Monday, October 28, 2013

"Zalipie: Poland’s Painted Village"

"The secluded village of Zalipie in southeastern Poland is home to a charming tradition. Over a century ago the women of the village began to paint their houses: however, it was not the single, uniform color one might expect from a traditional and conservative society. The village, through the intricate and vibrant paintwork of its womenfolk, bloomed."
This is my favorite
"Although no one is completely sure how and when this tradition began, it dates from when the smoke from stoves escaped through little more than a hole in the ceiling of the house. Women would paint over the spots of soot with whitewash. Yet the spots would still be partially visible and it is believed that the women, in order for their house to appear immaculate for religious festivals, took to covering the remnants of soot stains with paintings of flowers. Once modern cooking and better ventilation came in to practice, these cover-ups were no longer necessary. Yet instead the flower patterns became gradually more and more sophisticated."

Kuriositas

5 comments:

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

"[H]owever, it was not the single, uniform color one might expect from a traditional and conservative society."

Thank goodness the hippies changed all that.

deborah said...

Pretty. They make me think of Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs.

Synova said...

The artwork looks like pretty standard tole painting or rosemalling and that was painted all over the inside of a house, often enough.

I wonder if the only thing that prompted putting it on the outside was that someone decided to white-wash the outsides really early on. Any big white expanse would just *beg* to have stuff painted on it.

Certainly all the old Norse cottages I've ever seen were all wood colored on the outside, not white.

ricpic said...

I'm livin' in a single wide in Poland,
Got pretty roses painted on the walls,
Folks come from miles around, tell me it's charming,
I guess for some there's charm in horses' stalls.

ndspinelli said...

Looks like a Pollack's house.