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BILIBIN, Ivan Yakovlevich - b. 1876 Tarkhovka, d. 1942 Leningrad - WGA

BILIBIN, Ivan Yakovlevich

(b. 1876 Tarkhovka, d. 1942 Leningrad)

Russian painter, graphic artist and set designer. While studying law at the St. Petersburg faculty (1896-1900), Bilibin also attended a drawing course at the Society for the Promotion of Arts (1895-98). From 1898 to 1904, he studied with the painter Ilya Yefimovich Repin. During this period, he was also a member of the Mir Iskustva group of artists. From 1907 to 1917, he taught at the Drawing School of the Society for the Promotion of Arts, designed stage sets, and did illustrations and graphics for books and periodicals.

After a study tour to Italy and Switzerland, he went to France in 1919, and from there, to Egypt (1920-25). In 1936, he returned to Leningrad.

Bilibin was known mainly for his book illustrations. The expressive colouring of his ornamental decorative style was strongly influenced by the folklore of his native land.

The Firebird
The Firebird by

The Firebird

The picture shows an illustration to the Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, The Firebird and the Grey Wolf.

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The Red Horseman
The Red Horseman by

The Red Horseman

The fairy tale illustrator Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was based in St. Petersburg, continuing the tradition of Russian popular illustrated broad-sheets in an ornamental style of expressive colourfulness.

The picture shows an illustration of the fairy tale Vassilissa the Beautiful.

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