The work of Ivan Bilibin

Part of the point of starting this blog is to post images of the things and people that I find influential. I'm starting with one of my favorite illustrators, Ivan Bilibin. Bilibin was a Russian Illustrator active in the late 18th century through the early 19th. Take a look.

Most of Bilibin's work comes from Russian Fairy tales. The image above is from Fenist the Falcon, here is another image from that story. This guy was like the Russian Mucha, awesome.

I love the way that he uses the decorative borders as small illustrations within the larger. This image comes from the story Marya Morevna, here Tsarevich Ivan and Marya Morevna are fleeing from Koshchei the Deathless. He creates such a sense of light in the background.

These two come from The Frog Princess, which features some of Russian folk tales most prominent characters, Prince Ivan, Baba-Yaga, and Vasilisa the Wise. I especially love the very goofy looking old Tsar, see the bottom image.

This is the title page from The White Duck, it looks so modern and the colors are just amazing.

I can't get enough of this guy. His details, design and colors are all just such eye candy. I definitely encourage you to check out more of his work. Also check back here soon for more fun stuff!