Which authors were illustrated by bilibin. Ivan Bilibin - a great master of "Old Russian" illustration

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin - famous Russian artist, illustrator. Born on August 4, 1876 in the village of Tarkhovka, St. Petersburg province - passed away on February 7, 1942 in Leningrad. The main genre in which Ivan Bilibin worked is book graphics. In addition, he created various murals, panels and made scenery for theatrical productions, and was engaged in the creation of theatrical costumes.

Yet most of admirers of the talent of this wonderful Russian knows him by his merit in the fine arts. I must say that Ivan Bilibin had good school to study the art of painting and graphics. It all started with the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts. Then there was the workshop of the artist A. Ashbe in Munich; at the school-workshop of Princess Maria Tenisheva, he studied painting under the guidance of Ilya Repin himself, then, under his leadership, there was the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts.

Most of his life, I.Ya. Bilibin lived in St. Petersburg. He was a member of the World of Art association. He began to show interest in the ethnographic style of painting after he saw a painting by the great artist Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov "Bogatyrs" at one of the exhibitions. For the first time, he created several illustrations in his recognizable "Bilibinsky" style after he accidentally ended up in the village of Yegny in the Tver province. Russian hinterland with its dense untrodden forests, wooden houses, similar to the very fairy tales of Pushkin and the paintings of Viktor Vasnetsov, inspired him so much with its originality that he, without thinking twice, set about creating drawings. It was these drawings that became illustrations for the book “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and gray wolf". It can be said that it was here, in the heart of Russia, in its distant, lost in the forests, settlements, that all the talent of this wonderful artist. After that, he began to actively visit other regions of our country and write more and more illustrations for fairy tales and epics. It was in the villages that the image was still preserved ancient Russia. People continued to wear ancient Russian costumes, held traditional holidays, decorated their houses with intricate carvings, and so on. Ivan Bilibin captured all this in his illustrations, making them head and shoulders above the illustrations of other artists due to their realism and accurately noticed details.

His work is the tradition of ancient Russian folk art in a modern way, in accordance with all the laws of book graphics. What he did is an example of how modernity and the culture of our past can coexist. great country. Being, in fact, an illustrator of children's books, he attracted the attention of a much larger audience of spectators, critics and connoisseurs of beauty with his art.

Ivan Bilibin illustrated such tales as: "The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf" (1899), "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" (1905), "Volga" (1905), "The Golden Cockerel" (1909 ), "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" (1910) and others. In addition, he designed the covers of various magazines, including: World of Art, Golden Fleece, editions of Rosehip and Moscow Book Publishing House.

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin is famous not only for his illustrations in the traditional Russian style. After the February Revolution, he painted a double-headed eagle, which at first was the coat of arms of the Provisional Government, and from 1992 to this day adorns the coins of the Bank of Russia. The great Russian artist died in Leningrad during the blockade on February 7, 1942 in the hospital. Last work became an illustration for the epic "Duke Stepanovich". Buried in mass grave professors of the Academy of Arts near the Smolensk cemetery.

The brilliant words of Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin: “Only quite recently, like America, they discovered the old artistic Russia, vandal-mutilated, covered in 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!".

Ivan Bilibin paintings

Baba Yaga. Illustration for the fairy tale Vasilisa the Beautiful

White rider. Fairy tale Vasilisa the Beautiful

Illustration for the epic Volga

Illustration for the fairy tale The White Duck

Fairy tale Marya Morevna

Illustration for the Tale of the Golden Cockerel

The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Illustration for the Tale of Tsar Saltan

Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf

Illustration for the Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf

Illustration for the fairy tale Feather Finist the Bright Falcon

Bilibino style: origin

The work of Ivan Bilibin is the tradition of ancient Russian folk art in a modern way, in accordance with all the laws of book graphics.

For the first time, he created several illustrations in his recognizable "Bilibinsky" style after he accidentally ended up in the village of Yegny in the Tver province. The Russian hinterland with its dense untrodden forests, wooden houses, similar to the very fairy tales of Pushkin and the paintings of Viktor Vasnetsov, inspired him so much with its originality that he, without thinking twice, set about creating drawings. It was these drawings that became illustrations for the book " The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf.

Illustrations by Ivan Bilibin for the book "The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf" (1899)

We can say that it was here, in the heart of Russia, in its distant, lost in the forests, settlements, that all the talent of this wonderful artist manifested itself. After that, he began to actively visit other regions of our country and write more and more illustrations for fairy tales and epics.

Bilibinsky style: features

The Bilibino drawing is characterized by a graphical representation. Starting work on the drawing, Bilibin sketched out a sketch of the future composition.

Process of execution by I. Ya. Bilibin graphic drawing reminiscent of the work of an engraver. Having sketched a sketch on paper, he refined the composition in all details on tracing paper, and then transferred it to whatman paper. After that, with a kolinsky brush with a cut end, likening it to a cutter, he ran along pencil drawing a clear wire outline in ink.

Black ornamental lines clearly limit the colors, set the volume and perspective in the plane of the sheet. filling watercolor paints black and white graphic drawing only emphasize the given lines. Bilibin generously used ornament to frame the drawings.

In their works Ivan Bilibin developed a system of graphic techniques, which made it possible to combine illustrations and design in one style, subordinating them to the plane book page. Character traits Bilibino style: the beauty of the patterned pattern, the exquisite decorative effect color combinations, a subtle visual embodiment of the world, a combination of bright fabulousness with a sense of folk humor, etc.

One of significant works Bilibin were illustrations for "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" A. S. Pushkin. This fairy tale, with its multicolored pictures of ancient Russian life, provided rich food for Bilibino's imagination. With amazing skill and great knowledge, the artist depicted ancient costumes and utensils.

Illustration by Ivan Bilibin for the book "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" (1904-1905)

Bilibinsky style: development

In Bilibin's later illustrations, the composition, as a rule, unfolds parallel to the plane of the sheet. Large figures appear in stately frozen poses. The conditional division of space into plans and the combination of different points of view in one composition make it possible to maintain flatness. Lighting completely disappears, the color becomes more conventional, the unpainted surface of the paper acquires an important role, the method of designation becomes more complicated. contour line, a strict system of strokes and dots is formed.

The further development of the Bilibino style is that in later illustrations, the artist moved from popular techniques to the principles of ancient Russian painting: The colors become louder and richer, but the boundaries between them are no longer indicated by a black wire outline, but by tonal thickening and a thin colored line. The colors seem to be shining, but retain locality and flatness, and the image sometimes resembles cloisonné enamel.

Illustration by Ivan Bilibin for the book "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" (1908)

What Ivan Bilibin did is an example of how modernity and the culture of the past can coexist. Being, in fact, an illustrator of children's books, he attracted the attention of a much larger audience of spectators, critics and connoisseurs of beauty with his art. In particular, and thanks to people like this artist, many of our compatriots began to be interested in the past, to deal with the problems of history and the restoration of the traditions and customs of their ancestors.

From methodological advice to the textbook Literature. Grade 5
Since fifth-graders rarely pay attention to the names of illustrators, we will ask them to read the names of the artists whose illustrations are placed in the textbook. It would be nice to bring some illustrated collections of Russian fairy tales to class. As a rule, children like the illustrations of Ivan Bilibin the most. Children say that this artist best conveys the mystery and antiquity of the Russian folk tale.

BILIBIN, IVAN YAKOVLEVICH (1876-1942), Russian artist. Born in the village of Tarkhovka (near St. Petersburg) on ​​August 4 (16), 1876 in the family of a military doctor. He studied at the school of A. Azhbe in Munich (1898), and also with I. E. Repin at the school-workshop of M. K. Tenisheva (1898–1900). He lived mainly in St. Petersburg, was an active member of the World of Art association. Having set out on the instructions of the ethnographic department of the Russian Museum on a trip to the northern provinces (1902-1904), he was greatly influenced by medieval wooden architecture, as well as peasant artistic folklore. He expressed his impressions not only in images, but also in a number of articles (Folk Art of the Russian North, 1904; and others). The traditional Japanese engraving on the tree.

Since 1899, creating design cycles for publishing fairy tales (Vasilisa the Beautiful, Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka, Finist the Clear Falcon, the Frog Princess, etc., including Pushkin's fairy tales about Tsar Saltan and the Golden Cockerel), he developed - in the technique of ink drawing, highlighted watercolor, - special " Bilibino style» book design, continuing the traditions of ancient Russian ornamentation. However, despite his artistic “nationalism”, the master adhered to liberal anti-monarchist sentiments, which were vividly expressed in his revolutionary cartoons of 1905–1906 (published in the magazines Zhupel and Infernal Mail). From 1904 he was successfully engaged in scenography (including in the entreprise of S.P. Diaghilev).

In the summer of 1899, Bilibin went to the village of Yegny, Tver province, to see for himself dense forests, transparent rivers, wooden huts, hear fairy tales and songs. Impressions from the recent exhibition of Viktor Vasnetsov came to life in the imagination. The artist Ivan Bilibin began illustrating Russian folk tales from Afanasyev's collection. And in the autumn of the same year, the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers (Goznak) began to publish a series of fairy tales with Bilibino drawings.

For 4 years, Bilibin illustrated seven fairy tales: "Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka", "White Duck", "The Frog Princess", "Maria Morevna", "The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf" , "Feather of Finist Yasna-Falcon", "Vasilisa the Beautiful". Editions of fairy tales belong to the type of small large-format books-notebooks. 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. 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 grebes (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.

Therefore, when preparing questions on illustrations, you can ask:

• What do you see in the ornament of the illustration?
• What role does the ornament play and how does it relate to the image?

The ornament was a favorite motif of ancient Russian masters and main feature contemporary art. 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 clothes made in the village of Yegny.

• What household items and buildings typical for the life of a peasant do you see in the illustrations?
• How does an artist show us how our ancestors lived?

From methodological advice to the textbook Literature. Grade 5 Fairy tale "The Frog Princess"

Framed illustrations by Bilibin floral ornament very accurately reflect the content of the story. 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 of the daughters-in-law. Vasnetsov in his picture does not dwell on the details, but perfectly conveys the movement of Vasilisa, the enthusiasm of the musicians, who, as it were, stamp their feet to the beat of a dance song. We can guess that the music Vasilisa dances to is cheerful, mischievous. When you look at this picture, you feel the nature of a fairy tale.

Tasks for illustrations for "The Frog Princess"

Students work with illustrations by I. Bilibin, determine which episode the artist illustrated, which of the illustrations most accurately conveys Magic world fairy tales, the characters of the heroes, determine how the illustrations of I. Bilibin differ from the paintings on fairy story V.M. Vasnetsov. This is how children learn comparative analysis illustrations and paintings, get the skills of matching images literary heroes with those created by artists.

Tasks for the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful"

Consider I.Ya. Bilibin's illustrations for the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful". Match them with appropriate captions from the text.

What signs fairy tale Did you notice while reading "Vasilisa the Beautiful"?

How do illustrations by I.Ya. Bilibin convey the magical world of a fairy tale?

Consider the illustration by I.Ya. Bilibin to the final episode of the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful". Describe the appearance of Vasilisa. Does your idea of ​​the heroine match the way the artist portrayed her?

Consider the illustration depicting the Baba Yaga. How did you imagine this witch?

Illustrations for the fairy tales of A. S. Pushkin

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 scenery and costumes for Rimsky-Korsakov's operas "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" and "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" by A. S. Pushkin.

Bilibin achieves special brilliance and fiction in his illustrations for the fairy tales of A. S. Pushkin. Luxurious royal chambers are completely covered with patterns, paintings, decorations. Here, the ornament so abundantly covers the floor, ceiling, walls, clothes of the king and the boyars that everything turns into a kind of unsteady vision that exists in a special illusory world and is about to disappear.

And here is a drawing where the king receives shipbuilders. In the foreground, the king sits on a throne, and the guests bow before him. We can see them all. The final scene of the feast: in front of us are the royal chambers, in the center there is a table covered with an embroidered tablecloth. Everyone sits at the table royal family.

In the watercolor illustrating Saltan's reception of shipbuilders, the space of the "stage" goes into perspective in depth, and in the foreground the tsar and his entourage are decorously seated on the throne. The guests bow before him in a ceremonial bow. They move from right to left, one after the other, so that it is convenient for us to examine them, not so much for the king as for us, move to the middle of the stage. Their brocade, velvet attire, a large ornament of precious fabrics turn the foreground into some kind of moving carpet.

The illustration for the final scene of the feast is even more theatrical. Its center is the plane of the tiled floor of the royal refectory. Archers with reeds stand in lines converging in depth. The background is closed by an embroidered tablecloth, a table at which the entire royal family sits. Attention is attracted only by the boyar sitting on the floor and playing with the cat. Perhaps this is the image of the narrator, who concludes the tale with a traditional ending.

I was there: honey, drinking beer -
And his mustache just wet.)

Ivan Bilibin - Russian artist, graphic artist, theater artist, member artistic association"World of Art", the author of paintings and colorful illustrations for Russian fairy tales and epics.

It is as an illustrator of fairy tales and epics that he is better known. The images of fairy tales remain in memory for a long time, not only because of their special poetry, but also thanks to colorful illustrations that are remembered from childhood.
It is difficult to imagine Vasilisa the Beautiful or Baba Yaga outside the images created by Ivan Bilibin.

I. Bilibin "Vasilisa the Beautiful leaves Baba Yaga's hut" (1900)

I. Bilibin "Baba Yaga" (1900)
Illustrating fairy tales, the artist created entire "gingerbread" kingdoms. His artistic style is very peculiar: it is based on the stylization of the motifs of Russian folk and medieval art.

I. Bilibin. Illustration for the fairy tale "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka"

Bilibin did not immediately come to his theme in art. But he was forever captivated by the world he once saw of a fairy tale by V. Vasnetsov. Already in 1899-1900. Bilibin illustrates a series of Russian folk tales: “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf”, “The Frog Princess”, “Vasilisa the Beautiful”, “Maria Morevna”, etc. Then he gradually developed his own style: clearly expressed contour drawing, local color spot, ornament and pattern. All this he develops in the future.
To book graphics his illustrations include “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf” (1899), “Vasilisa the Beautiful” (1900, 1902), “The Frog Princess” (1899), “The Feather of Finist Yasna-Falcon” ( 1900), Marya Morevna (1901), Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka (1902), White Duck (1902), epic Volga (1903), The Tale of Tsar Saltan by A. S. Pushkin ( 1904-1905), "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" by A. S. Pushkin (1906), "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by A. S. Pushkin (1908), "Tales" by A. S. Roslavlev (1911), the fairy tale "Go there - I don’t know where, bring it - I don’t know what ... ”(1913).

I. Bilibin. Illustration for the fairy tale "The Frog Princess" (1899)
His creative search for his own style and his own subject matter partially coincided with the position of other illustrators, representatives of the "World of Art" - A. Benois, K. Somov, L. Bakst and others, so he became a member of their association. But there were also differences between these artists: for the most part, the World of Art turned to the era of French Rococo, then Russian Baroque and Empire, and Bilibin was attracted by the theme of pre-Petrine Russia.

From the biography of I. Bilibin

B. Kustodiev. Portrait of I.Ya. Bilibina (1901)
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was born on August 4, 1876 in the Tarkhovka estate not far from St. Petersburg. His father was a military doctor, a descendant of an old merchant family. The father wanted his son to become a lawyer, and Ivan entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. At that time, many future artists studied at the Faculty of Law: Alexander Benois, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Sergei Diaghilev, Nicholas Roerich.
I. Bilibin. Illustration for the fairy tale "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka"
In 1898, Bilibin studied painting in the studio of A. Azhbe in Munich, then in 1899-1900. studied at the school-workshop of Princess M.K. Tenisheva with Ilya Repin. In St. Petersburg, Bilibin was an active member of the World of Art association.

northern expedition

In 1902-1904. Bilibin, on the instructions of the ethnographic department of the Russian Museum, went on an expedition to the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Tver, Olonets provinces, and later to Karelia and Kizhi. He not only created a photo archive of wooden architecture, but also brought lace, spinning wheels, dishes, caskets, embroideries and other handicrafts to St. Petersburg: “Only recently they discovered, like America, old artistic Russia, vandal mutilated, covered with dust and mold. But even under the dust it was beautiful, so beautiful that the impulse of those who discovered it is quite understandable - to return it! Bring it back!” he urged.

I. Bilibin. Illustration for the fairy tale "Marya Morevna" (1900)
Bilibin was one of the first Russian artists to tour the Russian North, studying its original art. The world of lubok, woodcarving, ancient Russian architecture, folk weaving, he then embodied in his illustrations, and this played a decisive role in the formation of the Bilibino style.

I. Bilibin. Illustration for "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" (Komar)

“I am a big nationalist and love Russia very much” (I. Bilibin)

After February Revolution Bilibin created a drawing of a double-headed eagle, which was used as the coat of arms of the Provisional Government, and since 1992 this eagle has been on the coins of the Bank of Russia.
Bilibin did not accept the October Revolution. In 1920 he evacuated with the White Army from Novorossiysk, lived in Cairo and Alexandria, and in 1925 moved to Paris. There he actively continued his work in book art and scenography. To decorate private houses and restaurants, he created colorful panels. His style was called "Russ style" abroad.
In Egypt and Czechoslovakia, Bilibin designed several Orthodox churches.

I. Bilibin. Illustration for the epic "Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor" (1940)
In 1936 he returned to Russia and settled again in Leningrad. He taught at the All-Russian Academy of Arts, re-designed The Tale of Tsar Saltan, as well as the opera of the same name by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov in State theater Opera and Ballet named after S.M. Kirov. He made illustrations for the novel by A. N. Tolstoy "Peter I" (1937) and for "The Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov" by M. Yu. Lermontov (1939).

Illustration by I. Bilibin for "The Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov" by M.Yu. Lermontov
Died in besieged Leningrad from hunger in 1942. He did not agree to leave the besieged city, answering this proposal categorically: “They do not flee from a besieged fortress. They protect her." He was buried in the mass grave of professors of the Academy of Arts near the Smolensk cemetery.

Mass grave where the great Russian artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin rests

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin worked at the turn of two centuries, became famous as an artist, illustrator, and a great master of theatrical scenery. He created own style in graphics, which was very fond of the viewer and found many imitators. The fate of this amazing master and his exquisite heritage in art invariably remain in the center of attention of a 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 were well-known Kaluga merchants, famous for patronage and keen interest in the fate of the fatherland. The artist's father, Yakov Ivanovich Bilibin, was a naval doctor, then head of the hospital and medical inspector of the imperial fleet, participated in Russian-Turkish war. The father dreamed of seeing his son as a lawyer, and young Ivan Bilibin, after graduating from high school, entered St. Petersburg University at the Faculty of Law.

The young man studied conscientiously, listened to the full course of lectures, defended thesis. But next to this quite practical prospect, which promised a brilliant legal future, another dream always lived. He has been drawing with passion since childhood. Simultaneously with his studies at the university, Bilibin comprehended the science of painting and graphics at the Drawing School of the OPH (Society for the Encouragement of 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 developed in students the ability to find an individual artistic manner. At home, Bilibin studied diligently in the painting workshop under the guidance of Ilya Repin.

Favorite topic

At the time of Bilibin's studies at the Higher art school The Academy of Arts, where Repin arranged for the young man, hosted an exhibition of Viktor Vasnetsov, who wrote in a unique romantic manner on the themes of Russian myths and fairy tales. The spectators of the exhibition were 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 something that his soul unconsciously yearned for and yearned for.

In the years 1899-1902, the Russian Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers published a series of books, provided 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. Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich was listed as the author of the drawings.

Illustrations for folk tales

His understanding of the national spirit and poetry, which 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 Yegny, in the Tver province, in 1902 he studied the culture and ethnography of the Vologda province, for a year later artist visited Olonets and Arkhangelsk provinces. Bilibin brought a collection of works from his trips folk artists, photos 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 was Bilibin's original works, which revealed the master's predilection for graphics and a very special style. Two bright talents lived in Bilibin - a researcher and an artist, and one gift nourished the other. Ivan Yakovlevich worked with particular care on the details, not allowing himself to be out of tune in a single line.

Style specifics

Why is Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin so different from other artists in his manner? 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 the utmost detail and colored with a bizarre watercolor range of the most cheerful shades. His illustrations for epics and fairy tales are amazingly detailed, lively, poetic and not devoid of humor.

Taking care of the historical authenticity of the image, which was manifested in the drawings in the details of the costume, architecture, utensils, the master was able to create an atmosphere of magic and mysterious beauty. This is very close in spirit to creative association"World of Art" Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, whose biography is closely connected with this group of artists. All of them were related by an interest in the culture of the past, in the enticing charms of antiquity.

Worldview in drawings

From 1907 to 1911 Bilibin created whole line unsurpassed illustrations for epics and fabulous poetic works of 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, no doubt, master Bilibin read with his soul.

Ivan Tsarevich and the frog who turned into a princess, and Yaga, Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber, Elena the Beautiful, Churila Plenkovich, Svyatogor - how many heroes Ivan Yakovlevich felt with his heart and "revived" on a piece of paper!

Folk art also gave the master some techniques: ornamental and popular prints art space which Bilibin brought to perfection in his creations.

Activities in print media

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 Bilibin's elegant and meaningful vignettes, headpieces, covers and posters.

worldwide fame

The works of the Russian master of graphics 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 Bilibin ordered sketches for the design of performances.

satirical drawings

For a decade between 1920-1930, Ivan Yakovlevich fruitfully and successfully worked on the design theatrical productions: made drawings for opera seasons at the Champs-Elysées theater, worked at the Russian Opera in Paris enterprise, created outlandish sketches for Stravinsky's ballet The Firebird.

Return

Life in exile was rich and free, but the growing longing for Russia did not leave the artist. During his voluntary exile, he did not take 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 was warmly welcomed new government and became a professor at the graphic workshop of the Institute of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture of the Academy of Arts in Leningrad. He did not leave work in the field of book graphics.

He died in besieged Leningrad in 1942 from starvation and was buried in a mass professor's grave at the Smolensk cemetery.

The trace that the amazing Russian artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin left in the history of world art is clear and bright. 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, are exhibited in the Theater Museum. Bakhrushin in Moscow, at the Kiev Museum of Russian Art, at the London Victoria and Albert Museum, at the Paris National Gallery, at the Oxford Ashmolean Museum and many others.