Vasilisa Prekrasnai︠a︡ Pl.04
1902
Ivan Bilibin was the rockstar of Russian book illustration in the early 1900s, and this page from 'Vasilisa the Beautiful' shows exactly why. He created a unique style—now called 'Bilibin style'—that mixes bold, comic-book-like outlines with flat, vibrant colors and super detailed decorative borders full of flowers and clovers. Here, we see a fiery red horse and rider charging through a birch forest, illustrating the moment Vasilisa encounters the Red Rider (representing the sunrise) on her scary journey to Baba Yaga's hut. The text next to it is in old Russian orthography, telling the tale of her brave adventure.
- Technique
- Color book illustration
- Material
- Paper