”, the author of paintings and colorful illustrations for Russian fairy tales and epics in a decorative and graphic ornamental manner based on the stylization of the motifs 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.
Who has not read fairy tale books with his magnificent illustrations? The master's works are an immersion in the world of childhood, fairy tales, epics. He created his own world, so unlike the environment, allowing you to retire in your fantasy and follow the heroes on dangerous and exciting journeys.
In 1895-1898 he studied at the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts.
In 1898 he studied for two months in the studio of the painter Anton Ashbe 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 style.
While in Munich, 22-year-old Bilibin gets acquainted with the tradition of European painting:
In the Old Pinakothek - with the works of the classics: Dürer, Holbein, Rembrandt, Raphael.
In the Neue Pinakothek - with modern trends, in particular with the symbolism of Arnold Böcklin and Franz Stuck
What he saw was extremely timely for an aspiring artist. And it was at Ashbe's school that Bilibin learned his signature line and graphic techniques. First, he sketched a sketch on paper, refined the composition in all details on tracing paper, then transferred it to whatman paper, after which he drew a clear wire outline in ink over a pencil drawing with a kolinsky brush with a cut end.
The development of Bilibin as book graphics was influenced by other Western book masters: William Maurice, who was one of the first to reflect the harmonious architecture of the book - a synthesis of literature, graphics and typography, and his "Beautiful Book";
Graphic artists Walter Crane and Aubrey Beardsley;
Art Nouveau curved line inspiration from Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon;
The expressive play of black and white spots by Felix Vallotton; sharpness of Thomas Heine; Lace of the lines of Heinrich Vogeler.
And also noticeable is the influence (as well as on the representatives of the Art Nouveau style in general) of Japanese engraving of the 17th-19th centuries, from which the tones of the fill, contours, isometry of space are drawn; Old Russian icons and Byzantine painting.
For several years (1898-1900) he studied under the guidance of Ilya Repin at the school-workshop of Princess Maria Tenisheva, then (1900-1904) under the guidance of Repin at the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts.
At the time of Bilibin's studies at the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts, where Repin arranged for 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 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.
V.Vasnetsov Three heroes
He lived mainly in St. Petersburg. After the formation of the artistic association "World of Art" becomes an active member of it.
Group portrait of artists of the society "World of Art" Kustodiev
Here is what Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, one of his associates of the World of Art association, writes about Bilibin:
He was a funny, witty interlocutor (stuttering, which gave a special charm to his jokes) and had a talent, especially under the influence of wine, to write comic high-flown odes to Lomonosov. He came from an eminent St. Petersburg merchant family and was very proud of the two portraits of his ancestors, painted by Levitsky himself, one - a young merchant, the other - a bearded merchant with a medal. Bilibin himself wore a Russian beard a la moujik and once on a bet walked along the Nevsky in bast shoes and a high buckwheat felt hat ... "
So with a sense of humor and charisma order)
Bilibin himself, in his youth, once said:
“I, the undersigned, make a solemn promise that I will never be like the artists in the spirit of Gallen, Vrubel and all the Impressionists. My ideal is Semiradsky, Repin (in his youth), Shishkin, Orlovsky, Bonna, Meissonier and the like.
The era of the turn of the century—> the end of the 19th-beginning of the 20th century—> the Silver Age of Russian culture—> the modern style—> the association and the magazine "World of Art", to which Bilibin was close.
This rough outline brings us to the artist's creative method. Bilibin just happened to be at the right time in the right place.
Russian modern (European analogues: Art Nouveau in France, Secession in Austria, Art Nouveau in Germany, Horta style in Belgium, New Style in England, etc.) organically combines a search for new, modern forms with an appeal to national cultural and historical sources. The characteristic features of Art Nouveau are the aestheticization of the environment, decorative detailing and ornamentation, orientation towards mass culture, the style is filled with the poetics of symbolism.
Art Nouveau had a fundamental influence on Bilibin's art. The skill that the artist possessed, the subjects that he loved and used, were wholly and completely relevant and modern in this period for two main reasons.
Firstly, the attraction of modernity (more precisely, one of the directions, there were others) to the national epic, fairy tales, epics as sources of themes and plots, and a formal rethinking of the heritage of Ancient Rus', pagan art and folk art.
And secondly, the emergence of such areas of art as book graphics and scenography to a completely new aesthetic highest level. Also, it was necessary to synthesize, create an ensemble of books and theater. This has been done since 1898 by the association and the magazine "World of Art".
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".
The first books with bright, beautiful illustrations by artists open a window for the child into the world of living images, into the world of fantasy. A young child reacts emotionally when he sees colorful illustrations, he presses a book to himself, strokes the image in the picture with his hand, and talks to the character drawn by the artist as if he were alive.
This is the great power of the influence of graphics on the child. It is specific, accessible, understandable to preschool children and has a huge educational impact on them. B.M. Teplov, characterizing the peculiarities of the perception of works of art, writes that if scientific observation is sometimes called "thinking perception", then the perception of art is "emotional".
Psychologists, art historians, teachers noted the originality of children's perception of graphic images: they are attracted to a colorful drawing, and with age they give more preference to real coloring, the same is noted with regard to children's requirements for realism in image forms.
At older preschool age, children have a negative attitude towards the conventions of form. The perception of works of graphic art can reach varying degrees of complexity and completeness. It largely depends on the preparedness of a person, on the nature of his aesthetic experience, range of interests, psychological state. But most of all it depends on the work of art itself, its artistic content, ideas. The feelings it expresses.
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? And meanwhile, these illustrations are more than a hundred years old.
Since 1899, illustrating fairy tales and epics (“Vasilisa the Beautiful”, “Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka”, “Finist the Clear Falcon”, etc., Pushkin's tales about Tsar Saltan and the Golden Cockerel), Ivan Bilibin created an ink drawing tinted with watercolors , his "Bilibino style" of book design, based on the motifs of folk embroideries, popular prints, wood carvings, old Russian miniatures.
Impressive with their ornamental richness, these graphic cycles are still very popular among children and adults thanks to numerous reprints.
Focusing on the traditions of ancient Russian and folk art, Bilibin developed a logically consistent system of graphic techniques, which remained at the core throughout his entire work. This graphic system, as well as the originality of the interpretation of epic and fairy-tale images inherent in Bilibin, made it possible to speak of a special Bilibin style.
The process of performing I. Ya. Bilibin's graphic drawing was similar to the work of an engraver. Bilibin's books look like painted boxes. It was this artist who first saw a children's book as an integral artistically designed organism. His books are like old manuscripts, because the artist thinks over not only drawings, but also all decorative elements: fonts, ornaments, decorations, initials and everything else.
“Strict, purely graphic discipline […],” the artist emphasized, “turns its attention not only to the drawing and to 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 adjacent lines, to their sliding along form and thus to underline, explain and reveal this form by these conscious lines flowing around and embracing it. These lines can sometimes be likened to a form-fitting fabric, where the threads or stripes take the direction that the given form dictates to them.
I. Ya. Bilibin developed a system of graphic techniques that made it possible to combine illustrations and design in one style, subordinating them to the plane of a book page. The characteristic features of the Bilibino style are: the beauty of the patterned pattern, the exquisite decorativeness of color combinations, the subtle visual embodiment of the world, the combination of bright fabulousness with a sense of folk humor, etc.
The artist strove for an ensemble solution. He emphasized the plane of the book page with a contour line, lack of lighting, coloristic unity, a conditional division of space into plans and a combination of different points of view in the composition.
Ivan Yakovlevich illustrated fairy tales in such a way that children seem to go along with the heroes of a fairy tale on dangerous and exciting adventures. All the fairy tales known to us are made with a special understanding of the folk spirit and poetry.
Interest in ancient Russian art awakened in the 20s and 30s of the 19th 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 the artistic heritage of Ancient Rus' only from ethnographic and archaeological positions. A superficial understanding of its aesthetic value characterizes the pseudo-Russian style, which became widespread in architecture and applied arts in the second half of the 19th 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: to return it! return!"
The dream of artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to revive the high culture of the past, to create a new “grand style” on its basis, was utopian, but it enriched art with vivid images and expressive means, contributed to the development of its “non-easel” types, which for a long time were considered 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 these same masters, who constantly communicated with works of ancient Russian art, were carried away by the idea of reviving ancient crafts.
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 remained unattainable in other types of artistic creativity.
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.
In 1902, 1903 and 1904, Bilibin visited the Vologda, Olonets and Arkhangelsk provinces, where he was sent by the ethnographic department of the Alexander III Museum to study wooden architecture.
In 1899-1902, the Russian Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers published a series of books 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 that Russian folklore breathes 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. Bilibin brought a collection of works by folk artists, photographs of wooden architecture from his trips.
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.
Folk art also gave the master some techniques: ornamental and lubok methods of decorating the artistic space, which Bilibin brought to perfection in his creations.
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 the creative association "World of Art". All of them were related by an interest in the culture of the past, in the enticing charms of antiquity.
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. The production of the opera The Golden Cockerel designed by Bilibin in 1909 at the Zimin Theater in Moscow belongs to the same “fabulous” 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" - a theatrical production of the "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 Mir Iskusstva, Golden Fleece, in publications of Rosehip and Moscow Book Publishing House.
In exile
On February 21, 1920, Bilibin was evacuated from Novorossiysk on the Saratov steamer. Due to the presence of sick people on board, the ship did not land people in
Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich is a Russian painter, the author of many paintings, graphic drawings and vivid illustrations for Russian folk tales, legends and epics. In addition, he was engaged in the design of theatrical productions. Ivan Bilibin's illustrations for fairy tales are especially unique and colorful, as they are created in a unique manner.
Path to creativity
Then he went to Munich, where he studied in the studio of the then popular artist Anton Ashbe. Upon graduation, he returned to his homeland, to his beloved St. Petersburg, where he continued his studies in the art of painting with Ilya Efimovich Repin himself.
The expression "Russian folk tale" - no doubt - gives rise in the fantasies and understanding of a person to a terrible and terrible Baba Yaga in a mortar, the beautiful Vasilisa and Ivan Tsarevich.
Yes, this is certainly true, because they were born and cut into the memory of many generations, thanks to the imagination, work and artistic skill of the Russian painter - Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. Without exception, all his paintings are imbued with the spirit of modernism and love for their land, its culture, rituals and legends.
During his short life, Ivan Bilibin created many paintings, but among them, of course, there are the most famous works that are appreciated all over the world. Below are the most famous paintings-illustrations of Bilibin for fairy tales and epics.
"Ivan Tsarevich and the Firebird" (1899), to the fairy tale "Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf"
True magic is this Firebird, unlike the others. It is this bird that Tsarevich Ivan manages to watch for and grab by the tail (as luck). But still it is not possible to catch it, only the feather of a marvelous bird remains in the hand. This canvas combines tangible images and important ideas, thanks to which the picture is filled with great meaning.
"Vasilisa the Beautiful leaves the house of Baba Yaga" (1899), to the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful"
The picture shows a completely different side of the evil Baba Yaga, who, despite her temper, still helps the beautiful Vasilisa in her daily work and problems. The picture has a large number of bright colors, in addition, the unity of man with mother nature is proportionally represented.
"Baba Yaga" (1900), to the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful"
In this picture, the image of the evil Baba Yaga is displayed in a mortar that flies above the ground itself. Such an image testifies to the mundane beliefs of the people of that time. In addition, the image of the old Yaga is symbolic, because in her hand is a broom, with which at that time many beliefs of the Russian people were associated.
“Once upon a time there was a king” (1900), to the fairy tale “The Frog Princess”
The Russian Tsar is the Russian soul. The whole scene is filled with brilliant color and embellished with numerous shades, resulting in a pleasant inner harmony.
“Ivan Tsarevich is a good fellow and his three sisters” (1901), to the fairy tale “Marya Morevna”
It can be seen with the naked eye that the artist created this canvas based on old Russian manuscripts. The result was a beautiful picture that continues to delight our contemporaries with its beauty.
"Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka" (1901), to the fairy tale of the same name
Here everything starts with the beauty of the Russian land. Landscape, nature, flora and fauna - a whole ensemble is depicted on this canvas, against which the brother and sister, the main characters of the fairy tale plot. Thus, the master expresses his love for his native country, its nature, history and culture.
"Volga with a squad" (1903), to the epic "Volga"
The central plot of this canvas was Russian life in ancient times and the struggle of the Russian people for the right to be free. Ornamental wealth is striking and remains relevant even today.
“During the whole conversation he stood behind the fence” (1904), to “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”
This illustration for the fairy tale shows the individuality and dissimilarity of Bilibin's style to the work of other authors. Tsar Saltan is endowed with individual qualities, a complaisant disposition and a special soul. The picture impresses with an abundance of ornaments and ancient Russian patterns that adorn even the smallest parts of the canvas.
Stargazer before Dadon (1906), to The Tale of the Golden Cockerel
A complex plot composition that has its own character and a special color of illustrations. It is noticeable that every detail is worked out by the artist, therefore it is inimitable and unique. All the characters in the picture are pronounced, which makes the canvas much more natural.
Archer in front of the king and retinue (1919), to the fairy tale “Go there - I don’t know where”
A real Russian plot, vividly reflecting the whole depth of the Russian soul, the culture of the Russian people, their traditions and foundations of that time. This canvas is filled with a huge amount of colors, so it looks like a single whole.
Without exception, all illustrations by Ivan Bilibin are filled with meaning and unique graphics, have their own structure and special mood. From real and real ornaments, as well as detailed details, the artist created a half real, half fictional world. In addition to the illustrations listed above, the wonderful Russian artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin also created a huge number of different illustrations for the fairy tales of Great Rus' and its epics.
Illustrations by the talented artist Ivan Bilibin for Russian fairy tales (and not only). Before looking at his wonderful work, I suggest friends to read an excellent article
7 main facts from the life of the fabulous artist Ivan Bilibin
Ivan Bilibin is a modernist and lover of antiquity, an advertiser and storyteller, the author of the revolutionary double-headed eagle and a patriot of his country. 7 main facts from the life of Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin
1. Artist-lawyer
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was going to become a lawyer, studied diligently at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University and successfully completed the full course in 1900. But in parallel with this, he studied painting at the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, then in Munich with the artist A. Ashbe, and after, for another 6 years, he was a student of I.E. Repin. In 1898, Bilibin sees Vasnetsov's Bogatyrs at an exhibition of young artists. After that, he leaves for the countryside, studies Russian antiquity and finds his own unique style, in which he will work until the end of his life. For the refinement of this style, the energy of work and the impeccable firmness of the line of the artist, his colleagues called him "Ivan the Iron Hand."
2. Artist-storyteller
Almost every Russian person knows Bilibin's illustrations from books of fairy tales that were read to him at night as a child. And meanwhile, these illustrations are more than a hundred years old. From 1899 to 1902, Ivan Bilibin created a series of six "Tales" published by the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers. After that, Pushkin's tales about Tsar Saltan and the Golden Cockerel and the slightly less well-known epic "Volga" with illustrations by Bilibin are published in the same publishing house.
It is interesting that the most famous illustration to "The Tale of Tsar Saltan ..." with a barrel floating on the sea resembles the famous "Big Wave" by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. The process of performing I. Ya. Bilibin's graphic drawing was similar to the work of an engraver. First, he sketched a sketch on paper, refined the composition in all details on tracing paper, and then translated it onto whatman paper. After that, with a kolinsky brush with a cut end, likening it to a cutter, he drew a clear wire outline in ink over a pencil drawing.
Bilibin's books look like painted boxes. It was this artist who first saw a children's book as an integral artistically designed organism. His books are like old manuscripts, because the artist thinks over not only drawings, but also all decorative elements: fonts, ornaments, decorations, initials and everything else.
Few people know that Bilibin even worked in the field of advertising. Where the Polustrovo mineral water plant in St. Petersburg is now located, there used to be the New Bavaria Joint Stock Company. It was for this plant that Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin created advertising posters and pictures. In addition, the artist created posters, addresses, sketches postage stamps (in particular, a series dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty) and about 30 postcards for the Community of St. Eugenia Later, Bilibin drew postcards for Russian publishers in Paris and Berlin.
4. Double-headed eagle
The same double-headed eagle, which is now used on the coins of the Bank of Russia, belongs to the brush of Bilibin, an expert on heraldry. The artist painted it after the February Revolution as an emblem for the Provisional Government. The bird looks fabulous, not sinister, 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 a characteristic “forest” Bilibino ornament are made around the circle. Bilibin transferred copyright to the coat of arms and some other graphic developments to the Goznak factory.
5. Theater artist
Bilibin's first experience in scenography was the design of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Snow Maiden for the National Theater in Prague. His next works are sketches of costumes and scenery for the operas The Golden Cockerel, Sadko, Ruslan and Lyudmila, Boris Godunov and others. And after emigrating to Paris in 1925, Bilibin continued to work with theaters: he prepared brilliant scenery for productions of Russian operas, designed Stravinsky's ballet The Firebird in Buenos Aires and operas in Brno and Prague. Bilibin made extensive use of old prints, popular prints, and folk art. Bilibin was a true connoisseur of ancient costumes of different peoples, he was interested in embroidery, braid, weaving techniques, ornaments and everything that created the national color of the people.
6. The artist and the church
Bilibin also has works related to church painting. In it, he remains himself, retains his individual style. After leaving St. Petersburg, Bilibin lived for some time in Cairo and actively participated in the design of the Russian house church in the premises of a clinic arranged by Russian doctors. According to his project, the iconostasis of this temple was built. And after 1925, when the artist moved to Paris, he became a founding member of the Icon society. As an illustrator, he created the cover of the charter and the design for the society's seal. There is his trace in Prague - he made sketches of frescoes and an iconostasis for a Russian church at the Olshansky cemetery in the Czech capital.
7. Return to the Motherland and death
Over time, Bilibin reconciled with the Soviet regime. He draws up the Soviet embassy in Paris, and then, in 1936, returns by boat to his native Leningrad. Teaching is added to his professions: he teaches at the All-Russian Academy of Arts - the oldest and largest art educational institution in Russia. In September 1941, at the age of 66, the artist refused the offer of the People's Commissar of Education to evacuate from the besieged Leningrad to the rear. “They don’t run from a besieged fortress, they defend it,” he wrote in response. Under fascist shelling and bombing, the artist creates patriotic postcards for the front, writes articles and appeals to the heroic defenders of Leningrad. Bilibin died of starvation in the very first blockade winter and was buried in a mass grave of professors of the Academy of Arts near the Smolensk cemetery.
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin - Russian artist, graphic artist, theater artist, member of the "World of Art", author of illustrations for Russian fairy tales and epics in a decorative and graphic ornamental manner based on the stylization of the motifs 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.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE ARTIST
Ivan Bilibin was born on August 16 (August 4 according to the old style), 1876, in Tarkhovka, near St. Petersburg. A descendant of an old merchant family. 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). Lived in St. Petersburg, was an active member of the World of Art association.
In 1899, Bilibin arrived 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.
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 G.I. Narbut, K.S. Eliseev, L.Ya. Hortik, A. Roosileht (August Roosileht), N.V. Kuzmin, Rene O'Connell, K.D. Voronets-Popova.
In 1915, he participated in the establishment of the Society for the Revival of Artistic Rus', along with many other artists of his time. After the October Revolution, Bilibin leaves for the Crimea in Batiliman, where he lives until September. Until December 1919, he was in Rostov-on-Don, then, with the retreat of the White Army, he ended up in Novorossiysk.
February 21, 1920 on the steamer "Saratov" Bilibin sails from Novorossiysk. Since 1920 he has been living in Cairo. In Egypt, Bilibin is working on sketches for panels and frescoes in the Byzantine style for the mansions of wealthy Greek merchants.
In February 1923, Bilibin marries the artist Alexandra Vasilievna Shchekatikhina-Pototskaya. In the summer of 1924 he travels with his family through Syria and Palestine. In October 1924 he settled in Alexandria. In August 1925, Bilibin moved to Paris.
In 1936 the artist returned to his homeland and settled in Leningrad. Bilibin teaches at the All-Russian Academy of Arts, continues to work as an illustrator and theater artist.
Bilibin died in besieged Leningrad on February 7, 1942 in a hospital at the All-Russian Academy of Arts. He was buried in the mass grave of professors of the Academy of Arts near the Smolensk cemetery.
CREATIVITY OF IVAN BILIBIN
Bilibin began to draw very early, and later clarified this: "As far as I can remember, I have always painted."
As an artist, Bilibin was “impressed” by the exhibition of works by V. M. Vasnetsov in the halls of the Academy of Arts (1898). The national-romantic trend in painting at that time captured him as a supporter and successor of the “contour line”, which Fyodor Tolstoy was so fond of 100 years earlier and which became the textured basis of drawing in Bilibin’s modern artistic style “modern”.
Illustrations for six Russian fairy tales (starting with the first and most notable "Tales of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf"), which were published in 1901-1903, immediately made Bilibin's name famous. But he reached full social significance and creative heights in further works: two illustrative cycles "according to Pushkin" "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" and "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" were acquired by the Russian Museum of Alexander III and the Tretyakov Gallery, respectively.
Ivan Tsarevich and the Firebird Ivan Tsarevich and Vasilisa the Beautiful Ivan Tsarevich and the Frog Princess
After the February Revolution, Bilibin drew 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.
Book, magazine and newspaper illustrations were only part of Bilibin's professional life.
Since 1904, he declared himself as a highly gifted theater artist, a connoisseur of ancient costumes of different peoples, but primarily Russian. Starting cooperation with the newly organized Old Theater in St. Petersburg (the idea of the director and theorist of the theater N.N. Evreinov), Bilibin participated in S. Diaghilev's enterprise, creating sketches of Russian costumes for M. Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov" (1908), Spanish costumes for Lope de Vega's comedy "The Sheep Spring" and for Calderon's drama "The Purgatory of St. Patrick" (1911), etc. Bilibin vividly demonstrated the art of decorator in the famous production of N. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Golden Cockerel" (staged at the Moscow theater S Zimina in 1909).
Bilibin also has works related to church painting. In it, he remains himself, retains his individual style. After leaving St. Petersburg, Bilibin lived for some time in Cairo and actively participated in the design of the Russian house church in the premises of a clinic arranged by Russian doctors. According to his project, the iconostasis of this temple was built.
There is also a trace of him in Prague - he made sketches of frescoes and an iconostasis for a Russian church at the Olshansky cemetery in the Czech capital.
BILIBI STYLE
The Bilibino drawing is characterized by a graphical representation. Starting work on the drawing, Bilibin sketched out a sketch of the future composition. Black ornamental lines clearly limit the colors, set the volume and perspective in the plane of the sheet. Filling in black and white graphic drawing with watercolors only emphasizes the given lines. Bilibin generously uses ornament to frame the drawings.
INTERESTING FACTS FROM THE LIFE OF IVAN BILIBIN
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was going to become a lawyer, studied diligently at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University and successfully completed the full course in 1900.
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). He was also significantly influenced by traditional Japanese woodcuts.
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, - a special "Bilibino style" of 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 Post"). From 1904 he was successfully engaged in scenography (including in the entreprise of S.P. Diaghilev).
In the summer of 1899, Bilibin left for the village of Yegny, Tver province, in order to see for himself the dense forests, transparent rivers, wooden huts, and 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 with carved platbands. They are not only decorative, but also have content that continues the main illustration. In the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful", the illustration with the Red Horseman (sun) is surrounded by flowers, and the Black Horseman (night) is surrounded by mythical birds with human heads. The illustration with Baba Yaga's hut is surrounded by a frame with 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 the main feature of the art of that time. These are embroideries of tablecloths, towels, painted wooden and earthenware, houses with carved architraves and chapels. In the illustrations, Bilibin used sketches of peasant buildings, utensils, and 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"
Bilibin's illustrations framed by floral ornaments very accurately reflect the content of the tale. We can see the details of the costumes of the heroes, the expression on the faces of the surprised boyars, and even the pattern on the kokoshniks 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 I. Bilibin's illustrations, determine which episode the artist illustrated, which of the illustrations most accurately conveys the magical world of a fairy tale, the characters of the characters, determine how I. Bilibin's illustrations differ from paintings on a fairy tale plot by V.M. Vasnetsov. Thus, children learn the comparative analysis of illustrations and paintings, gain skills in comparing the images of literary characters 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 of a 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. The whole royal family sits at the table.
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.)
