Organic Containers

alexei venetsianov’s Girl With a Birch Bark Container (1824) is not simply a beautiful portrait. It is a personification of Russian ideals. The girl represents all that is noble and strong in Russian peasant culture. Well before Tolstoy lauded the peasants in such works as “Master and Man,” Venetsianov was already capturing their simplicity and strength.

His decision to depict the peasantry was radical for its time. Venetsianov was the first painter to portray scenes of peasant life instead of making classical portraits, as espoused by the Russian Academy of Arts. Perhaps because he was self-taught and therefore less susceptible to academic restrictions, he painted from nature instead of copying models, and sought in his work to convey the harmony of rural Russian life and the peasants’ connection to the land. He even established a school for talented serfs and other poor artists in the village of Safonkovo, in Tver Province. In addition to teaching painting, Venetsianov fought for the freedom of his serf pupils. Sadly, despite his considerable efforts, the cruel landowner N.P. Miliukov refused to free the talented serf painter, Grigory Soroka, who eventually committed suicide.

Venetsianov’s paintings depict an idealized world. In this portrait, the peasant girl’s link to nature is expressed by the trees in the background; a more realistic depiction would have placed her at work in the kitchen. The dark, brooding backdrop hints at Romanticism, and yet the girl is suffused with light, her gaze direct. There is no question that she is Russian: the bright red of her scarf and the container of birch bark symbolize Russian beauty and the land.

Birch bark containers were indispensable in the Russian kitchen. For one thing, they were made from a natural and readily available material. Birch bark was particularly well suited for storage containers of all kinds, since it is watertight (think of birch bark canoes). The bark also has strong antibacterial properties, making it excellent for storing such products as honey, sour cream, milk, grain, flour, berries, and lard. All of these foodstuffs could be kept for a long time without spoiling. Other containers were designed as utensils, such as the one in this painting, which the girl uses for mixing.

Making birch bark kitchenware was a laborious process. The bark was removed from the trees after the sap had stopped running in late spring. Only trees that had recently fallen, or that were to be used for construction, were stripped. Given the birch tree’s significance in Russian culture, it was considered wrong to kill a living tree. The bark was removed from the tree with a knife, with every effort made to keep it as intact as possible. It was soaked in water for several hours to turn pliable, then placed under a heavy weight to dry. The coloration and imperfections of the bark were considered part of its decorative beauty. For vessels like the one pictured here, the bark was turned inside out to reveal its golden interior. Here, too, you can see a protective rim made of splints to make the utensil more durable.

The Russians believe birch bark contains more than antibacterial properties. It is said to relieve stress and exhaustion; merely touching it has a calming effect. It is hard to imagine that the peasant girl in this picture is not overworked – she is, after all, a serf. But it is nice to think that this beautiful vessel will help ease her chores.

Homemade

Sour Cream

Commercial American sour cream doesn’t have the luxuriant texture of real Russian smetana, which is loose enough to pour. The American product is so stiff that it clumps instead of dissolving when added to hot soups. It’s very easy to make your own sour cream at home, and you’ll be amazed at how good it tastes—even if you don’t store it in a birch bark container.

4 cups heavy cream (preferably not ultra-pasteurized)

2 tablespoons buttermilk

Stir the buttermilk into the cream and let stand in a warm place for 24 hours. Stir to blend, then refrigerate.

Makes about 1 pound.

Adapted from A Taste of Russia