(Jrt)
Russian Doll
The Russian dolls, or matriochkas (матрёшка in Russian) are a series of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other. The word is derived matrioshka names female Russian matriona traditionally associated with a Russian woman of the campaign, corpulent and robust. It also speaks sometimes doll pullout, referring to the puppet of the Mother Nesting, which represents a large and strong woman surrounded by children.
Characteristics
A Russian doll is a hollow wooden figurine that opens in two horizontally, revealing inside a figurine similar but smaller. The second figurine itself contains another figurine, and so forth. A series usually includes at least five dolls. They are mostly cylindrical form, rounded up to the head and fuselée down. They do not have hands, except those that are painted. The doll is the largest traditionally a woman wearing a sarafan (traditional Russian dress) and holding a nest. The other dolls can be of both sexes, the smallest is usually a baby who does not open. The artistic side is in the paintings of each doll, which can be extremely elaborate.
A series of Russian dolls often follows a particular theme. These include young farmers in traditional robes, but the choice of theme is very free, the dolls may represent characters from fairy tales as well as Soviet leaders.
A doll representing an older woman is often called babouchka. For older men, we talk about dedouchka. These terms are not used in Russian.
These dolls are a symbol of fertility.
History
The origin of the term pullout, according to the Treasury of Paradoxes (Philippe Boulanger & Alain Cohen, Ed. Belin, 2007): "The term pullout is linked to the character of the puppet theatre," Nesting Mother ", represented with many children . A symbol of fertility, this character of "Dame (or Mother) Nesting" is attested from 1602. It also brings "pullout" of latin "gigas" (giant), the origin of the prefix "giga" and "gigantic". In Russia, the concept of structure pullout (three dimensions) gave birth to a specific craft, or Russian dolls matriochkas. According to the Novosti news agency, it might have kept the first matrioshka shaped the hinge of the nineteenth and twentieth century: a peasant holding a rooster. The doll "mother" was called "matriona" and his "girls" were short for "matrioshka". The rooster was once a symbol of fertility in Russia and across Europe, notably in France: a pledge of prosperity and fertility, his effigy caracole a weathervane on steeples. "The matriochkas are a form of Russian crafts relatively recent. The first dolls dating back to 1890, and it is said they were inspired by souvenir dolls from Japan. However, the concept of object suit was already present in Russia, having been applied to apples and wooden Easter eggs. These include the first Fabergé egg dating from 1885, which contained a yellow, containing a hen, in turn containing a ruby pendant and a miniature replica of the imperial crown.
It is said that Serguei Malioutine, painter in a shop popular ownership of Abramtsevo, belonging to the famous Russian industrialiste and patron Savva Mamontov, saw a series of Japanese wooden dolls representing Shichi-fuku-jin, the seven deities of Happiness. The largest doll was Fukurokuju, a god bald happy to air and chin particularly high, and inside were nested six other deities. Inspired, Malioutine drew the sketch of a Russian version of the toy. The latter was carved by Vasiliy Zvezdochkin in a toy shop Sergiev Possad and painted by Sergei Malioutine. It consisted of eight dolls: the largest was a girl wearing an apron and other alternated then a boy and a girl, ending with a baby.
In 1900, M.A. Mamontova, wife of Savva Mamontov, presented the dolls at the Exposition Universelle in Paris and the toy won a bronze medal. Shortly after, many other regions of Russia began to develop various styles matriochkas. There are now several regions with a style notable Sergiev Possad, Semionovo, Polkholvsky Maidan and Kirov.
During perestroika, matriochkas representing the leaders of the Soviet Union became a common variety. The dolls were, in descending order, Mikhail Gorbachev, Leonid Brezhnev, Nikita Khrushchev, Stalin and Lenin. Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko almost never appear because of the brevity of their mandates. More recent versions start with Vladimir Putin and then continue with Boris Yeltsin, Gorbachev, Stalin and Lenin.
Metaphor
The matriochkas are used metaphorically as an example-type design (design paradigm) in the so-called principle of Russian dolls. They talk about when this principle is a relationship-type "object inside an object similar", which is found both in nature and in objects created by man. These include among others the matrioshka brain, a mégastructure based Dyson sphere.
This metaphor approximates that of the onion. When épluche the outer layer of the onion, there is a similar onion inside. This kind of structure, for example, is used by designers or designers database, where a table is included in a larger table and itself contains a table smaller.
In popular culture
* In the cartoon Higglytown Heroes, the characters are matriochkas alive.
* In the mini TV series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, inspired by the novel The Taupe John le Carré, four matriochkas appear successively during the credits. It is a reference to Russia, intrigue involving Soviet spies. The last doll, which has no face, is a reference to the "mole", and infiltrated a spy whose identity remains unknown.
* In one episode of the American game show The Amazing Race, participants must look for clues hidden among thousands of matriochkas.
* The Australian composer Julian Cochran wrote a composition based on Russia entitled Wooden Dolls, where there is talk of a group of matriochkas communicating among themselves.
* In the video game Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, Grigori Rasputin (which is one of the main antagonists of the game) closes demons in matriochkas.
* In cartoons Toy Story and Toy Story 2, Andy has a series of matriochkas representing animals, the first being a dog.
Read also Balalaika
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