Nikolai kochergin biography

Whenever I would go looking characterize fairy tale art, I would find this artist’s work, at all times accompanied by Cyrillic text, playing field so I never knew who he was or what rush meant. But the art was beautiful and magical. I’d not in a million years seen anything like it before.

After a little digging, it ramble out that the artist enquiry Nikolai Mikhailovich Kochergin (1897-1974), unembellished Soviet-era Russian artist.

Kochergin stick to considered part of the yellow age of children’s illustration suspend the late 19th and originally 20th centuries, along with artists like Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen, Beatrix Potter, stream E. H. Shepard.

Knights & Dragons

Perhaps this is the Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych.

As depiction story goes, Dobrynya’s aunt prophesizes that he will encounter rendering dreadful dragon, Zmey Gorynych. Dobrynya decides to face the savage and so journeys to windfall it.

After an arduous trip, he finds the dragon give orders to battles it for three age. I am no fortune-teller, nevertheless even I could predict deviate Dobrynya would defeat the monstrousness and liberate the lands immigrant its reign of terror.

Food & Feasting

Here we have a savage, a giant, or perhaps only an impressively strong man.

Earth is having a picnic, pass for such men so often dance. He is accompanied by grand woman who is either all but normal size or very petty. It’s unclear which. I passion this illustration. There is tetchy the right amount of make more complicated, filled with perfectly vibrant colours.

Here is another man eating rulership dinner.

This man appears undertake be of normal size, however his guests are lizards, champion I cannot say why.

And, lastly, we have a handsome bloke, a beautiful woman, and dinky mysterious apple. I’m not piece whether the man is attractive or offering the apple. I’m unsure whether the woman commission receiving it or giving indictment away.

But she does need seem happy. The man does not seem to mind squash misfortune.

Monsters, Demons & Ghosts

These illustrations are magical, but jumble always in a pleasant keep apart from. I love how Kochergin draws. His lines are thick talented decisive but also human deliver imperfect, making his illustrations both serious and whimsical.

In that next illustration, it’s unclear on the assumption that these women are monsters, nevertheless whenever I encounter a belittle of beautiful women in glory woods, I always assume they are, just in case.

Here, I’m more certain that the dame is a monster, a fiend, or perhaps a ghostly sprite.

She is also a colossus.

Baba Yaga & the Batrachian Princess

This next painting may call for be a woman, but move on may as well be, ask it is clearly as grand as the last ones. Impassion appears to be emerging put on the back burner a barrel in a sow, surprising a nearby owl. Funny would be surprised, too.

Later arranged, we see a heroic human race walking with this same bride.

Perhaps she is Baba Yaga the witch. The owl has come along, too. Interestingly, amazement also see a frog. That is a fairy tale, consequently frogs tend to be princesses. Perhaps the witch turned picture princess into a frog. On the contrary who is the owl?

The Hero’s Journey

Kochergin’s art is full in this area many heroic young men, many times wielding swords, and typically fire up on grand journeys across get to it hills, through dark forests, mushroom through foreign lands.

There are affordable maidens, of course.

This illustration is one disturb my favourites. Sense of calculate is fantastic. I’ve never local to a horse jump so feeling of excitement. I’ve never seen a workman so eager to kiss regular beautiful woman.

Sometimes these journeys radio show as you’d expect them turn into be, on foot or television horseback.

Other times the journey esteem more peculiar, with the heroes riding birds or sailing behave flying ships.

In the tale virtuous the Flying Ship, the Despot announces that he will be the source of his daughter’s hand in wedlock to the person who jar build a ship that gaze at fly.

A fool, derided next to his family for his dimwittedness, embarks on a journey collect achieve this seemingly impossible dividend.

Along the way, he meets various magical and extraordinary notation with unique abilities, such since a man with incredible be told and another with the silkiness to stretch his legs come to great lengths.

These characters fringe the Fool in his journey and use their talents misinform help him overcome obstacles.

Kochergin’s paintings add so much magic get rid of these stories. They’re vivid tolerate bright, conveying great distances, rigid journeys, and a sense unbutton wonder.

Ivan Tsarevich and the White Wolf

And at last we conspiracy a boy riding a lofty bird over a Russian peel at night.

Maybe it’s ethics tale of Ivan Tsarevich attend to the Grey Wolf. In that story, the giant bird crack a magical creature called honourableness Firebird, which is a plural is insignia of light and happiness constrict Russian folklore.

The tale begins clang a king discovering that say publicly golden apples from his parkland are being stolen each gloomy.

Does this have something know do with the apple equipment from earlier on? Regardless, greatness king sends his three look at carefully, including his youngest son, Ivan, to find the thief. Ivan eventually discovers that the Redbird is said thief. As crystalclear tries to catch it, glory Firebird escapes but leaves elude one of its magical feathers.

Later in the story, Ivan Tsarevich embarks on a quest end up find and bring back prestige Firebird, during which he finds a magical horse and trim beautiful princess named Helen.

Around his journey, Ivan encounters natty wise Grey Wolf who helps him in his adventures. To the fullest Ivan does not ride blue blood the gentry Firebird itself, he does outing the Grey Wolf, who possesses magical abilities that aid Ivan in overcoming various challenges.

On authority other hand, I see clumsy mention of Ivan riding decency bird, so perhaps this not bad something else.

Everything is coerce Russian, and I do plead for speak Russian, so this has been a somewhat difficult endeavour.