Fame came to Ivan Bilibin as an illustrator of folk tales. He created a unique art style called Bilibino. This has become a kind of visiting card of Russian illustration. Many contemporary artists strive to imitate the graphic manner of the author.
The Bilibino style is based on the then popular modernist style with folk art. The invention has not lost its popularity to this day.
Artistic vocation
The artist was born on 4 (16) August 1876 near St. Petersburg in the village of Tarkhanovka. The surname was known in the seventeenth century as a merchant. In the Hermitage, portraits of Bilibin's ancestors take pride of place. The father of the future painter was a naval doctor, his mother was a composer.
The boy was distinguished by his ability to draw. He attended school at the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts. True, the head of the family was more willing to see her son not as an artist, but as a lawyer. Not daring to contradict the will of the parent, Ivan Yakovlevich entered the legal department.
However, he did not give up painting. After completing his education, the artist went to Germany to study at the world famous Ashbe workshop. After training, Ivan returned home and began to study in Repin's workshop.
A few years later, the volunteer became a student at the art school at the Academy of Arts. Under the influence of Vasnetsov's painting "Heroes", the young artist began to take an interest in the folk style. He was so fascinated by the old Russian atmosphere that Ivan set off to travel to the homeland.
He walked through the woods, visited wooden huts, studied ornaments and absorbed national folklore. After the trip, the author began creating drawings in his own manner. The first illustrations were images for Afanasyev's fairy tales.
The books gained popularity not only for the unusual stylization of drawings, but also for the peculiarity of seeing folk fairy-tale images. The artist not only painted, but also framed each illustration with an ornament corresponding to the characters of the heroes.
Work on improvement
The artist also designed the covers of the edition, and stylized the letters to resemble old Slavic ones. A significant page in Bilibin's biography was a trip to the northern provinces. There, the artist discovered the Russian north with its way of life and art. In those parts, time seemed to stand still.
The painter admired people in folk costumes with embroidery, got acquainted with the popular print style, lived in a hut with carvings, painted wooden churches. The impressions and results of a very productive trip were reflected in Bilibin's paintings.
He brought with him many sketches and photographs. Later, the painter wrote several articles from notes. The material helped him in his work on sketches for the theater, an illustration cycle based on Pushkin's fairy tales. The landmark work "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" began.
With scrupulous accuracy, the painter worked out the surroundings of the author's characters, their costumes, the mentioned architecture. In his work, Bilibin experimented with style. So, in "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" the popular style is noticeable. All drawings were acquired by the Tretyakov Gallery.
The editions, accompanied by Bilibin's illustrations, really liked the readers. The drawings were distinguished by the pleasantness of color schemes, the beating characters and the detailing of outfits. The font was a real find.
Underneath all this is a huge amount of work. The artist always started with sketches. Further, the drawing was translated into tracing paper, drawn on paper and its outline was outlined in ink.
The final part of the work was the color fill with watercolors. Only local tones were used, without gradients. The highest accuracy of reproduction of countless ornaments with the smallest details is striking.
Family life
The Provisional Government commissioned a popular artist to create a sketch of the coat of arms. The painter painted a two-headed eagle. Since 1992, he has been depicted on all domestic banknotes. Goznak owns the copyright for the artist's work. The master also had a chance to work in commercial illustration.
He created advertising posters for New Bavaria. He drew covers for popular publications, theater posters, sketches for stamps. All products sold out instantly. The painter successfully combined teaching and artistic activities. He taught graphics at the Drawing School for the Encouragement of the Arts. Among his students are Georgy Narbut, Konstantin Eliseev.
During this period, he arranged a master and personal life. His first choice was the graphic designer Maria Chambers. The family had two sons. The relationship went wrong. A few years later, the husband and wife broke up. Maria moved to England with her children. The artist again married Renee O'Connell, a working artist in a porcelain factory. They parted after five years.
The third wife of Alexander Shchekatikhina-Pototskaya was also a student of the master and a porcelain artist. She stayed with the painter until her last days.
Last years
Having lived for several years in Crimea, the master moved to Egypt in the early twenties. He worked on temple frescoes and traveled to Syria and Cyprus. In Alexandria, he settled with his family. The first exhibition of the painter was also held there. Five years later, Bilibin was engaged in theatrical scenery in Paris.
He created the scenery for Stravinsky's The Firebird and the opera Boris Godunov. The master also worked on illustrating French fairy tales. Shortly before his return, Bilibin began mural painting "Mikula Selyaninovich" in the Soviet embassy. Upon arrival, the master worked with theaters and publishing houses. The last ones were drawings for "Song of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich and Merchant Ivan Kalashnikov" and the novel "Peter the First" in a unique author's style.
The artist continued to work during the blockade. He died in 1942. His work is popular to this day. Thanks to Ivan Yakovlevich, creative folk traditions became accessible to contemporaries.
