“Big Bilibinsky” style. Fairytale illustrations

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 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.

“As far as I can remember,” he later recalled, “I have always drawn.” The idols were the Itinerant artists. “I grew up in an intelligent family with a liberal touch,” Bilibin wrote. - The traveling exhibition was always expected with great interest: will it give anything this year? The attitude towards the other, academic exhibition was different; there was no anticipation of it or that love.”

Bilibin was young, handsome and inventive in 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, student with a curious bouncing gait, he was most often called Ivan Yakolich, but I learned his last name later, and it 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 instigators in terms of witticisms, cheerful conversations and general songs while drawing, but then I saw that this He was the sweetest person, very cheerful, sociable...”

In the Tenishevskaya 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 dark skin, he had bluish-black hair and beautiful dark eyes. Bilibin knew that he was good and surprised his comrades with his unexpected outfits. I really remember him when he came in a bright blue frock coat.”

After education artistic association"World of Art" becomes its active member.
The founders of the “World of Art” sympathized with the West. For Alexander Nikolaevich Benois, France was the light in the window, and Konstantin Andreevich Somov and Lev Samoilovich Bakst generally spent most of their lives in Paris. If we talk about the time perspective, then all of them were impressed by the gallant 18th century. Many associated the ideas brought by World of Arts artists to France and the 18th century. Russian art.

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

For the refinement of this style, the energy of his 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 respectable realism. In the album of one of his friends, he wrote: “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... 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”2. In the first place is not Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930), but Genrikh Ippolitovich Semiradsky (1843-1902), realistic in his work, even naturalistic, but very far from the Itinerant artists.

Characterizing the artist’s creative style, the famous art critic and bibliologist Alexei Alekseevich Sidorov (1891-1978) wrote: “From the very beginning, Bilibin adopted a special planar system of drawing and the entire composition, basically composed of linear patterns, stylized, most likely, following the example of the northern , Norwegian or Finnish artists, images in a frame, equally stylized and ornamental, using motifs of Russian folk embroidery and wood carving.”
“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!" - wrote Ivan Bilibin.

From the very beginning, Bilibin's books were distinguished by their patterned designs and bright decorativeness. Bilibin 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 the fonts of different eras well, especially the Old Russian ustav and semi-ustav. For all six books, Bilibin draws the same cover, on which there are 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 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 ancient Russian masters and the main feature of the 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.

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

In November 1904, the next issue of the magazine “World of Art” was published, almost entirely dedicated to Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. The artist himself designs it, illustrates it and places in it the article “Folk Art of the North.”

Bilibin subsequently published black-and-white, graphically very accurate drawings made in northern Russian villages on the pages of the magazine “National Education”. Alexander Nikolaevich Benois called Bilibin “one of the best experts on Russian antiquity”8.

The 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 Conference on Arts, which, under the chairmanship of Maxim Gorky, worked under the Provisional Government.

The same double-headed eagle that is now used on the coins of the Bank of Russia belongs to the brush of the heraldry expert Bilibin. The artist painted it after the February Revolution as a coat of arms for the Provisional Government, and since 1992 this eagle has again become an official Russian symbol. The bird looks fabulous, not ominous, because it was drawn by a 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 the characteristic “forest” Bilibinsky ornament are written around the circle. Bilibin transferred the copyright to the coat of arms and some other graphic designs to the Goznak factory.

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

Over time, Bilibin came to terms with Soviet power. He formalizes the Soviet embassy in Paris, and then, in 1936, returns by boat to his native Leningrad. Teaching is added to his profession: he teaches at the All-Russian Academy of Arts - the oldest and largest artistic institution in Russia educational institution. In September 1941, at the age of 66, the artist refused the proposal of the People's Commissar of Education to evacuate from 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 hunger in the first winter of the siege and was buried in the 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. Ostroumova-Lebedev in “Autobiographical Notes.” - Not a single artist was able to feel and perceive Russian folk art, which spread widely and flourished among our people. Ivan Yakovlevich loved it, studied it, and transformed it into his beautiful graphic works. I don’t know the details of his death, I just heard that lately he lived in the basement of the Academy of Arts, since his apartment became uninhabitable due to the bombing.”

To use presentation previews, create a Google account and log in to it: https://accounts.google.com

Slide captions:

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin BIOGRAPHY

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin is a famous Russian artist and illustrator. The main genre in which Ivan Bilibin worked is considered to be book graphics. In addition, he created various paintings, panels, made scenery for theatrical productions, and created 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 the Arts. He then went to Munich and attended classes with the Slovenian painter Anton Ashbe for more than a month.

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

Painting workshop of Professor Ilya Repin. Stage setting. 1897-1898

After the association of artists in the “World of Art”, Bilibin became its active visitor. Artist, founder of the World of Art association, author of hundreds of articles, theater critic and director, Alexander Benois proved by personal example: a talented person is talented in everything.

Ivan Bilibin usually lived in St. Petersburg, but after a visit to the village of Yogny, he was so impressed that he created paintings for the book based on Russian folk tales. Then, on instructions from 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 I. Bilibin’s collection “Russian North” Wing of the church. Kokshenga village. Village of Maly Kholui. 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 tales and epics. The artist also designed theatrical productions. The style in which the artist worked began to be called by his name - “Bilibinsky”. Kem. Cemetery. The village of Poduzhemie.

Bilibin made illustrations for Russians folk tales“The Frog Princess”, “The Feather of Finist-Yasna Falcon”, “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 scenography. “Sadko” Sketches of theatrical scenery “Ruslan and Lyudmila” The Tale of the Golden Cockerel

Chernomor Gardens. 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 preserves unique paintings based on sketches by I.Ya. Bilibin. Nizhny Novgorod. 1913 The State Bank building opens on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya (to mark the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov).

The revolution of 1917 disrupted the artist's plans. In the fall he left Petrograd for Crimea, then to Novorossiysk, and at the beginning of 1920 he managed to get to 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 AND I. Bilibina. The artist did what he loved - he designed performances and made several designs for 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 iconostasis for the Russian church - the Church of the Assumption Holy Mother of God at the Olsany Cemetery in Prague. (1927)

Sketches of frescoes and iconostasis for the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 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 most famous were 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 Russian fairy tales. In 1932, “Fairy Tales of Wigs” by Jeanne Roche-Mazon 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-Mazon. Fairy tales are crazy. French edition of Russian peoples. fairy tales "Tales from the Hut" (1930)

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

In 1936, Bilibin returned to his homeland, 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 perhaps did not want to. Having survived all the conceivable and inconceivable torments 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. Repina.

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

Sources 1. T.V. Yuryeva. Orthodox churches northern Africa. http://vestnik.yspu.org/releases/novye_Issledovaniy/29_5/ 2. Severyukhin D.Ya., Leykind O.L. Artists of Russian emigration. Biographical Dictionary. St. Petersburg, 1994.P.83. 3. Belyakov V.V. “To the shores of the sacred Nile...” Russians in Egypt. M., 2003. P.208.

Fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful"

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 Old Russian and folk art, Bilibin developed a logically consistent system of graphic techniques that remained fundamental throughout his 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.

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 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.

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 specifics book graphics, he emphasizes the plane with a 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 became 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. Pushkin's fairy tales were a huge success. 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, on ruble coins and paper bills does not look like an ominous imperial bird, but like a fabulous, magical creature. And in the picture gallery of paper money of modern Russia, on the ten-ruble “Krasnoyarsk” bill, 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 the financial authorities of Tsarist Russia, Bilibin transferred the copyright to many of his graphic designs to the Gosznak factory.

"The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and 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 painting of the Russian temple in Prague, scenery and costumes for Russian operas “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., fine arts. 1972. P.5

"The Tale of Tsar Saltan" 1904

Fairy tale "Marya Morevna" 1901

Fairy tale "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka" 1901

The fairy tale "The Feather of Finist Yasna-Falcon" 1900

Fairy tale "The Frog Princess" 1901

Ending to "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish"

Ivan Bilibin, who lived in Cairo in the 1920s, unexpectedly receives a letter from Petrograd from his former student Shurochka Shchekatikhina. Bilibin is so touched by this letter that he sends a telegram in response: “Marry me.” Two days later Shurochka sends her consent. Oddly enough, the marriage turned out well and Bilibin lived with Shurochka all his life.

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin worked at the turn of two centuries and became famous as an artist, illustrator, and an excellent master of theatrical decoration. He created his own graphic style, which was very much loved by the audience and found many imitators. The fate of this amazing master and his exquisite legacy in art invariably remains in the center of attention of a modern cultured person.

The beginning of the journey

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, and participated in the Russian-Turkish war. The father dreamed of seeing his son become a lawyer, and young Ivan Bilibin, after graduating from high school, entered the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University.

The young man studied conscientiously, listened to a full course of lectures, and defended his thesis. But next to this completely practical prospect that promised a brilliant legal future, another dream always lived. He drew with passion since childhood. 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.

Favorite topic

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 the artist visited the Olonets and Arkhangelsk provinces. Bilibin brought back a collection of works from his trips folk artists, photographs of wooden architecture.

His impressions resulted in journalistic works and scientific reports about 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

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. 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.

Worldview in drawings

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, 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 decorating artistic 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 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 Bilibin to design sketches for performances.

Satirical drawings

The decade between 1920-1930 Ivan Yakovlevich fruitfully and successfully worked on the design theatrical productions: made drawings for opera seasons at the Champs-Elysees theater, worked in 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 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 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.

Died in besieged Leningrad in 1942 from hunger and was buried in a common 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 London's Victoria and Albert Museum, in the Paris National Gallery, in the Oxford Ashmolean Museum and many others.

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), sov. artist, theater decorator, graphic artist. He was a member of the World of Art association. Graphic B.'s style was formed under the influence of people. art va (splint print, embroidery, wood carving), as well as icon painting, etc. Russian. book miniature. Known illustrations... ... Lermontov Encyclopedia

Bilibin, Ivan Yakovlevich, painter. Born in St. Petersburg in 1876; Graduated from the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University. He received his artistic education at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts; in Munich I worked in a 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 a volunteer (1900-04). He taught at the Risovalnaya... Art encyclopedia

Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich- (18761942), graphic artist and theater artist, Doctor of Art History (1939). He studied at the Drawing School of the College of Arts (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 at 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 motifs of Russian folk and medieval art... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1876 1942), graphic artist and theater artist, Doctor of Art History (1939). He studied at the Drawing School of the College of Arts (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, works by A. S. Pushkin (“The Tale of the Golden Cockerel”, published 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 Russians... ... 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 by his hands would not want to put it down...
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, Melnichuk Oksana. ABOUT creative destiny a talented Russian graphic artist who made a huge contribution to Russian art. About the life of Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, covering the period Silver Age and difficult Soviet...