Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (August 4 (16), 1876 (18760816) - February 7, 1942) - Russian artist, book illustrator and theater designer, member of the World of Art association.
Source of plots: national epic, epics, fairy tales. Formal interpretation of the heritage of pagan art and Ancient Rus', and folk art. Bilibin himself called his craving for Russian folk art - "the voice of blood."
Bilibin has always and everywhere remained one of the most desired embodiments of the Russian theme in the art of books and theatrical painting.
Born on August 4 (16), 1876 in the village of Tarkhovka (near St. Petersburg), in the family of a naval doctor Yakov Ivanovich Bilibin.
In 1888 he entered the First St. Petersburg Classical Gymnasium, from which he graduated with a silver medal in 1896. In 1900 he graduated Faculty of Law 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 Academy of Arts.
He lived mainly in St. Petersburg. After education artistic association"World of Art" becomes an active member.
In 1899, Bilibin accidentally arrives in the village of Yegny, Vesyegonsky district, Tver province. Here, for the first time, he creates illustrations in the later "Bilibino" style for his first book, The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf.
1902-1904 the artist participated in archaeological expeditions in the Russian North (note where he is sent by the ethnographic department of the Museum Alexander III to study wooden architecture.), traveled to remote corners of the Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Olonets and Tver provinces, where he photographed and made sketches from wooden huts and churches, costumes, embroideries, utensils, household items, collected ancient Russian icons, Russian popular prints and gingerbread boards , engravings.
Bilibin's artistic talent was clearly manifested in his illustrations for Russian fairy tales and epics, as well as in his work on theatrical productions. From 1899 to 1902, he creates a series of six "Tales" published by the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers, then the same publishing house publishes Pushkin's tales with illustrations by Bilibin. In particular, The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1905) and The Tale of the Golden Cockerel (1910) appeared. In 1905, the Volga epic illustrated by Bilibin was published, and in 1911, Roslavlev's tales were published by the Public Benefit publishing house. The production of the opera The Golden Cockerel designed by Bilibin in 1909 at the Zimin Theater in Moscow belongs to the same “fairy tale” style with ancient Russian ornamental motifs.
In the spirit of the French mystery, he presented the “Miracle of St. Theophilus (1907), recreating a medieval religious drama; Spain of the 17th century inspired the costume designs for Lope de Vega's drama "The Sheep Spring", for Calderon's drama "The Purgatory of St. Patrick" - theatrical performance " Ancient Theater in 1911. A playful caricature of the same Spain emanates from Fyodor Sologub's vaudeville "Honor and Revenge", staged by Bilibin in 1909.
Screensavers, endings, covers and other works by Bilibin are found in such magazines of the early 20th century as World of Art, The Golden Fleece”, in the publications of Rosepovnik and Moscow Book Publishing House.
During the revolution of 1905, the artist creates revolutionary caricatures.
Since 1907, Bilibin has been teaching a class of graphic art at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, continuing teaching until 1917. Among his students at the school were George Narbut, Konstantin Eliseev, L. Ya. Khortik, A. Rozileht (August Roosileht), Nikolai Kuzmin, Rene O'Connell, K. D. Voronets-Popova.
In 1912 he married a second marriage to R. R. O'Connell. In the same year, a group of Moscow and St. Petersburg intellectuals bought a plot of land on the southern coast of Crimea in Batiliman for the construction of dachas. Bilibin was one of the partners, the other shareholders were writers Vladimir Korolenko, Alexander Kuprin, Sergey Elpatyevsky, Evgeny Chirikov, artist Vladimir Derviz, professors Abram Ioffe, Vladimir Vernadsky, Mikhail Rostovtsev. By lot, Bilibin got a piece of land near the sea, on which a fishing house already stood. A workshop was attached to the house. After that, every year, at the end of classes at the OPH school, Bilibin went to Batiliman and returned to St. Petersburg in the fall for the start of classes.
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The phrase "Russian fairy tale" inevitably gives rise in our imagination to the terrible Baba Yaga in a mortar, Vasilisa the Beautiful with a long braid, Ivan Tsarevich at the moss-covered stone at the crossroads. All these images were born from the imagination of Ivan Bilibin and crashed into our memory so strongly precisely thanks to his artistic skill. It is still difficult to imagine more suitable illustrations for Russian fairy tales - from folk like "The Frog Princess" to Pushkin's "Ruslan and Lyudmila" and "The Tale of Tsar Saltan". "Mel" remembered the most notable works Bilibin, whose 140th birthday was celebrated on August 16.
For those who are preparing for the main school exam
Bilibin's style is unmistakably recognizable: each image is extremely expressive, each detail is a documentary accurate reproduction of the actual cut of clothing or casing. At the same time, the most famous designer of Russian fairy tales might not have become an artist.
Bilibin graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University, but the love of painting quickly took over. Bilibin studied drawing at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, then - in the workshop of Ilya Repin, folk and decorative arts studied on trips around Russia, especially in its North.
All adulthood Ivan Bilibin illustrated Russian fairy tales and epics, and also designed theatrical performances. Among his works: the folk "The Frog Princess", "Vasilisa the Beautiful", "Marya Morevna", "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" and "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" by Pushkin, opera performances of "The Golden Cockerel" and "Sadko" by Rimsky-Korsakov , "Ruslan and Lyudmila" Glinka.
Ivan Bilibin taught at the All-Russian Academy of Arts, together with other artists created the Society for the Revival of Artistic Rus'. He studied folk art in articles for the magazine "World of Art". The double-headed eagle on the coins of the Central Bank of Russia is also an invention of Bilibin. The artist painted it after February Revolution as an emblem for the Provisional Government, and then transferred the copyright to the Goznak factory. Ivan Bilibin lived to see the blockade of Leningrad and died in the besieged city.
Ivan Tsarevich and the Firebird. Illustrations for "The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf", 1899
"Vasilisa the Beautiful leaves the house of Baba Yaga", Illustration for the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful", 1899
"Baba Yaga", Illustration for the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful", 1900
"Vasilisa the Beautiful and the White Rider", Illustration for the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful", 1900
"Red Rider", Illustration for the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful", 1900
Screensaver for the fairy tale "The Frog Princess", 1899
"Illustration for the proverb 'Once upon a time there was a king...' from the book 'The Frog Princess'", 1900
« Good fellow, Ivan Tsarevich and his three sisters”, Illustration for the fairy tale “Marya Morevna”, 1901
"Koschey the Immortal", Illustration for the fairy tale "Marya Morevna", 1901
"Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka", Illustration for the fairy tale "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka", 1901
Wonderful Ivan Bilibin. This artist is famous for his illustrations for children's books with Russian folk tales. He took his characters, the environment, the atmosphere of each drawing from the Russian tradition. Fortunately, it is so rich with us that we do not need to invent anything. Epics and fairy tale characters in his drawings give books new life. Reading such books, you can imagine that you are watching a cartoon.
As is known about the artist himself, who grew up in St. Petersburg, at first he did not show interest in Russian antiquity, but was engaged in more portraits, landscapes, etc. It all started with the fact that in 1899 he got to the exhibition of a remarkable Russian artist. His painting Bogatyrs impressed the young artist so much that he developed an extraordinary interest in the history of Russian culture. By coincidence, Ivan this summer ends up in the village of Yegny, in the Tver region. Here it is located in the very heart of the Russian forest, where legends and fairy tales still live, and goblin and mermaids are almost real creatures.
The first book illustrated by I. Bilibin is a collection of fairy tales by Afanasyev. Over the next seven years, he illustrated seven fairy tales, including: Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka, the Frog Princess, Vasilisa the Beautiful and others. Bilibin's drawings are distinguished by bright decorativeness, patterning, attractive design, frames and a subtle sense of work. Many people of our country literally grew up on his drawings and illustrations. Often, fairy tales are understood exactly as the artist saw them. He approached each work very carefully and scrupulously. He accurately recreated the clothes, utensils, character of buildings inherent in that time.
In his case, she received a new life. If earlier these were some sketches made quickly and almost hastily, now they are real works of art. Ivan Bilibin, in order to constantly improve his skills, constantly studied fine art and often traveled to remote villages and villages. In the distant and forgotten corners of Russia, he studied national clothes, rituals, customs that have been preserved for a long time and practically did not undergo any trends of civilization.
For those who are engaged in the revival of native traditions, I strongly recommend reading the article to the end.
In the previous article, about the fashion for Russian patterns in clothes during the period of the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, it was about some “tricks” that appear at a time when interest in Russian culture increases.
We will reveal this topic in more detail using the example of creativity for everyone. famous artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (1876 - 1942).
Most of those who were born in the USSR began to comprehend this world with Russian fairy tales “Vasilisa the Beautiful”, “Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka”, “Marya Morevna”, “Feather Finist-Yasna Sokol”, “ white duck", "Princess Frog". Almost every child also knew the tales of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin - "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish", "The Tale of Tsar Saltan", "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel".
Fairy tales were read by parents, grandparents from children's books with drawings. And we knew every fairy tale by heart and every picture in our favorite book. Pictures from books with fairy tales were one of the first images of ours that we absorbed naturally in a childish way. Just like in these pictures, we then imagined Vasilisa the Beautiful.
And most of these pictures belonged to the brush of Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. Can you imagine what influence this artist had on our worldview, our perception of Russian myths, epics and fairy tales? Who is he?
Ivan Bilibin was born on August 4 (August 16), 1876, in Tarkhovka, near St. Petersburg.
The Bilibins family is a separate topic of consideration, let's just say that this family is from merchant merchants, as a result, the owners of factories. This is enough for now.
Next, we look at where Ivan Yakovlevich studied. He studied at the studio of Anton Azhbe in Munich (1898), as well as at the school-workshop of Princess Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva with Ilya Efimovich Repin (1898-1900). Systematic drawing classes under the guidance of Ilya Repin and acquaintance with the magazine and the World of Art society (!) contributed to the development of mastery and common culture Bilibin. Bilibin's work was greatly influenced by Japanese (!) xylography (woodcut).
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin - is considered a Russian artist, graphic artist, theater artist, author of illustrations for Russian epics and fairy tales in a decorative and graphic ornamental manner based on the stylization of Russian folk and medieval art, one of the largest masters of the "national-romantic" direction in the Russian version of the Art Nouveau style (!).
But Bilibin himself considered himself a "nationalist artist."
Art Nouveau, at that time, sought to become a single synthetic style in which all elements from the human environment were made in the same key. Art Nouveau artists drew inspiration from art ancient egypt(!) and other ancient civilizations Art Nouveau had a noticeable influence on the art of Japan, which became more accessible in the West with the beginning of the Meiji era. A feature of Art Nouveau was the rejection of right angles and lines in favor of smoother, curved lines. Often, modern artists took ornaments from flora. « calling card” of this style was the embroidery of Herman Obrist “Blow of the scourge”.
Further - more interesting.
Bilibin, living in St. Petersburg, was an active member of the World of Art association.
The founders of the "World of Art" (1898-1924) were the St. Petersburg artist Alexander Nikolaevich Benois and the "theatrical figure-philanthropist" Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev
Reader, take the time to find information on the Internet about what kind of people they were. You will immediately understand the essence of the association that you belonged to or were close to:
Bakst Lev Samoilovich
Zionglinsky Yan Frantsevich
Dobuzhinsky Mstislav Valerianovich
Roerich Nicholas Konstantinovich
Purvit Wilhelm
Vereisky Georgy Semyonovich
Lansere Evgeny Evgenievich
Chambers Vladimir Yakovlevich
Mitrokhin Dmitry Isidorovich
Ostroumova-Lebedeva Anna Petrovna
Levitan Isaac Ilyich
Yakovlev Alexander Evgenievich
Somov Konstantin Andreevich
Golovin Alexander Yakovlevich
Grabar Igor Emmanuilovich
Korovin Konstantin Alekseevich
Kustodiev Boris Mikhailovich
Serov Valentin Alexandrovich
Vrubel Mikhail Alexandrovich
Sketch group portrait artists of the World of Art. From left to right: I.E. Grabar, N.K. Roerich, E.E. Lansere, B.M. Kustodiev, I.Ya. Bilibin, A.P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva, A.N. Benois, G.I. Narbut, K.S. Petrov-Vodkin, N.D. Milioti, K.A. Somov, M.V. Dobuzhinsky.
This is such a fun environment!
Now you understand why the Bilibino "gingerbread kingdoms" are frankly surreal, riddled with crafty irony?
Now do you understand why Bilibin had an anti-monarchist-LIBERAL worldview?
That is why the artist took part in the satirical magazines Zhupel and Infernal Post, which appeared during the First Russian Revolution of 1905. His political grotesques stand out for their evil sarcasm, merciless to the existing system. Such, in particular, is the caricature of Nicholas II (“Donkey in 1/20 of natural size”, 1906), for which he was even subjected to a brief administrative arrest!
Yes, there was Bilibin on an expedition to the Russian North (1905–1908).
Yes, I was interested in the “pre-Petrine” era.
Yes, everything unique in his work began with an exhibition of Moscow artists in 1899, at which Bilibin saw Vasnetsov's painting "Bogatyrs".
That is why, brought up in a St. Petersburg environment, far from hobbies for the national past, the artist unexpectedly showed interest in Russian antiquity, fairy tales, folk art!
Yes, Bilibin was interested in the atmosphere of Russian antiquity, epic, fairy tales. And he had rich material of the expedition, photographs of embroidery of tablecloths, towels, peasant buildings, utensils, clothes. There were sketches made in the village of Yegny. These are painted wooden and earthenware, houses with carved architraves and chapels.
But Bilibin, despite the thoroughness of the technique of performing his works, did not seek to convey the originality of the patterns, ornaments and decorations of our ancestors!
But it was Russian patterns and ornaments that were the favorite motif of the ancient Russian masters and carried a deep semantic load.
But from genuine ornaments, details, Bilibin created a semi-real, semi-fantastic image! All page illustrations are surrounded by ornamental frames, just like rustic windows with carved platbands. But these ornamental frames do not carry originality and traditionalism, but reflect only Bilibin's view and have only a decorative function!
In the fairy tale “Vasilisa the Beautiful”, the illustration with the Red Horseman (the sun) is surrounded by flowers for some reason.
And the Black Horseman (night) is 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? Yes?).
Yes, and Baba Yaga herself is terrible and terrible!
Bilibin, having the opportunity to revive the art of the pre-Petrine era, created Art Nouveau, a "remake", that is, a "fake" - "trick". Very carefully executed, with elaboration of fonts, stylized as an old manuscript, distinguished by a patterned pattern and bright decorative effect "FALSE"!
Maybe that's why "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" was the most successful artist? Bilibin achieves special brilliance and fiction in his illustrations. Luxurious royal chambers are completely covered with patterns, paintings, decorations. Here, the ornament so abundantly covers the floor, ceiling, walls, clothes of the tsar and the boyars that everything turns into a kind of unsteady vision that exists in a special illusory world and ready to disappear.
Just like in "The Tale of Tsar Saltan"
When the Bolsheviks came to power, Ivan Bilibin participated in the propaganda of the Denikin government, and in 1920 he was evacuated from Novorossiysk together with the White Army, lived in Cairo and Alexandria, where he actively worked in Alexandria, traveled around the Middle East, studying the artistic heritage of ancient civilizations and Christian Byzantine Empire.
Then, in 1925, he moved to Paris. In 1925 he settled in France: the work of these years - the design of the magazine "Firebird", "Readers on the history of Russian literature", books by Ivan Bunin, Sasha Cherny, as well as the painting of the Russian church in Prague, scenery and costumes for Russian operas The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1929), The Tsar's Bride (1930), The Tale of the City of Kitezh (1934) N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, "Prince Igor" by A.P. Borodin (1930), "Boris Godunov" by M.P. Mussorgsky (1931), for the ballet The Firebird by I.F. Stravinsky (1931).
Bilibin created many colorful panels to decorate private houses and restaurants. His decorative style - patterned, exotically catchy - has become a kind of standard of "Russ style", that is, "Russian style", abroad, nourishing nostalgic memories. Also designed a number Orthodox churches in Egypt and Czechoslovakia.
"National-Bolshevik" turn in politics, the spread of the ideas of "Soviet patriotism", which were characteristic of Stalin era, contributed, oddly enough, to the return of Bilibin to his homeland. Having decorated the Soviet embassy in Paris with monumental patriotism (1935-1936), he again settled in Leningrad.
The storyteller Bilibin should be thanked for the double-headed eagle, which is depicted on the coat of arms of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, on ruble coins and paper banknotes. Interestingly, this eagle was originally located on the seal of the interim government.
IN art gallery paper money modern Russia on the ten-ruble "Krasnoyarsk" banknote, the Bilibin tradition is clearly traced: a vertical patterned path with a forest ornament - such frames framed Bilibin's drawings on Russian themes folk tales. By the way, cooperating with financial authorities tsarist Russia, Bilibin transferred the copyright to many of his graphic designs to the Gosznak factory.
IN last decade of his life, Bilibin taught at the All-Russian Academy of Arts, still acting as a book and theater artist: he again designed The Tale of Tsar Saltan (as an opera by Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov in State theater opera and ballet named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov, 1936-1937, and as a book by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, published in the same years in Goslit).
Sergei Eisenstein planned to involve Ivan Yakovlevich as an artist to work on the film "Ivan the Terrible", but the death of Bilibin did not allow this idea to come true.
Ivan Bilibin died on February 7, 1942, in besieged Leningrad. Why did he choose this outcome? Maybe because, despite his worldview, sometimes he felt love for the Motherland?
This can be evidenced by the words of Bilibin: “Only quite recently, just like America, they discovered the old artistic Rus', 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!"
Everyone who believes in the revival of native traditions, who contributes to this, must reject attempts to falsify and distort traditional, primordial images.
Yes, pictures in books with fairy tales attract the attention of the child and arouse interest. But we must take into account what kind of pictures they are and whether they really reflect the wisdom that our ancestors passed on to us. It is best not to lure with pictures, but simply read fairy tales to the child and give him the opportunity to imagine and create images himself.
Encourage him to develop and draw these images on his own.
The result will be amazing!
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin
Years of life: 1876 - 1942
The work of Bilibin reflected two phenomena of the national artistic culture late 19th-early 20th century: passion for national antiquity and the formation of book graphics as a specific art form.
Interest in ancient Russian art awakened back in the 20s and 30s years XIX century. In subsequent decades, expeditions were organized to study the monuments of pre-Petrine architecture, albums of old Russian clothes, ornaments, and popular prints were published. But most scientists approached artistic heritage Ancient Rus' only from ethnographic and archaeological positions. A superficial understanding of its aesthetic value characterizes the pseudo-Russian style, which has become widespread in architecture and applied arts second half of XIX century.
In the 1880s-1890s, V. M. Vasnetsov and other artists of the Mammoth circle, whose national quests were distinguished by greater originality and creative originality, perceived ancient Russian and folk art in a new way in the 1880s-1890s. Bilibin’s words should be addressed to these artists: “Only quite recently, like America, they discovered the old artistic Rus', 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: ! return!"
Illustration for the fairy tale "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka"
Baba Yaga. Illustration for the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful"
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 "Marya Morevna"
Koschei the Immortal. Illustration for the fairy tale "Marya Morevna"
Screensaver for the fairy tale "White Duck"
Illustration for the fairy tale "White Duck"
Illustration for the epic "Volga"
Illustration for "The Tale of Tsar Saltan"
Illustration for "The Tale of Tsar Saltan"
Illustration for "The Tale of Tsar Saltan"
King Pea. Cover of the magazine "Bug"
Illustration for "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel"
Illustration for "The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf"
The dream of artists of the late XIX-early XX century about the revival high culture past, about creating on its basis a new " big style"was utopian, but it enriched art vivid images and expressive means, contributed to the development of its "non-easel" types, for a long time regarded as secondary, in particular theatrical scenery and book design. It is no coincidence that it was in the environment of the Mammoth circle that new principles of decorative painting began to take shape. It is no coincidence that the same masters, who constantly communicated with the works ancient Russian art, carried away by the idea of the revival of ancient crafts, Bilibin I.Ya. Princess on the prison tower. Illustration for the Russian folk tale "The White Duck" belongs to the first attempts artistic solution books. The book and the theater turned out to be those areas where art directly served the satisfaction of modern social needs and where, at the same time, the stylistic devices of past centuries found the most natural application, where it was possible to achieve that synthesis that in other forms artistic creativity remained elusive.
Editions of Pushkin's folk tales and poems, illustrated and designed by V. M. Vasnetsov, E. D. Polenova and S. V. Malyutin, gave impetus to the development book art in Russia. However, these artists themselves did not develop consistent principles, a specific school of book design. Their pictorial watercolors and gouache lost a lot in print. Thus, the coloristic expressiveness of Malyutin's illustrations for "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" in the edition carried out by A. I. Mamontov completely disappeared. And Polenova's illustrations for "The War of the Mushrooms" (the only fairy tale published during the life of the artist out of many illustrated by her) could not be reproduced in color at all, and in several copies of the book, Polenova colored contour prints by hand. But even with successful reproduction, the illustrations, made in the manner of easel drawing and painting, remained alien to the book, since they destroyed the architectonics of the page, could not be organically connected with decorative design and typography.
To achieve the integrity of the book, it was necessary special art, the art of book graphics. The search for graphics is already noticeable in some illustrations by Polenova and Malyutin, they introduced contour line, localized color. The artists of the "World of Art" went further in this direction. Graphic language crystallized through selection, concentration and sharpening means of expression painting and easel drawing. At the same time, to use Bilibin's words, "the linear techniques of the past, where the material processed by the master itself required a clear, careful and economical attitude to each line," influenced his build. Russian print, embroidery, lubok and icon - these are the samples on which, along with Japanese and old European engravings, they relied, in the right opinion of the artist, domestic charts beginning of the 20th century.
Graphic art developed in similar ways in the countries of North-Western Europe. The predecessors and older contemporaries of the World of Art were W. Morris, W. Cran and O. Beardsley in England, C. Doodle and J. Minne in Belgium, T. T. Heine, I. Sattler, J. Dietz and G. Vogeler in Germany. But it was in Russia that the concept of graphics was most clearly defined, which was associated here primarily with the book. Graphic, unlike tonal or free-line, was considered a drawing, which was an image and at the same time an ornament, subordinate to the plane of the sheet, gravitating towards a linear ornament and silhouette.
In shaping such an attitude towards graphics, the role of Bilibin, his creative practice and pedagogical activity. "Strict, purely graphic discipline [...]," emphasized the artist, "turns its attention not only to the pattern and the difference in the strength of individual spots, but also to the line, to its character, to the direction of the flow of a number of neighboring lines, to the sliding them in form and thus to emphasize, explain and reveal this form by these conscious lines flowing around and covering it. These lines can sometimes be likened to a fabric that fits the form, where the threads or stripes take the direction that is dictated to them by this form " .
Focusing on the traditions of Old Russian and folk art, Bilibin developed a logically consistent system of graphic techniques, which remained at the core throughout his entire work. This graphic system, as well as the peculiarity of Bilibin's interpretation of epic and fabulous images given the opportunity to talk about Bilibino style.
Golynets G.V. I.Ya.Bilibin. M., art. 1972
It so happened that the most replicated and famous works the artist turned out to be illustrations for Russian fairy tales. By order of the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers (now Goznak), Bilibin drew plots for such tales as “Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and Gray wolf”,“ Vasilisa the Beautiful ”,“ Feather of Finist Yasna Sokol ”,“ The Frog Princess ”,“ Marya Morevna ”,“ Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka ”. He also created graphic series based on the Russian epics "Volga and Mikula", "Dobrynya Nikitich", "Ilya Muromets", illustrations for "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" and "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. All these works contributed to the fact that the glory of the first book artist in Rus' was established behind him. Much later, describing creative manner Aleksey Sidorov, a well-known art historian and book critic, wrote: “From the very beginning, Bilibin mastered a special planar system of drawing and the whole composition. At the heart of his work, most likely, following the example of northern, Norwegian or Finnish artists, they contain motifs of Russian folk embroidery and woodcarving.
At the very beginning of the 20th century, 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, which he called "the threshold distant kingdom". There he studied Russian architecture, folk ornament, peasant embroidery, lace, patterns, old wood carvings, lubok pictures; collected works of folk art and photographed monuments of wooden architecture.
In 1904, Ivan Bilibin was talked about as a highly gifted theater artist, an expert vintage costumes different eras and peoples. He designed for National Theater opera The Snow Maiden by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in Prague, and later participated in Sergei Diaghilev's entreprise, drawing sketches of Russian costumes for Modest Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov, sketches of costumes and scenery for Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's operas The Golden Cockerel and Tsar Saltan ". "Were on dress rehearsal opera "Tsar Saltan", - tells in his " Autobiographical notes» painter Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva. - The production is talented and colorful. The costumes are divine, in the style of an icon-painting lubok.”
How theater artist Bilibin worked on the design of Lope de Vega's comedy "The Sheep Spring", Calderon's drama "Purgatory of St. Patrick" and other foreign theatrical performances. He was interested in journalism, the design of posters and posters, made sketches for stamps (in particular, a series for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty), drawings for postcards of the Community of St. Evgeniya. Together with Nicholas Roerich and Alexander Benois, Bilibin worked on Maxim Gorky's subcommittee to develop a new coat of arms. The artist took as a basis the two-headed eagle from the seal of Ivan the 3rd. The emblematic image of Bilibin's work turned out to be more durable than the Provisional Government ...
Ivan Bilibin - representative younger generation World of Art students who have fully turned to book graphics. Despite the fact that outwardly Bilibin's work is opposed to the Western orientation of most of the artists of the "World of Art", the influence of English graphics, French Art Nouveau and Japanese engraving very noticeable. Bilibin was generally " western man»: Alexander Benois argued that "the Bilibino style has more Western discipline than Russian licentiousness". It is no coincidence that the Parisian works of the artist, illustrations for French fairy tales(1932), no less spectacular than the Russian ones.
In 1936, Bilibin returned from exile to his homeland. There was no welcome fanfare, but there was no repression either. Stalin remembered the author, who was able to put the fairy tale at the service of ideology. The artist taught graphics, worked in the theater... For the purity of style and the impeccable firmness of the line, his friends from the World of Art called Bilibin "Ivan the Iron Hand." In the late 30s, Bilibin shocked the students of the Academy by the fact that he clearly drew the most complex ornaments in a blindfolded argument.
“These would be mushrooms and in a pan with sour cream. Eh-ma ... ”, - the artist said, giving his drawing to his friend Vasily Tsvetkov.
Ivan Bilibin died in the very first blockade winter from dystrophy in the basement of the Academy of Arts. The artist was buried in mass grave Academy professors. Last work master - drawing "Duke Stepanovich" - is kept in the funds of the Russian Museum. At the top of the sheet is an eight-pointed cross ...
