Fairy tales in the illustrations of I.Ya. Bilibin

All fairy tales in this collection are illustrated by a recognized virtuoso of the ornament and drawing, an excellent color master, a magnificent illustrator and designer of books Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. It is they who give the book a unique flavor, because it will not be an exaggeration to say that the amazing world of Russian fairy tales, we in many ways imagine precisely thanks to the amazing drawings of this talented artist. The future classic of a book illustration was born in 1876 in the family of a naval doctor. The craving for drawing manifested itself in his childhood, but Bilibin's father was against his son’s teaching at the Academy of Arts. As a result, the young man graduated from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, but the fascination with drawing constantly led Bilibin away from jurisprudence. Back in his student years, he began to attend art classes, led by I.E. Repin. At the end of 1898, Bilibin studied for two months in the workshop of Anton Ashbe in Munich, and a year later, while in the Tver province, he created illustrations for the book “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf”. The artist was a great fan of Viktor Vasnetsov and, like Vasnetsov, drew inspiration in folk art. Using the decorative techniques of ancient Russian and folk art (embroidery, lubka, icons), Ivan Yakovlevich formed his unique “Bilibin” style, which glorified the artist. Bilibin’s drawings are easily recognized even by people far from art.

Illustrations for Russian fairy tales Bilibin was noticed by Prince B. B. Golitsyn, who headed the so -called “expedition of the procurement of state papers” at the end of the 19th century. Under her auspices, Golitsyn dreamed of producing high -quality printed products, which contributed to 6 aesthetic development of the people. Bilibin drawings were the best suited for this goal. The artist’s cooperation with the “expedition” lasted several years. On the instructions of the ethnographic department of the Museum of Alexander III, Bilibin visited the Vologda, Olonets and Arkhangelsk provinces, where he studied wooden architecture. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the screensavers, endings, covers and other work of Bilibin began to appear in such magazines as “World of Art” and “Golden Fleece”. The harsh winds of the 1917 revolution forced Bilibin to leave Russia. He lived and successfully worked first in Cairo, then in Paris. However, the desire to be again at home was so great that in 1936 the artist moved to Leningrad. In this city, he died in the winter of 1942 from exhaustion, refusing after the start of the war of the evacuation authorities.