Artist Bilibin illustrations. "Big Bilibinsky" style

Ivan Bilibin is widely known primarily as an illustrator of Russian folk tales. He developed his own artistic style based on Art Nouveau popular at the time and Russian folk arts and crafts. This style, called none other than "Bilibino", is popular in our time. It is a kind of hallmark of Russian illustration. Many modern artists tend to imitate his graphic style.

Biography of Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin: early years

The artist was born on August 4 according to the old style or August 16 according to the new one in 1876 in the village. Tarkhovka near Petersburg. The Bilibins family has very ancient roots. Their surname is mentioned in the documents of the 17th century. And portraits of Bilibin's great-grandfathers, famous merchants, occupy a place of honor in the Hermitage. His father was a naval doctor and privy councillor, and his mother was a composer.

Bilibin showed a penchant for drawing as a child. In parallel with his studies at the gymnasium, he studied at the school of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts. However, despite young Ivan's craving for creativity, his father wanted to see his son as a lawyer. Obedient Ivan, following the will of his father, enters the Faculty of Law, but does not give up painting. After graduating from the university, the artist went to Germany to study in the workshop of the painter A. Ashbe. Students came here from all over the world. After a short study, he returns to St. Petersburg and attends classes in the workshop of Ilya Repin as a free student. A few years later he entered the art school at the Academy of Arts. Soon he becomes an honorary member of the creative organization "World of Art".

First illustrations

Interest in the folk style of the young artist manifested itself under the influence of Viktor Vasnetsov's painting "Bogatyrs", which he saw at one of the exhibitions. The atmosphere of Russian antiquity so fascinated him that he sets off on a journey through the rural outback. He walks there through dense forests, draws old wooden huts, ornaments and in every possible way imbues with the spirit of antiquity. After that, he begins to create drawings in his unique style. Ivan Bilibin draws the first book illustrations for fairy tales from the collection of Alexander Afanasyev.

"The Frog Princess", "Ivan Tsarevich", "Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka" are the most of them. These books instantly became popular thanks not only to unusual stylization, but also to a special vision of folk fairy-tale images of Baba Yaga, the Serpent Gorynych, heroes, and Ivan Tsarevich. Bilibin not only drew the characters, but also enclosed each illustration in a decorative frame with an ornament that corresponded to the character of fairy-tale characters. He also designed book covers, and wrote the titles in a font stylized as an old Slavic script.

Trip to the north

However, a decisive role in the biography of Ivan Bilibin and his formation as an illustrator was played by trips to the Arkhangelsk and Vologda provinces, and from there to Karelia, where he was sent on a so-called business trip by the World of Art society. There the painter discovered the life of the Russian north, its architecture and art. Time seemed to stand still in those places. The artist saw people in national costumes with embroidery, got acquainted with the popular style of painting kitchen utensils, household items, lived in a hut with carved shutters, painted old wooden churches. All this will subsequently be reflected in the paintings of Ivan Bilibin. These trips were very productive. The artist brought with him many drawings, sketches, photographs, and then wrote several articles based on his notes. This material helped him in his work on theatrical scenery, as well as on the next series of illustrations, this time for Pushkin's fairy tales.

The design of the works of the great poet

Bilibin began work with the well-known and beloved by many "Tales of Tsar Saltan". He worked with high precision not only the environment of the characters, but also the costumes of the characters, as well as the ancient architecture.

In these tales, he allowed himself some experimentation with style. So, for example, in the painting by Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, depicting a stormy sea, the wave is very similar to the work of the Japanese Katsushika Hokusai. And in "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" the popular style is clearly seen. All illustrations for this work were purchased by the Tretyakov Gallery.

Bilibin's picture books were very popular with the public. They were distinguished by the beauty and harmony of both design and design, eye-pleasing color combinations, colorful characters, detailed colorful outfits. The stylized font was also a highlight.

Behind all this was hidden a huge work of the artist. He began work with a sketch, then transferred it to tracing paper, then drew it on paper, and only then outlined the outlines of the drawing with ink. At the final stage of the work, he did the color fill with watercolors. Moreover, he used exclusively local colors without a gradient. It is striking with what accuracy he reproduced numerous ornaments, wrote out small details.

Revolution and double-headed eagle

During the heyday of Bilibin's popularity, a revolution was brewing in the country. The artist begins to draw caricatures on revolutionary themes. From the Provisional Government he receives an order for the design of the coat of arms. Bilibin drew a fabulous double-headed eagle, which was destined to go down in history, because since 1992 it has been depicted on all Russian banknotes. In addition, Goznak owns the copyright for some sketches and developments of the artist.

Work in advertising

The illustrator managed to work in the field of commercial illustration. He created advertising posters and brochures for the New Bavaria brewery. He also designed the covers of popular magazines and almanacs: Golden Fleece, Rosehip, Moscow Publishing House. Bilibin also drew theater posters, sketches for postage stamps. It was printed with pleasure, and products with his pictures were in great demand.

Teaching activity and personal life

Ivan Bilibin successfully combined work on illustrations and classes with students. He taught graphics at the Drawing School for the Encouragement of the Arts, where he once studied. His students were the artists Konstantin Eliseev, Nikolai Kuzmin, Georgy Narbut, as well as his two future spouses.

Around that time, Bilibin married, and his first wife was Maria Chambers, a graphic designer. She also graduated from the mentioned school. They had two sons. However, the marriage was not happy and after a few years they separated. After that, Mary and her sons went to live in England.

Ivan married a second time to one of his students, Rene O "Connel. After training, she began working as an artist at a porcelain factory. There were no children in this marriage. They divorced five years later.

His third and last wife was Alexandra Shchekatikhina-Pototskaya. She was also his former student and porcelain artist, like his previous wife. Alexandra will accompany Bilibin in all his travels and will stay with him until the very end.

Ivan Yakovlevich actively participated in the revival of artistic traditions and arts and crafts in Russia. He owns the following lines: "Old artistic Russia was discovered quite recently, like America. Although it is covered with a thick layer of dust and moldy, it is still beautiful." His activities contributed to the interest not only in ancient Russian art, but also in everyday life, customs, and cultural heritage.

Moving to Crimea

Being already a well-known and recognized illustrator, Ivan Yakovlevich acquired a plot of land on the southern coast of Crimea in Batiliman Bay. According to historical data, along with the painter, a large plot was bought by several other representatives of the intelligentsia, among whom were writers Alexander Kuprin, Vladimir Korolenko, artist Vladimir Derviz and professor Vladimir Vernadsky. They divided the land among themselves by drawing lots. Bilibin got a plot on the seashore with a small fishing hut, which he turned into a workshop. There he settled for several years.

Life in Egypt

In the early 1920s, Bilibin went to live in Egypt. One of the reasons for such a sharp change of residence could be disagreements with the Soviet government after the October Revolution.

He settled with his wife Alexandra in Cairo. There he lives and works on frescoes for temples in the Byzantine style, and also studies local art and architecture. At that time, he travels extensively in Cyprus and Syria. Having abandoned book graphics for a while, he creates mostly portraits and landscapes in a realistic manner. Then he decides to move with his family to Alexandria. The first personal exhibition of paintings by Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin took place there.

Work in Paris

Five years later, the painter leaves Egypt for Paris, where he proves himself as a talented theater decorator and costume designer, using the knowledge and experience gained in his homeland. He creates scenery for operas and performances, such as Stravinsky's ballet "The Firebird", the opera "Boris Godunov", "The Tale of Tsar Saltan". Ivan Bilibin also returns to illustrations and works on French fairy tales. In Paris, the painter created a charitable foundation in support of émigré artists.

Shortly before returning to his homeland, he is working on a large wall painting "Mikula Selyaninovich" in the Soviet embassy in Paris.

Homecoming

Despite successful work in France, the artist decides to return to his native city, now Leningrad. This was a very risky act, since in his homeland he could well have expected cruel repressions from the Soviet authorities, to which they subjected many artists, writers, actors and other intellectuals who had returned from emigration. But Bilibin was lucky, and this fate bypassed him. Apparently, his merits in the field of culture were of decisive importance.

He begins cooperation now with Soviet publishing houses and theaters. Designs the performances "Commander Suvorov", "About Tsar Saltan". The last works of Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin were illustrations for "The Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich and the Merchant Ivan Kalashnikov" and the novel "Peter the Great", in which he tried to stick to his style, despite the strict restrictive framework of the Soviet system.

Death

The fact that returning is still a bad omen can be seen in the example of the sad death of a great artist. Five years after his return, the war began, the city was besieged. It is not known whether he could not leave besieged Leningrad or voluntarily refused to do so. But even in such a difficult time, he continued his creative activity. Deeply worried about the war-torn homeland, he wrote an ode in verse, which was published after his death.

The artist Ivan Bilibin died in besieged Leningrad in the winter of 1942 from starvation. He was buried in a common grave together with the professors of the Art Academy.

The work of Ivan Yakovlevich made an incredible shift in Russian art in general and in illustration in particular. His paintings are stories in miniature, according to which it is quite possible to study the ancient Russian way of life, culture and customs. At the same time, the popularity of the Bilibino style stepped far beyond the borders of his homeland. Books with the artist's works continue to be printed in our time. His artistic heritage includes hundreds of illustrations not only for Russian fairy tales, but also for foreign ones, as well as many unique scenery and costumes for performances and theatrical productions, numerous sketches for frescoes and wall panels. Ivan Bilibin revived the original creative traditions of the peoples of Russia, adapted them and made them accessible to contemporaries.

Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich, (1876 - 1942) Born in the village of Tarkhovka near St. Petersburg in the family of a naval doctor. He studied at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University and at the same time studied in the workshop of A. Azhba in Münhin, then at the school of M. K. Tenisheva under I. E. Repin. Since 1900, he became a member of the World of Art association.

Since 1899, Bilibin began to work in book graphics, in which he created an ornamental and decorative graphic expressive style, called "Bilibinsky"

This style, based on the stylization of folk print motifs, ancient Russian miniatures, woodcarving, was distinguished by a carefully worked out contour drawing, tinted with watercolors.

Perhaps, in many ways, the formation of such a national style was facilitated by expeditions to the northern provinces to study the monuments of pre-Petrine architecture, arts and crafts, carried out by the artist in 1902-1904 on the instructions of the ethnographic department of the Russian Museum.

Bilibin's greatest fame as an artist was brought by illustrations based on Russian folk tales: "Vasilisa the Beautiful", "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka", "Finist Yasny Sokol", "The Frog Princess" and others, including Pushkin's "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" and "Golden Cockerel".

White rider. Illustration for the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful"

Red rider. Illustration for the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful"

Illustration for the fairy tale "Feather Finist the Bright Falcon"

Illustration for the fairy tale "The Frog Princess"

Illustration for the fairy tale "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka"

Illustration for "The Tale of Tsar Saltan"

Illustration for "The Tale of Tsar Saltan"

Illustration for "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel"

Since 1904, Bilibin has been successfully engaged in scenography.

The artist initially did not accept the October Revolution. In the autumn of 1917, he left for the Crimea, from there in 1920 he reached Egypt, lived in Cairo and Alexandria, only in 1925 he moved to Paris.

Abroad, in addition to book and theatrical works, he created a number of colorful panels that have become a kind of standard of the “Russ style”.

Decorated the Soviet embassy in Paris with the monumental-patriotic panel "Mikula Selyaninovich".

By 1936, Bilibin became more relaxed about the Soviet system and returned to his homeland, to Leningrad.

In the last decade of his life, the artist taught at the All-Russian Academy of Arts.

Finally. The name of Bilibin in Russian culture is associated with the formation of book graphics as a special art. As the artist himself noted, relying on samples of old European and Japanese engravings, he brought into his work samples of ancient Russian art, where there were elements of icon painting, Russian embroidery and prints, and folk prints, and created a style in which a graphic drawing was an image and at the same time an ornament gravitating towards an ornament.

To use the preview of presentations, create a Google account (account) and sign in: https://accounts.google.com

Slides captions:

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin BIOGRAPHY

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin is a famous Russian artist and illustrator. The main genre in which Ivan Bilibin worked is book graphics. In addition, he created various murals, panels, made scenery for theatrical productions, and was engaged in the creation of theatrical costumes.

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was born on August 4, 1876 in the village of Tarkhovka, St. Petersburg province, in the family of a military doctor.

Railway station "Tarkhovka"

At the age of 12, Ivan entered the gymnasium, graduated with honors and became a university student, choosing the Faculty of Law. Legal science did not prevent the young man from drawing, he was supported by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts. Then he went to Munich and attended the lessons of the Slovenian painter Anton Ashbe for more than a month.

Learning to draw is inextricably linked with the name of the famous artist Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930), first it was master classes, and then training at the school of the Academy of Arts. Pupils of the workshop of Ilya Repin at the Higher Art School at the Academy of Arts. 1892-1894

Painting workshop of Professor Ilya Repin. Statement of nature. 1897-1898

After the association of artists in the "World of Art", Bilibin became an active visitor. The artist, founder of the "World of Art" association, author of hundreds of articles, theater critic and director, Alexander Benois proved by personal example that a talented person is talented in everything.

Usually Ivan Bilibin lived in St. Petersburg, but after a visit to the village of Yogny, he is so impressed that he creates pictures for the book based on Russian folk tales. Then, on the instructions of the ethnographic department of the Russian Museum, Bilibin traveled around the Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Olonets and Tver provinces. In 1904 he went to Karelia, to Kizhi.

Photos from the collection of I. Bilibin "Russian North" Wing of the church. settlement of Koksheng. The village of Maly Kholuy. Vologda province

Vologda province

From the collection of I. Bilibin

Ivan Bilibin. Postcards dedicated to the Russian North. (Published by the Community of St. Eugenia, 1904)

All the impressions received were embodied in magnificent illustrations for fairy tales and epics. The artist also designed theatrical performances. The style in which the artist worked began to be called by his name - “Bilibinsky”. Kem. Cemetery. The village of Poduzhemye.

Bilibin made illustrations for Russian folk tales "The Frog Princess", "The Finist-Yasna Falcon's Feather", "Vasilisa the Beautiful", "Marya Morevna", "Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka", "White Duck", to the fairy tales of A.S. Pushkin - "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" (1904-1905), "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" (1906-1907) "The Frog Princess" "Marya-Morevna" "Vasilisa the Beautiful"

In 1904, Bilibin first turned to stage design. "Sadko" Sketches of theatrical scenery "Ruslan and Lyudmila" The Tale of the Golden Cockerel

Gardens of Chernomor. Set design for M. I. Glinka's opera Ruslan and Lyudmila (1913) Set design for N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel (1909)

The building has preserved unique murals based on sketches by I.Ya. Bilibin. Nizhny Novgorod. 1913 The building of the State Bank on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya opens (on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty).

The revolution of 1917 disrupted the artist's plans. In the autumn he left Petrograd for the Crimea, then for Novorossiysk, and at the beginning of 1920 he managed to reach Egypt. He lived first in Alexandria, then moved to Cairo, where he lived until August 1925.

Invitation card to the personal exhibition of I.Ya. Bilibin in Alexandria. 1924 In December 1924 in Egypt, in Alexandria, a personal exhibition of I.Ya. Bilibin. The artist was doing what he loved - he designed performances, made several projects of iconostases for Orthodox churches in Egypt.

Sketches by I. Bilibin in Cairo were the artist's first iconostasis projects. Later, the artist creates sketches of frescoes and an iconostasis for the Russian church - the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Olshansky cemetery in Prague. (1927)

Sketches for frescoes and iconostasis for the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin at the Olsany cemetery in Prague. (1927)

In 1925 he moved to Paris, where he worked a lot - he designed 10 performances, among which the operas "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" (1928) by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, "Prince Igor" by A. P. Borodin, " Boris Godunov" by M. P. Mussorgsky (1931). Costumes for the opera "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky in Paris at the Grand Opera.

In Paris, I. Bilibin creates illustrations for French translations of Russian fairy tales. In 1932, The Tale of Uzhikha by Jeanne Roche-Mason with illustrations by Bilibin was published in Paris. Alexander Nikolaevich Benois wrote about this book: "Bilibin's French drawings turned out to be as brilliant and typical as his illustrations for Russian epics and fairy tales." J.Roche-Mason. Fairy tales are creepy. French edition of Russian folk. fairy tales "Tales of the hut" (1930)

A series of illustrations for Arabian tales. "Thousand and One Nights".

In 1936, Bilibin returned to his homeland, to Leningrad, on the ship "Ladoga". He begins teaching at the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The war begins, and after that - the terrifying blockade of Leningrad, from which Bilibin did not have time to leave, and maybe did not want to. Having survived all conceivable and unimaginable pangs of hunger and cold, on February 7 (according to other sources - February 8), 1942, the artist dies. St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I.E. Repin.

Mass grave where the great Russian artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin rests.

Sources 1. T.V. Yuriev. Orthodox churches in North Africa. http://vestnik.yspu.org/releases/novye_Issledovaniy/29_5/ 2. Severyukhin D.Ya., Leikind O.L. Artists of the Russian emigration. Biographical Dictionary. SPb., 1994.S.83. 3. Belyakov V.V. "To the banks of the sacred Nile ...". Russians in Egypt. M., 2003. S.208.

Bilibin, Ivan Yakovlevich Fragment of a portrait of Ivan Bilibin by Boris Kustodiev, 1901 Date of birth: August 4 (16), 1876 (18760816) Place of birth ... Wikipedia

- (1876 1942), owls. artist, theatre. decorator, graphic artist. He was a member of the World of Art association. Graphic B.'s style was formed under the influence of Nar. art wa (lubok, embroidery, wood carving), as well as icon painting, etc. Rus. book miniature. Known ill. ... ... Lermontov Encyclopedia

Bilibin, Ivan Yakovlevich, painter. Born in St. Petersburg in 1876; Graduated from a course at St. Petersburg University in the Faculty of Law. He received his art education at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts; in Munich he worked in the workshop ... ... Biographical Dictionary

- (1876 1942), Soviet graphic illustrator and theater artist. He studied in Munich with A. Azhbe (1898), in St. Petersburg with I. E. Repin at the school of the workshop of M. K. Tenisheva (1898 1900) and at the Academy of Arts as an auditor (1900 04). He taught at the Drawing ... Art Encyclopedia

Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich- (18761942), graphic artist and theater artist, Doctor of Arts (1939). He studied at the Drawing School of the OPH (189598; in 190717 he taught there), in Munich (1898), in St. Petersburg at the school of the workshop of M. K. Tenisheva (18981900) and ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

Russian graphic illustrator and theater artist. He studied in Munich with A. Azhbe (1898), in St. Petersburg with I. E. Repin - at the school of the workshop of M. K. Tenisheva (1898‒1900) and in the Academy of Arts as ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (1876 1942) Russian graphic artist and theater artist. Member of the World of Art. Illustrations for Russian fairy tales and epics in a decorative graphic ornamental manner based on the stylization of the motifs of Russian folk and medieval art ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1876 1942), graphic artist and theater artist, Doctor of Arts (1939). He studied at the Drawing School of the OPH (1895 98; in 1907 17 he taught there), in Munich (1898), in St. Petersburg at the school of the workshop of M. K. Tenisheva (1898 1900) and at the Academy of Arts (1900 ... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

- (1876 1942), Russian graphic artist and theater artist. Member of the World of Art. Illustrations for Russian fairy tales and epics, the works of A. S. Pushkin (“The Tale of the Golden Cockerel”, ed. 1910) and M. Yu. Lermontov are made in decorative graphic ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Bilibin, Ivan Yakovlevich- AND I. Bilibin. Baba Yaga. Illustration for the fairy tale Vasilisa the Beautiful. BILIBIN Ivan Yakovlevich (1876-1942), Russian graphic artist and theater artist. In 1920 36 lived in Egypt, Palestine, Syria and France. Member of the World of Art. Illustrations for Russian ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

• Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich, Oksana Melnichuk. He knew too much to go down in the history of national culture only as an illustrator, but anyone who held a book carefully decorated with his hands would not want to put it away in ...
• Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, Oksana Melnichuk. About the creative fate of a talented Russian graphic artist who made a huge contribution to Russian art. About the life of Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, covering the period of the Silver Age and the difficult Soviet ...

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (August 4 (16), 1876 - February 7, 1942) - Russian artist, book illustrator and theater designer, member of the World of Art association.

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 1st St. Petersburg classical gymnasium, from which he graduated with a silver medal in 1896. In 1900 he graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. In 1895-1898 he studied at the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts. In 1898 he studied for two months in the studio of the artist Anton Ashbe 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.
He lived mainly in St. Petersburg.

“As far as I can remember,” he later recalled, “I have always been drawing.” The idols were the Wanderers. “I grew up in an intelligent family with a liberal tinge,” Bilibin wrote. - A traveling exhibition was always expected with great interest: will it give something this year? To another, academic exhibition, the attitude was different; there was no anticipation of her, nor that love.

Bilibin was young, good-looking and inventive for all sorts of tricks, however, quite harmless. One of his fellow students subsequently recalled how for the first time he “saw a young, cheerful, blackish, with a large beard for his age, a student with a curious bouncing gait, he was most often called Ivan Yakolich, but he recognized his last name later, and she was Bilibin.” And further: “At first I treated him somehow unkindly because when Repin was not in the studio, Ivan Yakovlevich was often one of the first skirmishers in terms of witticisms, cheerful conversations and common songs for drawing, but then I saw that it was He was the sweetest person, very cheerful, sociable ... ".

In the Tenishev workshop, Ivan Bilibin met Maria Yakovlevna Chambers, who later became his wife.

Anna Petrovna Ostroumova-Lebedeva (1871-1955), who knew him closely, draws a charming portrait of the young artist: “His appearances were sudden. He was very handsome. With pale matte brown skin, he had bluish-black hair and beautiful dark eyes. Bilibin knew that he was good, and with his unexpected outfits he surprised his comrades. I remember him very much when he came in a bright blue frock coat.

After the formation of the artistic association "World of Art" becomes an active member.
The founders of the "World of Art" sympathized with the West. For Alexander Nikolaevich Benois, France was the light in the window, while Konstantin Andreevich Somov and Lev Samoilovich Bakst generally spent most of their lives in Paris. If we talk about the temporal perspective, then they were all impressed by the gallant XVIII century. With France and the 18th century, many also associated the ideas brought by the World of Art to Russian art.

The time in which he happened to live was difficult and controversial: Bloody Sunday on January 9, 1905, the Lena Massacre, the First World War, the February Revolution with its unfulfilled hopes, the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, emigration ... And from his pictures a clear, beautiful-hearted and conflict-free Russia. They delight with the transparency of colors, there are almost no shadows here, shading is minimal.

For the refinement of this style, the energy of work and the impeccable firmness of the artist's line, his colleagues called him "Ivan the Iron Hand."

All his sympathies were on the side of venerable realism. In the album of one of his friends, he wrote: “I, the undersigned, make a solemn promise that I will never be like the artists in the spirit of Gallen, Vrubel and all the Impressionists. My ideal is Semiradsky, Repin (in his youth), Shishkin ... If I don’t fulfill this promise, I will go to a foreign camp, then let them cut off my right hand and send it in alcohol to the Medical Academy. In the first place is not Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930), but Heinrich Ippolitovich Semiradsky (1843-1902), in his work realistic, even naturalistic, but very far from the Wanderers.

Describing the creative style of the artist, the well-known art critic and book critic Alexei Alekseevich Sidorov (1891-1978) wrote: “From the very beginning, Bilibin mastered for himself a special planar system of drawing and the whole composition, basically composed of linear patterns, stylized, most likely, following the example of northern , Norwegian or Finnish artists, images in a frame, just as stylized and ornamental, using the motifs of Russian folk embroidery and woodcarving.
“Only quite recently, like America, they discovered the old artistic Russia, vandal-mutilated, covered with dust and mold. But even under the dust it was beautiful, so beautiful that the first minute impulse of those who discovered it is quite understandable: to return it! return!" - wrote Ivan Bilibin.

From the very beginning, Bilibin's books were distinguished by patterned drawings and bright decorativeness. Bilibin did not create individual illustrations, he strove for an ensemble: he drew a cover, illustrations, ornamental decorations, a font - he stylized everything like an old manuscript.

The names of fairy tales are filled with Slavic script. To read, you need to look at the intricate pattern of letters. Like many graphics, Bilibin worked on a decorative font. He knew well the fonts of different eras, especially the Old Russian charter and semi-character. For all six books, Bilibin draws the same cover, on which he has Russian 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 platbands. 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 (and what else can be next to Baba Yaga?). But the most important thing for Bilibin was the atmosphere of Russian antiquity, epic, fairy tales. From genuine ornaments, details, he created a semi-real, semi-fantastic world.

The ornament was a favorite motif of ancient Russian masters and the main feature of the art of that time. These are embroideries of tablecloths, towels, painted wooden and earthenware, houses with carved architraves and chapels. In the illustrations, Bilibin used sketches of peasant buildings, utensils, and clothing.

Bilibin's illustrations framed by floral ornaments very accurately reflect the content of the tale. We can see the details of the costumes of the heroes, the expression on the faces of the surprised boyars, and even the pattern on the kokoshniks.

In November 1904, the next issue of the World of Art magazine was published, almost entirely dedicated to Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. The artist himself draws it up, illustrates and puts in it the article "Folk Art of the North".

Black-and-white, graphically very accurate drawings made in the northern Russian villages, Bilibin subsequently published on the pages of the journal "People's Education". Alexander Nikolaevich Benois called Bilibin "one of the best connoisseurs of Russian antiquity"8.

Books published by the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers were distributed throughout Russia, were a huge success and made the artist's name famous.

After the February Revolution, Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was a member of the Special Council for the Arts, which, under the chairmanship of Maxim Gorky, worked under the Provisional Government.

The same double-headed eagle, which is now used on the coins of the Bank of Russia, belongs to the brush of Bilibin, an expert on heraldry. The artist painted it after the February Revolution as an emblem for the Provisional Government, and since 1992 this eagle has again become the official Russian symbol. The bird looks fabulous, not sinister, because it was drawn by the famous illustrator of Russian epics and fairy tales. The double-headed eagle is depicted without royal regalia and with lowered wings, the inscription “Russian Provisional Government” and a characteristic “forest” Bilibino ornament are made around the circle. Bilibin transferred the copyright to the coat of arms and some other graphic developments to the Goznak factory.

Bilibin did not accept the October coup. For almost two years he lived in the Crimea, then moved to Rostov-on-Don, under the onslaught of the Red Army, together with the White Guard, he fled to Novorossiysk and from there on February 21, 1920 sailed to Constantinople.

Over time, Bilibin reconciled with the Soviet regime. He draws up the Soviet embassy in Paris, and then, in 1936, he returns by boat to his native Leningrad. Teaching is added to his professions: he teaches at the All-Russian Academy of Arts - the oldest and largest art educational institution in Russia. In September 1941, at the age of 66, the artist refused the offer of the People's Commissar of Education to evacuate from the besieged Leningrad to the rear. “They don’t run from a besieged fortress, they defend it,” he wrote in response. Under fascist shelling and bombing, the artist creates patriotic postcards for the front, writes articles and appeals to the heroic defenders of Leningrad. Bilibin died of starvation in the very first blockade winter and was buried in a mass grave of professors of the Academy of Arts near the Smolensk cemetery.

“Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, our wonderful graphic artist and stylist, died of exhaustion,” writes A.P. Ostroumov-Lebedev in Autobiographical Notes. - None of the artists was able to feel and perceive Russian folk art, which was widely distributed and flourished among our people. Ivan Yakovlevich loved it, studied it, implemented it in his beautiful graphic works. I don’t know the details of his death, I just heard that recently he lived in the basement of the Academy of Arts, since his apartment became uninhabitable from the bombing.