The best children's artists and illustrators. What illustrations in children's books should look like

Artistic heritage masters are not limited to only book graphics. A. F. Pakhomov is the author of monumental paintings, paintings, easel graphics: drawings, watercolors, numerous prints, including the exciting sheets of the series “Leningrad in the days of the siege.” However, it so happened that in the literature about the artist there was an inaccurate idea of ​​​​the true scale and time of his activity. Sometimes coverage of his work began only with works from the mid-30s, and sometimes even later - with a series of lithographs from the war years. Such a limited approach not only narrowed and curtailed the idea of ​​the original and vibrant legacy of A.F. Pakhomov, created over half a century, but also impoverished Soviet art as a whole.

The need to study the work of A. F. Pakhomov is long overdue. The first monograph about him appeared in the mid-30s. Naturally, only a part of the works was considered in it. Despite this and some limited understanding of traditions characteristic of that time, the work of the first biographer V.P. Anikieva retained its value from the factual side, as well as (with the necessary adjustments) conceptually. In the essays about the artist published in the 50s, the coverage of material from the 20s and 30s turned out to be narrower, and the coverage of the work of subsequent periods was more selective. Today, the descriptive and evaluative side of works about A.F. Pakhomov, two decades distant from us, seems to have lost much of its credibility.

In the 60s, A.F. Pakhomov wrote the original book “About his work.” The book clearly showed the fallacy of a number of prevailing ideas about his work. The artist’s thoughts about time and art expressed in this work, as well as extensive material from recordings of conversations with Alexei Fedorovich Pakhomov, made by the author of these lines, helped create the monograph offered to readers.

A.F. Pakhomov owns an extremely large number of works of painting and graphics. Without pretending to cover them exhaustively, the author of the monograph considered it his task to give an idea of ​​the main aspects of the master’s creative activity, its richness and originality, and the teachers and colleagues who contributed to the development of A. F. Pakhomov’s art. The civic spirit, deep vitality, and realism characteristic of the artist’s works made it possible to show the development of his work in constant and close connection with the life of the Soviet people.

Being one of the greatest masters of Soviet art, A.F. Pakhomov carried throughout his long life and creative career a passionate love for the Motherland and its people. High humanism, truthfulness, imaginative richness make his works so sincere, sincere, full of warmth and optimism.

In the Vologda region, near the city of Kadnikov, on the banks of the Kubena River, the village of Varlamovo is located. There, on September 19 (October 2), 1900, a boy was born to the peasant woman Efimiya Petrovna Pakhomova, who was named Alexei. His father, Fyodor Dmitrievich, came from “appanage” farmers who did not know the horrors of serfdom in the past. This circumstance did not play last role in the way of life and the prevailing characteristics of character, she developed the ability to behave simply, calmly, and with dignity. Traits of particular optimism, broad-mindedness, spiritual directness, and responsiveness were also rooted here. Alexey was brought up in a working environment. We didn't live well. As in the entire village, there was not enough of their own bread until spring; they had to buy it. Additional income was required, which was provided by adult family members. One of the brothers was a stonemason. Many fellow villagers worked as carpenters. And yet young Alexei remembered the early period of his life as the most joyful. After two years of study at a parochial school, and then two more years at a zemstvo school in a neighboring village, he was sent “at government expense and for government grub” to a higher elementary school in the city of Kadnikov. The time spent studying there remained in the memory of A.F. Pakhomov as very difficult and hungry. “Since then, my carefree childhood in my father’s house,” he said, “has always seemed to me the happiest and most poetic time, and this poeticization of childhood later became the main motive in my work.” Artistic ability Alexei’s symptoms manifested themselves early, although where he lived there were no conditions for their development. But even in the absence of teachers, the boy achieved certain results. The neighboring landowner V. Zubov drew attention to his talent and gave Alyosha pencils, paper and reproductions of paintings by Russian artists. Pakhomov's early drawings, which have survived to this day, reveal something that later, being enriched by professional skill, will become characteristic of his work. The little artist was fascinated by the image of a person and, above all, a child. He draws his brothers, sister, and neighbor kids. It is interesting that the rhythm of the lines of these simple pencil portraits echoes the drawings of his mature years.

In 1915, by the time he graduated from the school of the city of Kadnikov, at the suggestion of the district leader of the nobility Yu. Zubov, local art lovers announced a subscription and, with the money collected, sent Pakhomov to Petrograd to the school of A. L. Stieglitz. With the revolution came changes in the life of Alexei Pakhomov. Under the influence of new teachers who appeared at the school - N. A. Tyrsa, M. V. Dobuzhinsky, S. V. Chekhonin, V. I. Shukhaev - he strives to better understand the tasks of art. Short supervised training great master Shukhaev's drawing gave him a lot of valuable things. These classes laid the foundation for understanding the structure human body. He strived for a deep study of anatomy. Pakhomov was convinced of the need not to copy the surroundings, but to meaningfully depict them. While drawing, he got used to not being dependent on light and shadow conditions, but to “illuminate” nature with his eye, leaving close parts of the volume light and darkening those that are more distant. “True,” the artist noted, “I did not become a true believer of Shukhaev, that is, I did not paint with sanguine, smearing it with an eraser so that the human body looked impressive.” The lessons of the most prominent artists of the book, Dobuzhinsky and Chekhonin, were useful, as Pakhomov admitted. He especially remembered the latter’s advice: to achieve the ability to write fonts on a book cover immediately with a brush, without preparatory outline with a pencil, “like an address on an envelope.” According to the artist, such development of the necessary eye helped later in sketches from life, where he could, starting with some detail, place everything depicted on the sheet.

In 1918, when it became impossible to live in cold and hungry Petrograd without a regular income, Pakhomov left for his homeland, becoming an art teacher at a school in Kadnikov. These months were of great benefit in furthering his education. After lessons in the first and second grade classes, he read voraciously, as long as the lighting allowed and his eyes did not get tired. “I was in an excited state all the time; I was seized by a fever of knowledge. The whole world was opening up before me, which, it turns out, I hardly knew,” Pakhomov recalled about this time. - February and October Revolution I accepted with joy, like most of the people around me, but only now, reading books on sociology, political economy, historical materialism, history, did I begin to truly understand the essence of the events that took place.”

The treasures of science and literature were revealed to the young man; It was quite natural for him to intend to continue his interrupted studies in Petrograd. In a familiar building on Solyanoy Lane, he began studying with N.A. Tyrsa, who was then also the commissar of the former Stieglitz School. “We, Nikolai Andreevich’s students, were very surprised by his costume,” said Pakhomov. “The commissars of those years wore leather caps and jackets with a sword belt and a revolver in a holster, and Tyrsa walked with a cane and a bowler hat. But they listened to his conversations about art with bated breath.” The head of the workshop wittily refuted outdated views on painting, introduced students to the achievements of the impressionists, the experience of post-impressionism, and gently drew attention to the searches that are visible in the works of Van Gogh and especially Cezanne. Tyrsa did not put forward a clear program for the future of art; he demanded spontaneity from those who studied in his workshop: write as you feel. In 1919, Pakhomov was drafted into the Red Army. He became intimately familiar with the previously unfamiliar military environment and truly understood folk character army of the Land of Soviets, which later affected the interpretation of this topic in his work. In the spring of the following year, demobilized after illness, Pakhomov, having arrived in Petrograd, moved from the workshop of N. A. Tyrsa to V. V. Lebedev, deciding to get an idea of ​​​​the principles of cubism, which were reflected in a number of works by Lebedev and his students. Little of Pakhomov’s work completed at this time has survived. Such, for example, is “Still Life” (1921), distinguished by a subtle sense of texture. It reveals the desire, learned from Lebedev, to achieve “doneness” in works, to look not for superficial completeness, but for constructive pictorial organization of the canvas, not forgetting the plastic qualities of what is depicted.

The idea of ​​a new great job Pakhomov’s painting “Haymaking” originated in his native village of Varlamov. There the material for it was collected. The artist depicted not an ordinary everyday scene of mowing, but the help of young peasants to their neighbors. Although the transition to collective, collective farm labor was then a matter of the future, the event itself, showing the enthusiasm of youth and passion for work, was in some ways already akin to new trends. Sketches and sketches of figures of mowers, fragments of the landscape: grasses, bushes, stubble testify to the amazing consistency and seriousness of the artistic concept, where bold textural searches are combined with the solution of plastic problems. Pakhomov’s ability to capture the rhythm of movements contributed to the dynamism of the composition. The artist worked on this painting for several years and completed many preparatory works. In a number of them he developed plots close to or accompanying the main theme.

The drawing “Beating the Scythes” (1924) shows two young peasants at work. They were sketched by Pakhomov from life. Then he went over this sheet with a brush, generalizing what was depicted without observing his models. Good plastic qualities, combined with the transmission of strong movement and a general painterly use of ink, are visible in the earlier work of 1923, Two Mowers. Despite the deep truthfulness, and one might say, the severity of the drawing, here the artist was interested in the alternation of plane and volume. The sheet makes clever use of ink washes. The landscape surroundings are hinted at. The texture of mowed and standing grass is noticeable, which adds rhythmic variety to the design.

Among the considerable number of developments in the color of the “Haymaking” plot, one should mention the watercolor “Mower in a Pink Shirt.” In it, in addition to painterly washes with a brush, scratching was used on the wet paint layer, which gave a special sharpness to the image and was introduced into the picture in another technique (in oil painting). The large sheet “Haymaking”, painted in watercolor, is colorful. In it the scene seems to be seen from high point vision. This made it possible to show all the figures of the mowers walking in a row and to achieve a special dynamics in the transmission of their movements, which is facilitated by the arrangement of the figures diagonally. Having appreciated this technique, the artist constructed the picture in this way, and then did not forget it in the future. Pakhomov achieved a picturesque overall palette and conveyed the impression of morning haze, permeated sunlight. The same theme is dealt with differently in the oil painting “At the Mow,” depicting mowers at work and a horse grazing on the side near a cart. The landscape here is different than in the other sketches, variants and in the painting itself. Instead of a field, there is the bank of a fast river, which is emphasized by the currents and a boat with an oarsman. The color of the landscape is expressive, built on various cold green tones, only warmer shades are introduced in the foreground. A certain decorative quality was found in the combination of figures with the surroundings, which enhanced the overall color tone.

One of Pakhomov’s paintings on sports themes in the 20s is “Boys on Skates.” The artist built the composition on the image of the longest moment of movement and therefore the most fruitful, giving an idea of ​​​​what has passed and what will happen. Another figure in the distance is shown in contrast, introducing rhythmic variety and completing the compositional idea. In this picture, along with his interest in sports, one can see Pakhomov’s appeal to the most important topic for his work - the lives of children. Previously, this trend was reflected in the artist’s graphics. Beginning in the mid-20s, Pakhomov’s deep understanding and creation of images of children of the Land of the Soviets was Pakhomov’s outstanding contribution to art. Studying large pictorial and plastic problems, the artist solved them in works on this new important topic. At the exhibition in 1927, the painting “Peasant Girl” was shown, which, although its purpose had something in common with the portraits discussed above, was also of independent interest. The artist's attention focused on the image of the girl's head and hands, painted with great plastic feeling. The type of young face is captured in an original way. Close to this painting in terms of immediacy of sensation is “Girl with Her Hair,” exhibited for the first time in 1929. It differed from the bust-length image of 1927 in a new, more expanded composition, including almost the entire full-length figure, conveyed in a more complex movement. The artist showed a relaxed pose of a girl, straightening her hair and looking into a small mirror lying on her knee. Sound combinations The golden face and hands, the blue dress and the red bench, the scarlet jacket and the ocher-greenish log walls of the hut contribute to the emotionality of the image. Pakhomov subtly captured the innocent expression baby face, touching pose. Vivid, unusual images stopped the audience. Both works were part of foreign exhibitions of Soviet art.

Throughout his half-century of creative activity, A.F. Pakhomov was in close contact with the life of the Soviet country, and this imbued his works with inspired conviction and the power of life’s truth. His artistic individuality developed early. An acquaintance with his work shows that already in the 20s it was distinguished by depth and thoroughness, enriched by the experience of studying world culture. The role of the art of Giotto and the Proto-Renaissance in its formation is obvious, but the influence was no less profound ancient Russian painting. A.F. Pakhomov was one of the masters who took an innovative approach to the rich classical heritage. His works have a modern feel in solving both pictorial and graphic problems.

Development by Pakhomov new topics in the canvases “1905 in the Village”, “Horsemen”, “Spartakovka”, in the cycle of paintings about children is important for the development of Soviet art. The artist played a prominent role in creating the image of his contemporary; his series of portraits is clear evidence of this. For the first time he introduced such vivid and life-like images of young citizens of the Land of the Soviets into art. This side of his talent is extremely valuable. His works enrich and expand ideas about the history of Russian painting. Already in the 1920s, the country's largest museums acquired Pakhomov's paintings. His works have gained international fame at large exhibitions in Europe, America, and Asia.

A.F. Pakhomov was inspired by socialist reality. His attention was drawn to the testing of turbines, the work of weaving factories and new things in life Agriculture. His works reveal themes related to collectivization, the introduction of technology into the fields, the use of combine harvesters, the operation of tractors at night, and the life of the army and navy. We emphasize the special value of these achievements of Pakhomov, because all this was displayed by the artist back in the 20s and early 30s. His painting “Pioneers with an Individual Farmer,” a series about the “Sower” commune and portraits from “Beautiful Sword” are among the most profound works of our artists about changes in the countryside and collectivization.

The works of A.F. Pakhomov are distinguished by their monumental solutions. In early Soviet mural painting, the artist’s works are among the most striking and interesting. In the “Red Oath” cardboards, paintings and sketches of “Round Dance of Children of All Nations”, paintings about reapers, as well as in general in the best creations of Pakhomov’s paintings, there is a tangible connection with the great traditions of the ancient national heritage, which is part of the treasury of world art. The coloristic, figurative side of his paintings, paintings, portraits, as well as easel and book graphics. The brilliant successes of plein air painting are demonstrated by the series “In the Sun” - a kind of hymn to the youth of the Land of the Soviets. Here, in his depiction of the naked body, the artist acted as one of the great masters who contributed to the development of this genre in Soviet painting. Pakhomov’s color searches were combined with the solution of serious plastic problems.

It must be said that in the person of A.F. Pakhomov, art had one of the largest draftsmen of our time. The master masterfully mastered various materials. Works in ink and watercolor, pen and brush were adjacent to brilliant graphite pencil drawings. His achievements go beyond the scope of domestic art and become one of the outstanding creations of world graphics. Examples of this are not difficult to find in a series of drawings made at home in the 1920s, and among sheets made during trips around the country in the next decade, and in series about pioneer camps.

A.F. Pakhomov’s contribution to graphics is enormous. His easel and book works dedicated to children are among the outstanding successes in this field. One of the founders of Soviet illustrated literature, he introduced into it a deep and individualized image of the child. His drawings captivated readers with their vitality and expressiveness. Without teaching, the artist conveyed his thoughts vividly and clearly to children and awakened their feelings. And important topics in education and school life! None of the artists solved them as deeply and truthfully as Pakhomov. For the first time, he illustrated the poems of V.V. Mayakovsky in such a figurative and realistic manner. His drawings for the works of L.N. Tolstoy for children became an artistic discovery. The graphic material examined clearly showed that the work of Pakhomov, an illustrator of modern and classical literature, it is inappropriate to limit it only to the field of children's books. The artist’s excellent drawings for the works of Pushkin, Nekrasov, Zoshchenko testify to great success Russian graphics of the 30s. His works contributed to the establishment of the method of socialist realism.

The art of A. F. Pakhomov is distinguished by citizenship, modernity, and relevance. During the period of the most difficult trials of the Leningrad blockade, the artist did not interrupt his activities. Together with the art masters of the city on the Neva, he, as once in his youth during the Civil War, worked on assignments from the front. Pakhomov’s series of lithographs “Leningrad in the Days of the Siege,” one of the most significant creations of art during the war years, reveals the unparalleled valor and courage of the Soviet people.

The author of hundreds of lithographs, A.F. Pakhomov should be named among those enthusiastic artists who contributed to the development and dissemination of this type of printed graphics. The possibility of appealing to a wide range of viewers and the mass appeal of the circulation print attracted his attention.

His works are characterized by classical clarity and laconicism. visual arts. The image of a person is his main goal. An extremely important aspect of the artist’s work, which connects him with classical traditions, is the desire for plastic expressiveness, which is clearly visible in his paintings, drawings, illustrations, prints, right up to his most recent works. He did this constantly and consistently.

A.F. Pakhomov is “a deeply original, great Russian artist, completely immersed in depicting the life of his people, but at the same time absorbing the achievements of world art. The work of A. F. Pakhomov, a painter and graphic artist, is a significant contribution to the development of Soviet artistic culture. /V.S. Matafonov/

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VLADIMIR VASILIEVICH LEBEDEV

14(26).05.1891, St. Petersburg - 21.11.1967, Leningrad

People's Artist of the RSFSR. Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Arts

He worked in St. Petersburg in the studio of F. A. Roubo and attended the school of drawing, painting and sculpture of M. D. Bernstein and L. V. Sherwood (1910-1914), studied in St. Petersburg at the Academy of Arts (1912-1914). Member of the Four Arts Society. Collaborated in the magazines "Satyricon" and "New Satyricon". One of the organizers Windows ROSTA" in Petrograd.

Publications in the Museums section

Pictures from childhood

Guides to the world of children's literature, thanks to which lines that are still incomprehensible to the little reader acquire bright and magical images. Children's book illustrators who choose this path, as a rule, remain faithful to it throughout creative life. And their readers, growing up, remain attached to pictures from increasingly receding childhood. Natalya Letnikova remembered the work of outstanding Russian illustrators.

Ivan Bilibin

Ivan Bilibin. "Firebird". Illustration for “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf.” 1899

Boris Kustodiev. Portrait of Ivan Bilibin. 1901. Private collection

Ivan Bilibin. "Dead Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf." Illustration for “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf.” 1899

A theater designer and teacher at the Academy of Arts, Bilibin created a unique author’s style, which was later called “Bilibinsky”. The artist’s works were distinguished by an abundance of ornaments and patterns, fabulous images while accurately following the historical appearance of Russian costume and household items. Bilibin drew the first illustration back in 1899 for “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf.” For forty years, the artist turned to Russian folk tales and epics. His drawings lived on the pages of children's books and on theater stages in St. Petersburg, Prague, and Paris.

Boris Dekhterev

Boris Dekhterev. Illustration for the work “Puss in Boots”. 1949 Photo: kids-pix.blogspot.ru

Boris Dekhterev. Year unknown. Photo: artpanorama.su

Boris Dekhterev. Illustration for the work “Little Red Riding Hood”. 1949 Photo: fairyroom.ru

Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots and Little Thumb, heroes of Alexander Pushkin's fairy tales, received watercolor portraits from the light brush of Boris Dekhterev. The famous illustrator created “the strict and noble appearance of a children’s book.” The professor at the Moscow State Art Institute named after Surikov devoted thirty years of his creative life not only to teaching students: Boris Dekhterev was the main artist at the Children's Literature publishing house and opened the door to the world of fairy tales for many generations of young readers.

Vladimir Suteev

Vladimir Suteev. Illustration for the work “Who Said Meow.” 1962 Photo: wordpress.com

Vladimir Suteev. Year unknown. Photo: subscribe.ru

Vladimir Suteev. Illustration for the work “Sack of Apples”. 1974 Photo: llibre.ru

The illustrations, similar to frames from cartoons frozen on book pages, were created by Vladimir Suteev, one of the first Soviet animation directors. Suteev not only invented picturesque images to the classics - fairy tales of Korney Chukovsky, Samuil Marshak, Sergei Mikhalkov - but also their own stories. While working in a children's publishing house, Suteev wrote about forty instructive and witty fairy tales: “Who Said Meow?”, “Sack of Apples,” “The Magic Wand.” These were books beloved by many generations of children, in which, as you would want in childhood, there were more pictures than text.

Victor Chizhikov

Victor Chizhikov. Illustration for the work “Doctor Aibolit”. 1976 Photo: fairyroom.ru

Victor Chizhikov. Year unknown. Photo: dic.academic.ru

Victor Chizhikov. Illustration for the work “The Adventures of Cippolino”. 1982 Photo: planetaskazok.ru

Only the master to create touching images for children's books could move an entire stadium to tears. This is what happened with Viktor Chizhikov, who drew the Olympic bear in 1980, and was also the author of illustrations for hundreds of children's books: Viktor Dragunsky, Mikhail Plyatskovsky, Boris Zakhoder, Hans Christian Andersen, Nikolai Nosov, Eduard Uspensky. For the first time in the history of Russian children's literature, collections of books with illustrations by the artist were published, including the twenty-volume set “Visiting V. Chizhikov.” “It has always been a joy for me to draw a children’s book”, - said the artist himself.

Evgeny Charushin

Evgeny Charushin. Illustrations for the work "Wolf". 1931 Photo: weebly.com

Evgeny Charushin. 1936 Photo: lib.ru

Evgeny Charushin. Illustrations for the work “Children in a Cage”. 1935 Photo: wordpress.com

Charushin had been reading books about animals since childhood, and his favorite was “The Life of Animals” by Alfred Brehm. Future artist I re-read it many times, and when I was older I went to a stuffed animal workshop near my house to draw from life. Thus was born an animal artist who, after graduating from the Academy of Arts, devoted his work to the design of children's stories about animals. Charushin's outstanding illustrations for Vitaly Bianchi's book were even acquired by the Tretyakov Gallery. And while working with Samuil Marshak on the book “Children in a Cage,” at the insistence of the writer, Charushin tried to write. This is how his stories “Tomka”, “Wolf” and others appeared.

Ivan Semenov

Ivan Semenov. Illustrations for the work “Dreamers”. 1960 Photo: planetaskazok.ru

Ivan Semenov. Year unknown. Photo: colory.ru

Ivan Semenov. Illustration for the work “ Living hat" 1962 Photo: planetaskazok.ru

Creator of the famous Pencil and everything children's magazine“Funny Pictures” started with cartoons. For the sake of what he loved, he had to quit the Medical Institute, since he simply had no time to draw due to his studies. The artist’s first recognition from children came from illustrations for Nikolai Nosov’s funny stories “Dreamers” and “The Living Hat,” and the circulation of the book “Bobik Visiting Barbos” with Semenov’s illustrations exceeded three million copies. In 1962, Ivan Semenov, together with Agnia Barto, toured an exhibition of Soviet children's books throughout England. By that time, the artist headed the editorial office of " Funny pictures"and knew literally everything about children's literature and the life of Soviet children.

When you see these drawings, you want to take it and get inside - like Alice through the Looking Glass. The artists who illustrated the favorite books of our childhood were real wizards. We bet that now you will not only see in bright colors the room in which your crib stood, but you will also hear the voice of your mother reading a bedtime story!

Vladimir Suteev

Vladimir Suteev himself was the author of many fairy tales (for example, “Who said MEOW?”, known from the wonderful cartoon). But most of all we love him for all these inimitable hedgehogs, bears and bunnies - we literally looked into books with Suteev’s animals!

Leonid Vladimirsky

Leonid Vladimirsky is the cutest Scarecrow the Wise in the world, Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, as well as the rest of the company, stomping in Emerald City along the road paved with yellow bricks. And no less cute Pinocchio!

Victor Chizhikov

Not a single issue of “Murzilka” and “Funny Pictures” could do without Viktor Chizhikov’s drawings. He painted the world of Dragunsky and Uspensky - and once he took and painted the immortal Olympic Bear.

Aminadav Kanevsky

Actually, Murzilka himself was created by an artist with the unusual name Aminadav Kanevsky. In addition to Murzilka, he owns a lot of recognizable illustrations by Marshak, Chukovsky, and Agnia Barto.

Ivan Semenov

The pencil from “Funny Pictures”, as well as many hand-drawn stories for this magazine, were drawn by Ivan Semyonov. In addition to our first comics, he also created a lot of excellent drawings for Nosov’s stories about Kolya and Mishka and the story about “Bobik visiting Barbos.”

Vladimir Zarubin

The coolest postcards in the world were drawn by Vladimir Zarubin. He also illustrated books, but collectors now collect these cute New Year’s squirrels and 8 March hares separately. And they do it right.

Elena Afanasyeva

The artist Elena Afanasyeva produced very characteristic (and so correct!) Soviet children. It's impossible to watch without nostalgia.

Evgeny Charushin

When the word “cute” did not yet exist, the cutest artist already existed: this is Evgeny Charushin, Chief Specialist on the life of animals. Impossibly fluffy kittens, shaggy bear cubs and disheveled sparrows - I just wanted to strangle them all... well, in my arms.

Anatoly Savchenko

And Anatoly Savchenko created the funniest and most mischievous creatures in the world: the prodigal parrot Kesha, the lazy Vovka in the Far Far Away Kingdom - and that same Carlson! Other Carlsons are simply wrong, that's all.

Valery Dmitryuk

Another king of enthusiasm and hooliganism is Valery Dmitryuk’s Dunno. And this artist equally successfully decorated adult “Crocodiles”.

Heinrich Valk

Another famous “crocodile” - Heinrich Valk - was remarkably able to capture the characters of boys and girls, as well as their parents. It is in his performance that we present “Dunno on the Moon”, “Vitya Maleev at school and at home”, “Hottabych” and Mikhalkov’s heroes.

Konstantin Rotov

Cartoonist Konstantin Rotov depicted the funniest and brightest (despite the fact that it was black and white) “The Adventures of Captain Vrungel.”

Ivan Bilibin

Prince Ivans and Gray wolves, firebirds and frog princesses, golden cockerels and goldfish... In general, everything folk tales and Pushkin's fairy tales are forever Ivan Bilibin. Every detail of this intricate and patterned sorcery can be examined indefinitely.

Yuri Vasnetsov

And even before Pushkin, we were entertained by riddles, nursery rhymes, white-sided magpies, “Cat’s House” and “Teremok”. And this whole merry carousel shimmered with the colors of Yuri Vasnetsov.

Boris Dekhterev

When we grew up to “Thumbelina”, “Puss in Boots” and Perrault and Andersen, Boris Dekhterev transported us to their countries - with the help of several magic wands: colored pencils and watercolor brushes.

Eduard Nazarov

The most gorgeous Winnie the Pooh is by Shepard (although he is also good, so what), but still by Eduard Nazarov! He illustrated books and worked on our favorite cartoons. Speaking of cartoons, it was Nazarov who drew the funny heroes of the fairy tales “The Journey of an Ant” and “Once Upon a Time There Was a Dog.”

Vyacheslav Nazaruk

A smiling Little Raccoon, a friendly cat Leopold and a treacherous couple of mice, as well as a sad Mammoth who was looking for his mother - all this is the work of the artist Vyacheslav Nazaruk.

Nikolay Radlov

A serious artist Nikolai Radlov successfully illustrated children's books: Barto, Marshak, Mikhalkov, Volkov - and he illustrated them so well that they were reprinted a hundred times. His own book “Stories in Pictures” became especially famous.

Gennady Kalinovsky

Gennady Kalinovsky - author of very bizarre and unusual graphic drawings. His style of drawing was in perfect harmony with the mood English fairy tales- “Mary Poppins” and “Alice in Wonderland” were just “currier and stranger”! No less original are Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and other funny lads from “The Tales of Uncle Remus”.

G.A.V. Traugott

The mysterious “G.A.V. Traugott" sounded like the name of some magical hero Andersen. In fact, it was a whole family contract artists: father George and his sons Alexander and Valery. And the heroes of the same Andersen turned out so light, slightly careless - they were about to take off and melt!

Evgeny Migunov

Our beloved Alice Kira Bulycheva is also Alice Evgenia Migunova: this artist illustrated literally all the books of the great science fiction writer.

Natalia Orlova

However, there was another Alice in our lives - from the world cartoon “The Secret of the Third Planet”. It was created by Natalia Orlova. Moreover main character the artist drew from her own daughter, and the pessimist Zeleny from her husband!

The books we read as children influenced us so much thanks to the memorable pictures with our favorite characters. We can easily reproduce the images of Dunno or Thumbelina in our memory decades later. But now good book It's harder to choose with pictures. When we go into a store, we simply get lost and end up taking a book with the most poisonous cover, which makes the child feel sick. What is the secret of a successful illustration and how to choose a good picture book for a child, Alexandra Balashova, illustrator and teacher at the Veronica Kalacheva School of Drawing, told Angelina Green and Ilya Markin.

For those preparing for the main school exam

3 rules for creating good children's drawings

There is no universal recipe for the perfect illustration. But there are three rules that allow artists to create attractive designs for children's books.

1. Children's illustrations should be contrasting. Otherwise, it is difficult for the child to focus his eyes on something. Children's ability to concentrate is not very developed. They perceive colors and shapes, so this is especially important for children's illustrations.

2. The composition should be clear and well thought out.. The gaze should not go beyond the illustration. All attention should be concentrated within the picture.

3. Readers should recognize themselves in the characters.. It’s good, for example, if the characters correspond to the children’s age and body proportions.

As for choosing a book by parents, I advise instilling good taste in children from childhood. We need to be brave and get rid of all the books with plastic shaky eyes and nuclear colors. Choose the illustrations that you like. This way you will introduce your child to the world of beauty step by step. We all limit our children’s consumption of sweets and instill a love for vegetables, right? The same should be done with book illustrations.

It is important to remember that it is more difficult to hold a child’s attention than an adult’s. To check if an illustration has enough contrast, do a simple test: photograph the illustration in black and white. It should be varied in tone and not look like a sticky gray mass.

Many adults, especially grandmothers, believe that animals in children's books should be drawn realistically. Otherwise, the child will have the wrong idea of ​​what, for example, a cat looks like. As practice shows, very young children respond better to a more symbolic image of an animal. They recognize him immediately. In addition, this symbolism develops fantasy. Do not be afraid simplified forms. Leave realistic illustrations (like Ingpen's) for older children.

If you don’t know how to choose something worthwhile from the variety of books, and you are lost among the assortment of bookstores, pay attention to small publishing houses (Polyandria, Samokat, Pink Giraffe). Small publishers are often more careful in the selection of books and the quality of illustrations.

What are children's illustrations?

There is no single classification of illustrations; everything is individual and depends on the author. For parents who still want to understand the range of children's picture books, we have prepared a small guide to techniques, approaches and styles of drawing illustrations.

It's worth starting with the fact that there are different materials. Some paint with paints, some with pencils, some combine techniques or use collages, some cut from paper. Some illustrators draw straight from their heads, while others draw a lot of sketches and select references.

The main thing in illustration is the unifying principle for a series of pictures. Most often this will be a plot; it is divided into key scenes, for each of which the artist creates illustrations. The drawings depict the heroes of the story.

As an example of illustrations united by a plot, one can cite the drawings of Frederic Pillot in the books “Lulu and the Absent-Minded Stork” or “Lulu and the Feast of Lovers.” In the pictures we see exactly the situations that are described in the text.

Illustration by Frédéric Pillot

Illustration by Frédéric Pillot

Some artists combine series of pictures based on the location of the action: for example, illustrations of scenes from village life. Many Wimmelbooks are designed according to this principle - educational books for review, training attention and memory. These are large format publications in which each spread is a detailed picture that children can look at endlessly.

Wimmelbooks are ideal for younger readers: children learn by playing and reading. A striking example is the book “At the Circus” by Doro Gebel and Peter Knorr. Several plots, each of which takes place on the territory of the circus.

Illustration by Doro Goebel and Peter Knorr

Pictures are sometimes combined according to stylistic principles. The illustrator draws already familiar images, adapting them to his unique style. For example, he redraws the characters of a book, a series of books, a series of films or cartoons so that they, while remaining recognizable characters, reflect the artist’s vision. In the drawings of Finnish graphic designer Jirka Vaatainen you can recognize disney princesses, although they look unusual. Children who love Frozen and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will really like a book with similar illustrations.

Illustrations by Jirka Väätäinen

The peculiarity of technology can also be a unifying principle. For example, if the author only uses geometric figures, like Oleg Beresnev in animal drawings. Illustrations like these are great for training. creative thinking children and teach them to perceive simplified forms.

A great variety of such unifying principles can be invented. There are no restrictions, everything depends only on the artist himself and the possibilities of his imagination.

Illustration by Oleg Beresnev

Nowadays living techniques and materials are very popular - watercolor, gouache, colored pencils, collages. Vector illustrations are also popular, but most often the artist’s handwriting is much more difficult to recognize in them.

Here shining example watercolor illustrations by Tokyo artist Mateusz Urbanowicz.

Illustrations by Mateusz Urbanowicz

And here are the gouache drawings from Dinara Mirtalipova.

Illustrations by Dinara Mirtalipova

Some artists cut out illustrations from paper or fabric, such as Czech artist Mihaela Mihailova. Such experiments with shapes always keep children busy.

Illustrations by Michaela Mihalyiová

Illustration by Tatyana Devayeva, Elena Erlikh and Alexey Lyapunov

Original works are produced by those who work with linocut. As an example, here is a drawing by Olga Ezhova-Denisova from Yekaterinburg.

Illustration by Olga Ezhova-Denisova

Some artists use collages, as does artist Morgana Wallace. Children often try to imitate such illustrations, inspiring them to create their own crafts and collages.

Illustration by Morgana Meredith Wallace

Classic vector illustration, like the work of Irish illustrator Peter Donnelly, is notable primarily for its cartoon-like feel.

Illustration by Peter Donnelly

Best illustrators

If you don't fully trust your own taste, turn to the works of famous artists. There are a lot of illustration gurus, and each person has their own list of favorites. I have compiled a selection of my favorite authors. All of them influenced children's illustration, and many even stood at its origins.

Miroslav Shashek is a children's writer and illustrator from the Czech Republic, known for his colorful guidebooks. A series of vibrant publications includes guides “This is New York”, “This is Paris”, “This is London” and many others.

Zdenek Miler- Another one Czech artist, who often worked with animation. He is known as the author of cartoons about Krotik, which many enjoyed watching in childhood.

Beatrix Potter- English artist and author of children's books. She mainly painted animals and plants.

Lev Tokmakov- Soviet illustrator who collaborated with the magazine “Murzilka”. His works are kept in Tretyakov Gallery and the Museum fine arts named after Pushkin.

Victor Chizhikov- the artist who gave the world the image of the bear cub Mishka, the mascot of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.

Yuri Vasnetsov- Soviet artist, painter, graphic artist, theater artist, book illustrator and laureate state awards. His drawings can be found in most books familiar to us from childhood.

Olga and Andrey Dugin- Russian artists who moved to Stuttgart. Their works resemble medieval miniatures. In 2007, the couple were awarded the Gold Medal of the US Society of Illustrators for their drawings for the fairy tale “The Brave Little Tailor.”

Robert Ingpen- Australian-born illustrator. Among his works are drawings for “Alice in Wonderland”, “Treasure Island”, “Tom Sawyer”, “Peter Pan and Wendy”, Kipling’s fairy tales and many others classical works. To some, Robert Ingpen's illustrations seem too adult, serious and even gloomy, but to others they delight.

Eric Carle is an illustrator who worked for a long time in the advertising department of the prestigious New York Times newspaper. Once upon a time, a logo drawn by an artist was so liked by someone children's writer that Eric Carle was offered to create an illustration for the book. Soon the artist himself began to write for young readers.

Rebecca Dotremer- French illustrator and author of his own children's books. Works in children's print media and creates posters with illustrations.

Ernest Shepard - English artist and an illustrator who worked as a cartoonist for the satirical magazine Punch. Known for his illustrations for fairy tales about Winnie the Pooh.

Quentin Blake- English illustrator. His drawings adorn more than 300 books by recognized classics: Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, Jules Verne, Sylvia Plath, Roald Dahl and many others.

Today I want to talk about modern children's book illustrators. When I was preparing material for this article, I noticed that contemporary artists They create very beautiful and high-quality illustrations, but mainly for children of middle and high school age. Often seen wonderful illustrations to Andersen's fairy tales, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and Hoffmann's fairy tales.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find modern Russian artists, creating for kids. Those that could stand on a par with the names - Suteev, Charushin, Tokmakov, Miturich, Konashevich... But, let's hope that this temporary gap will soon be filled with new bright names.

And now we present to you the top 7 best modern children's illustrators of the national school.

Igor Oleynikov

This extraordinarily talented artist is known not only as an illustrator of children's books, but also as an excellent cartoonist. He took part in the creation of such wonderful cartoons as “The Secret of the Third Planet”, “Caliph the Stork”, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” and many others, which were loved by viewers of all ages.

Surprisingly, one of the brightest Russian children's artists does not have a professional art education (which he greatly regrets, by his own admission). He was born in Lyubertsy, Moscow region, and graduated from the Institute of Chemical Engineering. He started working at the Soyuzmultfilm studio as an assistant to the production designer.

Igor Oleynikov is the winner of various animation and book festivals. His illustrations are mesmerizing, enchanting so much that it is difficult to believe that he did not study at any art university.

The fairy tale “The Emperor and the Nightingale” by H.H. Andersen. Publishing house Azbuka-classics

Evgeniy Antonenkov

Graduated from the Moscow Polygraphic Institute. For a long time he collaborated with the Rosmen publishing house. He illustrated many books, including books by Yunna Moritz, Korney Chukovsky, Boris Zakhoder, Alan Milne, Sergei Kozlov and other authors.

“Bibigon”, K. Chukovsky

“Bibigon”, K. Chukovsky

“Lemon Malinovich Compress”, Yunna Moritz

“Little Muk”, V. Gauf

Vladislav Erko

Many mothers are probably familiar with the wonderful illustrations of this artist. My dream has always been “The Snow Queen” with drawings by Vladislav Erko. The artist was born and lives in Kyiv, has long and successfully collaborated with the famous Ukrainian publishing house “A-ba-ba-ga-la-ma-ga”.

Book " The Snow Queen"with illustrations by Yerko was recognized as the best children's book in the United States in 2006 and was awarded the Andersen Foundation Medal.

Evgenia Gapchinskaya

Famous children's illustrator, who has earned the recognition of many parents with her creativity. Evgeniya was born in Kharkov in 1964, and studied there. Now he lives in Kyiv and collaborates with the Kyiv publishing house “A-ba-ba-ga-la-ma-ga”.

Galina Zinko

Ukrainian artist who has illustrated many children's books, including fairy tales by Pushkin, Aksakov, C. Perrault, H. H. Andersen. Galina Zinko has been successfully collaborating with the publishing house Clever for a long time, so many modern parents are familiar with her romantic and touching style.

“The Pigeon Story”, A. Borovetskaya

“Bloshkins and Frew from Barakhty Bay”, A. Nikolskaya

“Bloshkins and Frew from Barakhty Bay”, A. Nikolskaya

Anton Lomaev

Born in 1971 in the city of Vitebsk (which gave the world Chagall and Malevich). He studied at the Academy of Arts (Repin Institute) in St. Petersburg, lives and works there, and successfully collaborates with a number of Russian publishing houses. He is a member of the Union of Artists.

Anton Lomaev is known for his bright, imaginative illustrations for children's fairy tales. Among my favorites - magical illustrations to "The Little Mermaid" and other fairy tales by Andersen.

Illustrator Anton Lomaev. Fairy tale “The Little Mermaid”