Analysis of the Illustrations by Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (1876-1942) to Russian Fairy Tales

Abstract

The article analyzes the works performed by Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, a Russian artist, whose artistic ascent took place at the turn of the 20th century while Russian intellectuals were actively engaged in identifying the specific features of Russian cultural identity. The article also provides a short description of the works by Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin in the context of visual arts theory and performance. The analysis of the artist’s works brings to light visual images of the Russian cultural identity that they contain and help to construct this identity in a specific way. Based on the philosophical, artistic, and culturological analysis of the two illustrations "Koschei the Deathless" (1901) and "Vasilisa the Beautiful at Baba Yaga’s Hut" (1899), the craftsman’s representative works on Russian fairy tales, an ethnocultural world view model was constructed in the works by Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. The artistically displayed Russian cultural features visualized by the artist as "an emphasis on chthonic forces", "the quiet acceptance of death", "the coexistence of opposite forces, including life and death", "femininity", "the three-part structure of the world", "the relativity and transparency of boundaries", and "the forest as a model of the Russian world" have been specified. By resorting to folklore plots, the famous Russian artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin brought into light in his visual illustrations the archetypes that exert the greatest influence on the formation of ideas about the Russian world view, Russian people, and Russian cultural features.