Gennadi Konstantinowitsch Spirin

Gennadi Konstantinowitsch Spirin ( Russian Геннадий Константинович Спирин , scientific transliteration Gennadij Konstantinovič Spirin ; born December 25, 1948 in Orechowo-Sujewo , Moscow Oblast ) is a Russian illustrator who specializes in children's books.

Life

Gennady Spirin attended the Surikov Art School and later studied at the Moscow Art Academy. After the end of the Soviet Union, he moved to Germany and a little later (1991) to Princeton, New Jersey , where he now lives with his family, a wife and three children.

Work

Spirin has been illustrating children's books since 1979. He now holds a high position in the illustrator scene. His detailed drawings, reminiscent of the Middle Ages, are exhibited in large parts of the world and have also received multiple awards. The painter is considered one of the best in this art among his peers.

In the days of the Soviet Union, he had already successfully published drawings and enjoyed a great reputation in the country. Gennady Spirin preferred to illustrate versions of Russian fairy tales, such as The Story of the Firebird , The Little Black Hen , The Sea King's Daughter or The Tale of Tsar Saltan . He also often writes the texts of his books himself.

Awards

Here are some of the important prizes that Gennadi Spirin received in his career as an illustrator:

• The gold medal of the American Society of Illustrators .
• The gold plate of the International Biennial for Children's Book Illustration Bratislava .
• First prize for illustration at the Barcelona International Children's Book Fair .
• The Premio Grafico of the Bologna Children's Book Fair .
• Spirin's version of Gulliver's Travels was named one of the best illustrated books by the New York Times Book Review .

Works (illustrations, extract)

• with Natalija Romanova: Our tree stump, children's book. (Original title: Чей это пень? - Čej ėto pen '? ), Translated by Hans Baumann. Thienemann, Stuttgart / Vienna 1985, ISBN 3-522-42080-2 .
• as an author: The story of the firebird, children's book. Thienemann-Esslinger; Edition: 1 (July 28, 2003), ISBN 3-480-21907-1 / ISBN 978-3-480-21907-0

Web links

• Literature by and about Gennadi Konstantinowitsch Spirin in the catalog of the German National Library