons ridiculed the French and raised the morale of the population.

In 1822, a special tsarist decree introduced police censorship on the production of any printed impressions. At the same time, a rapid development of new printing techniques begins in Russia: transverse woodcut and lithography, which are gradually replacing the splint from industrial printing.

At the beginning of World War I, popular prints were still used as a political poster in Russia. But a few years later, after the October Revolution and the Civil War, the lubok was finally losing ground. The new Soviet government relies on more progressive printing technologies and is rapidly eradicating handicraft production in all regions of the country.

Types, genres and distinctive features of popular prints

Traditional Russian popular print has characteristic features that distinguish it from other types of fine art. These include:

• Bright coloring of contour images.
• Rough drawing of details.
• Limited print size and shape.

The presence on the printed sheet, in addition to the image of the explanatory inscription in small text.

The history of the development of popular prints in Russia is more than 250 years old. During this time, a large number of types (genres) of this type of art have been formed:

• Spiritual – on the theme of the lives of saints, parables from sacred books.
• Philosophical – containing moral and instructive information about the harm of human vices.
• Historical – dedicated to reliable events in the life of the people, as well as describing ancient chronicles and legends.
• Fabulous – with a fictional plot and a hidden educational meaning.
• Political – used for propaganda purposes during wars.
• Satirical – harshly persecuted by the authorities and caustically ridiculing the shortcomings of society.

Today the ancient art of popular print is not very popular among connoisseurs of beauty.

But numerous works of ancient masters still find their grateful viewers in museums and exhibitions.