Fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful" 1899
There are many children's book illustrators. One of the outstanding illustrators is Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. It was his illustrations that helped create an elegant and accessible children's book.
Focusing on the traditions of ancient Russian and folk art, Bilibin developed a logically consistent system graphic techniques, which remained fundamental throughout his entire work. This graphic system, as well as the originality of Bilibin’s interpretation of epic and fairy tale images gave the opportunity to talk about a special Bilibin style.
Fragment of a portrait of Ivan Bilibin by Boris Kustodiev 1901
It all started with an exhibition of Moscow artists in 1899 in St. Petersburg, at which I. Bilibin saw the painting “Bogatyrs” by V. Vasnetsov. Brought up in a St. Petersburg environment, far from any fascination with the national past, the artist unexpectedly showed interest in Russian antiquity, fairy tales, and folk art. In the summer of the same year, Bilibin went to the village of Egny, Tver province, to see for himself the dense forests, clear rivers, wooden huts, and hear fairy tales and songs. Paintings from the exhibition of Viktor Vasnetsov come to life in the imagination. Artist Ivan Bilibin begins to illustrate Russian folk tales from Afanasyev's collection. And in the fall of the same year, the Expedition for Procurement of State Papers (Goznak) began publishing a series of fairy tales with Bilibin’s drawings. Over the course of 4 years, Bilibin illustrated seven fairy tales: “Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka”, “White Duck”, “The Frog Princess”, “Marya Morevna”, “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf” , “Feather of Finist Yasna-Falcon”, “Vasilisa the Beautiful”. Editions of fairy tales are of the type of small, large-format notebooks. From the very beginning, Bilibin's books were distinguished by their patterned designs and bright decorativeness. The artist did not create individual illustrations, he strove for an ensemble: he drew the cover, illustrations, ornamental decorations, font - he stylized everything to resemble an old manuscript.
The names of the fairy tales are written in Slavic script. To read, you need to look closely at the intricate design of the letters. Like many graphic artists, Bilibin worked on decorative type. He knew fonts well different eras, especially the Old Russian charter and semi-statut. For all six books, Bilibin draws the same cover, on which the Russians are placed fairy tale characters: three heroes, the bird Sirin, the Serpent-Gorynych, the hut of Baba Yaga. All page illustrations are surrounded by ornamental frames, like rustic windows with carved frames. They are not only decorative, but also have content that continues the main illustration. In the fairy tale “Vasilisa the Beautiful,” the illustration with the Red Horseman (sun) is surrounded by flowers, and the Black Horseman (night) is surrounded by mythical birds with human heads. The illustration with Baba Yaga's hut is surrounded by a frame with toadstools (what else could be next to Baba Yaga?). But the most important thing for Bilibin was the atmosphere of Russian antiquity, epic, fairy tale. From authentic ornaments and details, he created a half-real, half-fantastic world. Ornament was a favorite motif of ancient Russian masters and main feature art of that time. These are embroidered tablecloths, towels, painted wooden and pottery, houses with carved frames and piers. In his illustrations, Bilibin used sketches of peasant buildings, utensils, and clothing made in the village of Yegny.
Fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful" 1900
Fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful" Black Horseman 1900
Bilibin proved himself to be a book artist; he did not limit himself to making individual illustrations, but strived for integrity. Feeling the specificity of book graphics, he emphasizes the flatness contour line and monochromatic watercolor painting. Systematic drawing lessons under the guidance of Ilya Repin and acquaintance with the magazine and society “World of Art” contributed to the growth of Bilibin’s skill and general culture. The expedition to the Vologda and Arkhangelsk provinces on the instructions of the ethnographic department of the World of Art society was of decisive importance for the artist. Bilibin got acquainted with the folk art of the North, saw with his own eyes ancient churches, huts, utensils in the house, ancient outfits, embroidery. Contact with the original artistic source national culture forced the artist to practically overestimate his early works. From now on, he will be extremely accurate in depicting architecture, costume, and everyday life. From his trip to the North, Bilibin brought back many drawings, photographs, and a collection of folk art. Documentary substantiation of every detail becomes the artist’s constant creative principle. Bilibin's passion for ancient Russian art was reflected in the illustrations for Pushkin's fairy tales, which he created after a trip to the North in 1905–1908. Work on fairy tales was preceded by the creation of sets and costumes for Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” and “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” by A.S. Pushkin.
Fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful" Red Horseman 1902
Bilibin achieves special brilliance and invention in his illustrations for the fairy tales of A.S. Pushkin. The luxurious royal chambers are completely covered with patterns, paintings, and decorations. Here the ornament so abundantly covers the floor, ceiling, walls, clothes of the king and boyars that everything turns into a kind of unsteady vision, existing in a special illusory world and ready to disappear. “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” was the most successful for the artist. Bilibin combined the satirical content of the fairy tale with the Russian popular print into a single whole. Beautiful four illustrations and a spread completely tell us the content of the fairy tale. Let us remember the popular print, which contained a whole story in a picture. Were a huge success Pushkin's tales. The Russian Museum of Alexander III bought illustrations for “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, and acquired the entire illustrated cycle “Tales of the Golden Cockerel” Tretyakov Gallery. The storyteller Bilibin should be thanked for the fact that the double-headed eagle depicted on the coat of arms of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is on ruble coins and paper bills- looks not like an ominous imperial bird, but like a fabulous, magical creature. And in art gallery paper money modern Russia On the ten-ruble “Krasnoyarsk” banknote, the Bilibin tradition is clearly visible: a vertical patterned path with a forest ornament - such frames edged Bilibin’s drawings on the themes of Russian folk tales. By the way, collaborating with financial authorities Tsarist Russia, Bilibin transferred the copyright to many of his graphic designs to the Gosznak factory.
"The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf" 1899
Epic "Volga" Volga with his squad 1903
In 1921 I.Ya. Bilibin left Russia, lived in Egypt, where he worked actively in Alexandria, traveled around the Middle East, studying the artistic heritage of ancient civilizations and the Christian Byzantine Empire. In 1925, he settled in France: the works of these years included the design of the magazine “Firebird”, “Anthology on the History of Russian Literature”, books by Ivan Bunin, Sasha Cherny, as well as the painting of a Russian temple in Prague, scenery and costumes for Russian operas “The Fairy Tale” about Tsar Saltan" (1929), "The Tsar's Bride" (1930), "The Legend of the City of Kitezh" (1934) N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, “Prince Igor” by A.P. Borodin (1930), “Boris Godunov” by M.P. Mussorgsky (1931), to the ballet “The Firebird” by I.F. Stravinsky (1931).
Golynets G.V. I.Ya.Bilibin. M., art. 1972. P.5
"The Tale of Tsar Saltan" 1904
Fairy tale "Marya Morevna" 1901
Fairy tale "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka" 1901
Fairy tale "Feather of Finist Yasna-Falcon" 1900
Fairy tale "The Frog Princess" 1901
Ending to "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish"
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Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (August 4 (16), 1876 (18760816) - February 7, 1942) - Russian artist, book illustrator and theater designer, member of the World of Art association.
Source of plots: national epic, epics, fairy tales. A formal interpretation of the heritage of art of pagan and Ancient Rus', as well as folk art. Bilibin himself called his craving for Russian folk art “the voice of blood.”
Bilibin has always and everywhere remained one of the most desirable embodiments of the Russian theme in the art of books and theatrical painting.
Born on August 4 (16), 1876 in the village of Tarkhovka (near St. Petersburg), in the family of a naval doctor Yakov Ivanovich Bilibin.
In 1888 he entered the First St. Petersburg Classical Gymnasium, from which he graduated with a silver medal in 1896. In 1900 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University. In 1895-1898 he studied at the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. In 1898, he studied for two months in the studio of the artist Anton Aschbe in Munich. For several years (1898-1900) he studied under the guidance of Ilya Repin at the school-workshop of Princess Maria Tenisheva, then (1900-1904) under the guidance of Repin at the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts.
Lived mainly in St. Petersburg. After education artistic association"World of Art" becomes its active member.
In 1899, Bilibin accidentally arrived in the village of Egny, Vesyegonsky district, Tver province. Here he first created illustrations in what later became the “Bilibin” style for his first book, “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf.”
1902-1904 the artist participated in archaeological expeditions in the Russian North (note: where he was sent by the ethnographic department of the Museum of Alexander III to study wooden architecture), visited remote corners of the Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Olonets and Tver provinces, where he photographed and made sketches with wooden huts and churches, costumes, embroideries, utensils, household items, collected ancient Russian icons, Russian popular prints and gingerbread boards, engravings.
Bilibin's artistic talent was clearly demonstrated in his illustrations for Russian fairy tales and epics, as well as in his work on theatrical productions. From 1899 to 1902, he created a series of six “Fairy Tales” published by the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers, then the same publishing house published Pushkin’s fairy tales with illustrations by Bilibin. In particular, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” (1905) and “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” (1910) appeared. In 1905, the epic “Volga”, illustrated by Bilibin, was published, and in 1911, Roslavlev’s fairy tales were published by the publishing house “Public Benefit”. In addition to the “fairytale” style with ancient Russian ornamental motifs, there was the production of the opera “The Golden Cockerel” designed by Bilibin in 1909 at the Zimin Theater in Moscow.
In the spirit of the French mystery, he presented “The Miracle of St. Theophilus" (1907), recreating a medieval religious drama; The costume designs for Lope de Vega's drama "The Spring of the Sheep" and Calderon's drama "The Purgatory of St. Patrick" - theatrical performance"Ancient Theater" in 1911. A humorous caricature of the same Spain emanates from Fyodor Sologub’s vaudeville “Honor and Revenge,” staged by Bilibin in 1909.
Splashes, endings, covers and other works by Bilibin are found in such magazines of the early 20th century as “World of Art”, “Golden Fleece”, in the publications of “Rosehipnik” and “Moscow Book Publishing House”.
During the revolution of 1905, the artist creates revolutionary caricatures.
Since 1907, Bilibin taught a graphic art class at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, continuing his teaching until 1917. Among his students at the school were Georgy Narbut, Konstantin Eliseev, L. Ya. Khortik, A. Roosileht, Nikolai Kuzmin, Rene O'Connell, K. D. Voronets-Popova.
In 1912 he married for the second time to R. R. O'Connell. In the same year, a group of Moscow and St. Petersburg intellectuals bought land plot on the southern coast of Crimea in Batiliman for the construction of dachas. Bilibin was one of the partners; other shareholders were writers Vladimir Korolenko, Alexander Kuprin, Sergei Elpatievsky, Evgeny Chirikov, artist Vladimir Derviz, professors Abram Ioffe, Vladimir Vernadsky, Mikhail Rostovtsev. By lot, Bilibin got a piece of land near the sea, on which a fisherman’s house already stood. A workshop was attached to the house. After this, every year, at the end of classes at the OPH school, Bilibin went to Batiliman and returned to St. Petersburg in the fall at the start of classes.
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Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich - Russian painter, author of many paintings, graphic drawings and vivid illustrations of Russian folk tales, legends and epics. In addition, he was involved in the design of theatrical productions. Ivan Bilibin’s illustrations for fairy tales are especially unique and colorful, as they are created in a unique manner.
The path to creativity
Then he went to Munich, where he studied in the studio of the then popular artist Anton Ashbe. Upon completion, he returned to his homeland, to his beloved St. Petersburg, where he continued to study the art of painting with Ilya Efimovich Repin himself.
The expression “Russian folk tale” - without a doubt - gives birth in the fantasies and understanding of man to the terrible and terrible Baba Yaga in the mortar, the beautiful Vasilisa and Ivan Tsarevich.
Yes, this is certainly true, because they were born and engraved in the memory of many generations, thanks to the imagination, work and artistic skill of the Russian painter - Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. Without exception, all of his paintings are imbued with the spirit of modernism and love for his land, its culture, rituals and legends.
During his short life, Ivan Bilibin created many paintings, but among them, of course, there are the most famous works that are appreciated all over the world. Below are the most famous paintings and illustrations of Bilibin for fairy tales and epics.
“Ivan Tsarevich and the Firebird” (1899), to the fairy tale “Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf”
This Firebird is true magic, unlike others. It is this bird that Ivan Tsarevich manages to watch and grab by the tail (like luck). But he still fails to catch her; only the feather of the wondrous bird remains in his hand. This painting combines tangible images and important ideas, making the painting filled with great meaning.
“Vasilisa the Beautiful leaves the house of Baba Yaga” (1899), to the fairy tale “Vasilisa the Beautiful”
The picture shows a completely different side of the evil Baba Yaga, who, despite her temper, still helps beautiful Vasilisa in her daily struggles and problems. There are a large number of bright colors in the picture; in addition, the unity of man with Mother Nature is proportionally represented.
“Baba Yaga” (1900), to the fairy tale “Vasilisa the Beautiful”
In this painting, the image of the evil Baba Yaga is depicted in a mortar, which flies above the earth itself. This image shows the down-to-earth beliefs of the people of that time. In addition, the image of old Yaga is symbolic, because in her hand there is a broom, with which many beliefs of the Russian people were associated at that time.
“Once upon a time there was a king” (1900), to the fairy tale “The Frog Princess”
The Russian Tsar is the Russian soul. The whole scene is filled with brilliant color and decorated with numerous shades, resulting in a pleasant inner harmony.
"Ivan Tsarevich good fellow and his three sisters" (1901), to the fairy tale "Marya Morevna"
It is clear to the naked eye that the artist created this canvas based on Old Russian manuscripts. The result was beautiful picture, which continues to delight our contemporaries with its beauty.
“Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka” (1901), to the fairy tale of the same name
Here it all starts with the beauty of the Russian land. Landscape, nature, flora and fauna - the whole ensemble is depicted on this canvas, against which the brother and sister, the main characters of the fairy tale plot, are in the background. In this way the master expresses his love for home country, its nature, history and culture.
“Volga with his squad” (1903), to the epic “Volga”
The central plot of this painting was Russian life in ancient times and the struggle of the Russian people for the right to be free. The ornamental richness is amazing and remains relevant even today.
“During the entire conversation he stood behind the fence” (1904), to “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”
This illustration for the fairy tale shows the individuality and dissimilarity of Bilibin’s style from the works of other authors. Tsar Saltan is endowed with individual qualities, an easy-going disposition and a special soul. The painting impresses with the abundance of ornaments and ancient Russian patterns that decorate even the smallest parts of the canvas.
“The Astrologer before Dadon” (1906), to “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel”
Not easy plot composition, which has its own character and special color illustrations. It is noticeable that every detail was worked out by the artist, therefore it is unique and unique. All the characters in the picture are clearly expressed, which makes the canvas much more natural.
“Strelchika in front of the Tsar and his retinue” (1919), to the fairy tale “Go there - I don’t know where”
A real Russian story, vividly reflecting the depth of the Russian soul, the culture of the Russian people, their traditions and foundations of that time. This canvas is filled with a huge amount of colors, making it look like a single whole.
Without exception, all illustrations by Ivan Bilibin are filled with meaning and unique graphics, have their own structure and special mood. From real and real ornaments, as well as detailed little things, the artist created a half-real, half-fictional world. In addition to the above illustrations, the wonderful Russian artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin also created a huge number of different illustrations for fairy tales Great Rus' and her epics.
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (1876 -1942)
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin worked at the turn of two centuries and became famous as an artist, illustrator, and magnificent craftsman. theatrical scenery. He created own style in graphics, which the viewer really liked and found many imitators. The fate of this amazing master and his exquisite legacy in art invariably remain the focus of attention of the modern cultured person.
The beginning of the way
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was born on August 4 (16), 1876 in the village of Tarkhovka, near St. Petersburg. The artist's ancestors are famous Kaluga merchants, famous for their philanthropy and keen interest in the destinies of the fatherland. The artist’s father, Yakov Ivanovich Bilibin, was a naval doctor, then the head of a hospital and a medical inspector of the Imperial Navy, participated in Russian-Turkish war. The father dreamed of seeing his son become a lawyer, and young Ivan Bilibin, having graduated from the gymnasium with a silver medal, entered the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University. The young man studied conscientiously, listened to the full course of lectures, defended thesis. But next to this completely practical prospect that promised a brilliant legal future, another dream always lived. Since childhood, he drew with passion. Simultaneously with his studies at the university, Bilibin studied the science of painting and graphics at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. For a month and a half he took lessons in a private art school Austro-Hungarian artist Anton Azbe in Munich. It was here that the study of drawing was given special importance and students developed the ability to find an individual artistic style. At home, Bilibin studied diligently in a painting workshop under the guidance of Ilya Repin.
During Bilibin’s studies at the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts, where Repin placed the young man, there was an exhibition of Viktor Vasnetsov, who wrote in a unique romantic manner on the themes of Russian myths and fairy tales. The exhibition was attended by many of our artists who would become famous in the future. Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich was among them. Vasnetsov’s works struck the student to the very heart; he later admitted that he saw here what his soul was unconsciously yearning for and what his soul was yearning for.
In 1899-1902, the Russian Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers published a series of books equipped with excellent illustrations for folk tales. There were graphic paintings for the fairy tales “Vasilisa the Beautiful”, “The White Duck”, “Ivan Tsarevich and the Firebird” and many others. The author of the drawings was Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin.
Illustrations for folk tales
His understanding of the national spirit and poetry that breathes Russian folklore was formed not only under the influence of a vague attraction to folk art. The artist passionately wanted to know and studied the spiritual component of his people, their poetics and way of life. In 1899, Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin visited the village of Egny, in the Tver province, in 1902 he studied the culture and ethnography of the Vologda province, a year later artist visited Olonets and Arkhangelsk provinces. Bilibin brought a collection of works from his trips folk artists, photographs of wooden architecture.
I. Bilibin. Vologda young woman in a festive outfit.
His impressions resulted in journalistic works and scientific reports on folk art, architecture and national costume. An even more fruitful result of these travels were Bilibin’s original works, which revealed the master’s passion for graphics and a completely special style. Two bright talents lived in Bilibin - a researcher and an artist, and one gift fed the other. Ivan Yakovlevich worked with particular care on the details, not allowing himself to falsify a single line .
Style specifics
The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf
"Tsarevich Ivan at the Crossroads"
Why is Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin so different in his style from other artists? Photos of his wonderful and joyful works help to understand this. On a piece of paper we see a clear patterned graphic outline, executed with extreme detail and colored with a whimsical watercolor range of the most cheerful shades.
Tsar Saltan
"Strelchika in front of the Tsar and his retinue"
His illustrations for epics and fairy tales are surprisingly detailed, lively, poetic and not without humor. Taking care of the historical authenticity of the image, which was manifested in the drawings in the details of costume, architecture, and utensils, the master knew how to create an atmosphere of magic and mysterious beauty. In this regard, Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, whose biography is closely connected with this group of artists, is very close in spirit to the creative association “World of Art”. They were all united by an interest in the culture of the past, in the alluring charms of antiquity.
The tale of the frog princess.
From 1907 to 1911, Bilibin created a number of unsurpassed illustrations for epics and fairy tales. poetic works Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Here are delightful and exquisite pictures for “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” and “The Tale of Tsar Saltan.” The illustrations became not just an addition, but a kind of continuation of these verbal works, which, without a doubt, Master Bilibin read with his soul. Ivan the Tsarevich and the frog who turned into a princess, Koschey the Immortal and Yaga, Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber, Elena the Beautiful, Churila Plenkovich, Svyatogor - how many heroes did Ivan Yakovlevich feel with his heart and “revive” on a piece of paper! Folk art also gave the master some techniques: ornamental and popular print methods of design artistic space, which Bilibin brought to perfection in his creations.
King Dodon in front of the Shamakhan queen
Activities in print media
Ending for the magazine "World of Art"
Ivan Bilibin worked as an artist and in magazines of that time. He created masterpieces of printing, which greatly contributed to the growth of this industry and its introduction into popular culture. Publications “People's Reading Room”, “Golden Fleece”, “ Artistic treasures Russia" and others could not do without elegant and meaningful vignettes, screensavers, covers and posters by Bilibin. Worldwide fame The works of the Russian graphic master became known abroad. They were shown at exhibitions in Prague and Paris, Venice and Berlin, Vienna, Brussels and Leipzig. They were reprinted by foreign magazines, and foreign theaters ordered sketches from Bilibin for the design of performances.
Satirical drawings
King Pea
In 1905 the first Russian revolution broke out. Like most of the intelligentsia, Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin enthusiastically supported the decisive rise of the masses. The artist’s caricatures appeared in the satirical magazines “Zhupel” and “Hell Mail”. He makes hilarious sketches ridiculing the Tsar's officials, in ink and in his famous in a fairytale manner draws a huge figure of King Pea, arrogantly towering over his subjects. For his revolutionary drawings, the artist was even arrested for a day.
Master of decoration and watercolor
I. Bilibin "Dodon's Palace" (Set design for the first act)
Bilibin's career as an author of theatrical scenery began with collaboration with the Parisian national theater, who commissioned him for sketches for Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Snow Maiden”. Then there were decorations for productions in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The success of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel in Moscow was due, to a large extent, to the magnificent fairy-tale scenery created by the master's hand. Bilibin made sketches of outfits for Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov and Spanish costumes for Calderon's drama The Purgatory of St. Patrick, as well as Lope de Vega's comedy The Source of the Sheep. The artist talentedly developed the clothing style for the Diaghilev ballet.
Women's Costume Design: Slave (Checkerboard)
For ten years, starting in 1907, Bilibin taught graphics at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. After traveling through England and Ireland, Ivan Yakovlevich became “sick” with the landscape. He painted tirelessly in watercolor the sea, the sky and the harsh British coastline. Rocky and seascapes the artist worked in Crimea, where he traveled every summer.
Revolutionary cataclysms, emigration
In February 1917, a revolution occurred in Russia. Ivan Yakovlevich accepted her too. He even created a sketch of a design with a double-headed eagle, which was crowned with the coat of arms of the Provisional Government, and much later was used in the minting of coins .
Egypt. Pyramids. 1924
The October Revolution did not arouse enthusiasm in the artist. In 1920, he departed abroad from the port of Novorossiysk and ended up in Egypt. Here Bilibin was destined to live for four years. The works of this time include studies of mysterious and eternal pyramids, sketches and sketches of portraits of Cairo residents.
In the fall of 1925, Ivan Yakovlevich arrived in Paris and began actively working in printed publications, illustrating Russian, Western and oriental tales. During his emigration, Bilibin created magnificent sketches for icons and frescoes of the Russian church at the Olsany cemetery in Prague. For the decade between 1920-1930, Ivan Yakovlevich fruitfully and successfully worked on the design of theatrical productions: he made drawings for opera seasons at the Champs-Elysees Theater, worked at the Russian Opera in Paris enterprise, and created outlandish sketches for Stravinsky’s ballet “The Firebird.”
Return Life in exile was rich and free, but the artist was haunted by a growing longing for Russia. During his voluntary exile, he never accepted foreign citizenship anywhere, and in 1935 he took Soviet citizenship. At the same time, he created the monumental panel “Mikula Selyaninovich” for the building of the Soviet embassy in the capital of France. A year later, the artist and his family returned to their homeland.
Bilibin I.Ya. Last years life
Bilibin was warmly received by the new government and became a professor at the graphic workshop of the Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture of the Academy of Arts in Leningrad. He did not give up work in the field of book graphics.
The famous artist died in besieged Leningrad in 1942 from hunger and was buried in a mass professorial grave at the Smolensk cemetery.
The amazing Russian artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin left a distinct and vivid mark on the history of world art. Paintings, frescoes, graphics and other examples of his inspiring creativity are now kept in public and private collections. They decorate the halls of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg and are exhibited in the Theater Museum. Bakhrushin in Moscow, in the Kiev Museum of Russian Art, in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, in the Paris National Gallery, in the Oxford Ashmolean Museum and many others
Book graphics
1899 - “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf”
1899-1900, 1902 - “Vasilisa the Beautiful”
1899 — “The Frog Princess”
1900 — “Feather of Finist Yasna-Falcon”
1900-1901 - “Marya Morevna”
1901-1902 - “Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka”
1902 — “White Duck”
1903 - epic "Volga"
1904-1905 - “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” by A. S. Pushkin
1906 - “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” by A. S. Pushkin
1908 - “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” by A. S. Pushkin
1908 - “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by A. S. Pushkin
1911 - “The Tale of the Three Tsar’s Divas and Ivashka, the Priest’s Son” by A. S. Roslavlev
1919 - “Go there - I don’t know where, bring that - I don’t know what...”
1931 - Contes de l'Isba
1932-1933 — Tales of Russian Grandmother
1932 - Contes de la couleuvre
1936 — Le farouche Abd-el-Kader
Theatrical and decorative arts
1904 - Sketches and costumes for the opera “The Snow Maiden”. Prague National Theatre.
1907 — Sketches of scenery and costumes for the miracle “The Act of Theophilus.” Ancient theater. Petersburg.
) - Russian artist, graphic artist, theater artist, member of the “World of Art” association, author of paintings and colorful illustrations for Russian fairy tales and epics in a decorative and graphic ornamental manner based on the stylization of motifs of Russian folk and medieval art; one of greatest masters national romantic direction in the Russian version of the Art Nouveau style.
Who hasn't read fairy tale books with his magnificent illustrations? The master’s works are an immersion into the world of childhood, fairy tales, and epics. He created his own world, so different from the surrounding one, allowing you to retire into your imagination and follow the heroes on dangerous and exciting journeys.
In 1895-1898 he studied at the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts.
In 1898 he studied for two months in the studio of the artist Anton Aschbe in Munich. It was here that the study of drawing was given special importance and students developed the ability to find an individual artistic style.
While in Munich, 22-year-old Bilibin gets acquainted with the tradition of European painting:
In the Alte Pinakothek - with the works of classics: Durer, Holbein, Rembrandt, Raphael.
In the Neue Pinakothek - with modern trends, in particular with the symbolism of Arnold Böcklin and Franz Stuck
What was seen was in highest degree timely for a beginning artist. And it was at the Ashbe school that Bilibin learned his signature line and graphic techniques. First, he sketched a sketch on paper, specified the composition in all details on tracing paper, then transferred it to whatman paper, after which, using a kolinsky brush with a cut end, he drew a clear wire outline in ink over the pencil drawing.
Bilibin’s development as a book graphic artist was influenced by other Western book masters: William Maurice, who was one of the first to reflect the harmonious architecture of the book - a synthesis of literature, graphics and typography, and his “Beautiful Book”;
Graphic artists Walter Crane and Aubrey Beardsley;
Inspiration curved line in the Art Nouveau style of Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon;
Expressive play of black and white spots by Felix Vallotton; the wit of Thomas Heine; Lace lines by Heinrich Vogeler.
And also a noticeable influence (as in general on representatives of the Art Nouveau style) Japanese prints 17-19 centuries, from which the shades of fill, contours, isometry of space are drawn; ancient Russian icons and Byzantine painting.
For several years (1898-1900) he studied under the guidance of Ilya Repin at the school-workshop of Princess Maria Tenisheva, then (1900-1904) under the guidance of Repin at the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts.
During Bilibin’s studies at the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts, where Repin placed the young man, there was an exhibition of Viktor Vasnetsov, who wrote in a unique romantic manner on the themes of Russian myths and fairy tales. The exhibition was attended by many of our artists who would become famous in the future. Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich was among them. Vasnetsov’s works struck the student to the very heart; he later admitted that he saw here what his soul was unconsciously yearning for and what his soul was yearning for.
V. Vasnetsov Three heroes
Lived mainly in St. Petersburg. After the formation of the art association “World of Art”, it becomes an active member.
Group portrait of artists from the World of Art society Kustodiev
Here is what Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, one of his associates of the World of Art association, writes about Bilibin:
“He was a funny, witty conversationalist (he stuttered, which gave a special charm to his jokes) and had the talent, especially under the influence of wine, to write comic, pompous odes to Lomonosov. He came from an eminent St. Petersburg merchant family and was very proud of the two portraits of his ancestors, painted by Levitsky himself, that belonged to him, one of a young merchant, the other of a bearded merchant with a medal. Bilibin himself wore a Russian beard a la moujik and once, for a bet, walked along Nevsky in bast shoes and a tall felt buckwheat hat...”
So with a sense of humor and charisma in order)
Bilibin himself once said in his youth:
“I, the undersigned, make a solemn promise that I will never become like artists in the spirit of Gallen, Vrubel and all the impressionists. My ideal is Semiradsky, Repin (in his youth), Shishkin, Orlovsky, Bonna, Meyssonnier and the like. If I don’t fulfill this promise, I go to someone else’s camp, then let them cut off my right hand and send it preserved in alcohol to the Medical Academy!”
Turn of the century era—> late 19th-early 20th century—> silver Age Russian culture—> Art Nouveau style—> association and the magazine “World of Art,” to which Bilibin was close.
This rough diagram brings us to creative method artist. Bilibin could not have come at a better time right time in the right place.
Russian Art Nouveau (European analogues: “Art Nouveau” in France, “Secession” in Austria, “Jugend Style in Germany”, “Horta Style” in Belgium, “New Style” in England, etc.) organically combines searching for new ones, modern forms with a focus on national cultural and historical sources. Characteristic features of modernity are aestheticization environment, decorative detailing and ornamentation, orientation towards mass culture, the style is filled with the poetics of symbolism.
Art Nouveau had a fundamental influence on Bilibin's art. The skill that the artist possessed, the subjects that he loved and used were entirely relevant and modern in this period for two main reasons.
Firstly, the gravitation of modernity (more precisely, one of the directions, there were others) towards the national epic, fairy tales, epics as sources of themes and plots, and a formal rethinking of the heritage of Ancient Rus', pagan art and folk art.
And secondly, the emergence of such art movements as book graphics and scenography for a completely new aesthetic highest level. Also, it was necessary to synthesize and create an ensemble of books and theater. The association and the magazine “World of Art” have been doing this since 1898.
Most of those who were born in the USSR began to comprehend this world with Russian fairy tales “Vasilisa the Beautiful”, “Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka”, “Marya Morevna”, “Feather of Finista-Yasna Falcon”, “White Duck”, “Princess” frog". Almost every child also knew the fairy tales of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin - “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish”, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel”.
The first books with bright, beautiful illustrations by artists open a window for the child into the world of living images, into the world of fantasy. A young child reacts emotionally when he sees colorful illustrations, he clutches the book to himself, strokes the image in the picture with his hand, talks to the character drawn by the artist as if he were alive.
This is the enormous power of graphics to influence a child. It is specific, accessible, understandable to preschool children and has a huge educational impact on them. B.M. Teplov, characterizing the peculiarities of perception of works of art, writes that if scientific observation Sometimes called “thinking perception,” the perception of art is “emotional.”
Psychologists, art historians, and teachers noted the uniqueness of children’s perception graphic images: attraction to colorful drawings, and with age they give greater preference to real coloring; the same is noted with regard to children’s requirements for realistic shapes of images.
At older preschool age, children have a negative attitude towards the conventions of form. The perception of works of graphic art can reach varying degrees of complexity and completeness. It largely depends on the person’s preparedness, the nature of his aesthetic experience, range of interests, psychological state. But most of all it depends on the work of art itself, its artistic content, ideas. The feelings it expresses.
Parents and grandparents read fairy tales from children's books with pictures. And we knew every fairy tale by heart and every picture in our favorite book. Pictures from books with fairy tales were one of our first images that we naturally absorbed as children. Exactly as in these pictures, we later imagined Vasilisa the Beautiful.
And most of these pictures belonged to the brush of Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. Can you imagine what influence this artist had on our worldview, our perception of Russian myths, epics and fairy tales? Meanwhile, these illustrations are more than a hundred years old.
Illustrating fairy tales and epics since 1899 (“Vasilisa the Beautiful”, “Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka”, “Finist” Clear Falcon"and others, Pushkin's tales about Tsar Saltan and the Golden Cockerel), Ivan Bilibin created, using the technique of ink drawing, colored with watercolor, his “Bilibin style” of book design, based on motifs of folk embroidery, popular prints, wood carvings, and ancient Russian miniatures.
These graphic cycles, impressive for their ornamental richness, are still very popular among children and adults thanks to numerous reprints
Focusing on the traditions of ancient Russian and folk art, Bilibin developed a logically consistent system of graphic techniques, which remained fundamental throughout his entire work. This graphic system, as well as Bilibin’s inherent originality in the interpretation of epic and fairy-tale images, made it possible to talk about a special Bilibin style.
The process of execution by I. Ya. Bilibin graphic drawing looked like the work of an engraver. Bilibin's books look like painted boxes. It was this artist who first saw a children's book as a holistic, artistically designed organism. His books are like ancient manuscripts, because the artist thinks through not only the drawings, but also all the decorative elements: fonts, ornaments, decorations, initials and everything else.
“A strict, purely graphic discipline […],” the artist emphasized, “turns its attention not only to the drawing and the difference in strength of individual spots, but also to the line, to its character, to the direction of flow of a whole series of neighboring lines, to their sliding along form and thus to emphasize, explain and reveal this form by these conscious lines flowing around and enveloping it. These lines can sometimes be likened to a fabric that fits a form, where the threads or stripes take on the direction that is dictated to them by the given form.”
I. Ya. Bilibin developed a system of graphic techniques that made it possible to combine illustrations and design in one style, subordinating them to the plane of the book page. Character traits Bilibin style: beauty of patterned design, exquisite decorativeness color combinations, subtle visual embodiment of the world, a combination of bright fabulousness with a sense of folk humor, etc.
The artist strove for an ensemble solution. He emphasized the flatness of the book page with a contour line, lack of lighting, coloristic unity, conventional division of space into plans and the combination of different points of view in the composition.
Ivan Yakovlevich illustrated fairy tales in such a way that children seem to go on dangerous and exciting adventures with the fairy tale heroes. All the fairy tales we know are written with a special understanding of the folk spirit and poetry.
Interest in ancient Russian art arose back in the 20s and 30s of the 19th century. In subsequent decades, expeditions were organized to study monuments of pre-Petrine architecture, and albums of ancient Russian clothing, ornaments, and popular prints were published. But most scientists approached the artistic heritage of Ancient Rus' only from ethnographic and archaeological positions. A superficial understanding of it aesthetic value characterized by a pseudo-Russian style, widespread in architecture and applied arts second half of the 19th century century. In a new way, ancient Russian and folk art was adopted in the 1880s - 1890s by V.M. Vasnetsov and other artists of the Mamontov circle, whose national quests were distinguished by greater originality and creative originality. Bilibin’s words should be addressed to these artists:
“Only quite recently, like America, they discovered the old artistic Rus', vandalized, covered with dust and mold. But even under the dust it was beautiful, so beautiful that the first momentary impulse of those who discovered it is quite understandable: to return it! return!"
The dream of artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries about revival high culture past, about creating a new “great style” on its basis was utopian, but it enriched art with vivid images and expressive means, contributed to the development of its “non-easel” types, for a long time considered secondary, in particular theatrical scenery and book design. It is no coincidence that it was among the Mamontov circle that new principles of decorative painting began to take shape. It is no coincidence that these same masters, who constantly communicated with the works ancient Russian art, passionate about the idea of reviving ancient crafts.
Books and theater turned out to be those areas where art directly served the satisfaction of modern social needs and where, at the same time, the stylistic techniques of past centuries found the most natural application, where it was possible to achieve the synthesis that in other forms artistic creativity remained unattainable.
In 1899, Bilibin accidentally arrived in the village of Egny, Vesyegonsky district, Tver province. Here he first created illustrations in what later became the “Bilibin” style for his first book, “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf.”
In 1902, 1903 and 1904, Bilibin visited the Vologda, Olonets and Arkhangelsk provinces, where he was sent by the ethnographic department of the Museum of Alexander III to study wooden architecture.
In 1899-1902, the Russian Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers published a series of books equipped with excellent illustrations for folk tales. There were graphic paintings for the fairy tales “Vasilisa the Beautiful”, “The White Duck”, “Ivan Tsarevich and the Firebird” and many others. The author of the drawings was Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. Illustrations for folk tales His understanding of the national spirit and poetry that breathes Russian folklore was formed not only under the influence of a vague attraction to folk art. The artist passionately wanted to know and studied the spiritual component of his people, their poetics and way of life. From his trips, Bilibin brought back a collection of works by folk artists and photographs of wooden architecture.
His impressions resulted in journalistic works and scientific reports on folk art, architecture and national costume. An even more fruitful result of these travels were Bilibin’s original works, which revealed the master’s passion for graphics and a completely special style. Two bright talents lived in Bilibin - a researcher and an artist, and one gift fed the other. Ivan Yakovlevich worked with particular care on the details, not allowing himself to falsify a single line.
Folk art also gave the master some techniques: ornamental and popular print methods of decorating artistic space, which Bilibin brought to perfection in his creations.
His illustrations for epics and fairy tales are surprisingly detailed, lively, poetic and not without humor. Taking care of the historical authenticity of the image, which was manifested in the drawings in the details of costume, architecture, and utensils, the master knew how to create an atmosphere of magic and mysterious beauty. In this, it is very close in spirit to the creative association “World of Art”. They were all united by an interest in the culture of the past, in the alluring charms of antiquity.
Bilibin's artistic talent was clearly demonstrated in his illustrations for Russian fairy tales and epics, as well as in his work on theatrical productions. In addition to the “fairytale” style with ancient Russian ornamental motifs, there was the production of the opera “The Golden Cockerel” designed by Bilibin in 1909 at the Zimin Theater in Moscow.
In the spirit of the French mystery, he presented “The Miracle of St. Theophilus" (1907), recreating a medieval religious drama; The costume designs for Lope de Vega's drama "The Spring of the Sheep" and Calderon's drama "The Purgatory of St. Patrick" - theatrical production of the "Ancient Theater" in 1911. A humorous caricature of the same Spain emanates from Fyodor Sologub’s vaudeville “Honor and Revenge,” staged by Bilibin in 1909.
Splashes, endings, covers and other works by Bilibin are found in such magazines of the early 20th century as World of Art, Golden Fleece, and in publications of Rosehip and Moscow Book Publishing House.
In exile
On February 21, 1920, Bilibin was evacuated from Novorossiysk on the steamship Saratov. Due to the presence of sick people on board, the ship did not disembark people at
