Yuri Alexejewitsch Wasnezow

Yuri Alexejewitsch Wasnezow ( Russian Ю́рий Алексе́евич Васнецо́в, born March 22, 1900 in Vyatka, today Kirov ; died May 3, 1973 in Leningrad, today St. Petersburg ) was a Russian-Soviet painter and illustrator . He became particularly well known for illustrating books for children and fairy tales.

Life

Waszenow studied in the 1920s with Vladimir Vasilyevich Lebedew, who was most important at the time . He was one of the representatives of Cubism . After this was frowned upon under Stalin , Waszenow shifted his activities mainly to ostensibly non-political topics of the fairy tale world. This gave him the opportunity to continue experimenting artistically without causing offense. He was inspired by Russian folk art, which he combined with the art concept of the Russian avant-garde.

In 1932 Wasnetsov was accepted into the Leningrad Artists' Union. During the siege of Leningrad in World War II, he was evacuated from Perm . In 1945 he returned to Leningrad. In 1973 he died as one of the most famous illustrators in the Soviet Union.

Waszenow also painted throughout his career. His paintings were never exhibited during his lifetime, as he feared formalism .

Awards

Waszenow has received several awards for his work, including a. as

• Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1946)
• People's Artist of the RSFSR (1966)
• State Prize of the USSR (1971)

Works (selection)

• The rainbow gate. Russian nursery rhymes . Stalling-Verlag, Oldenburg 1985, ISBN 978-3-7979-2212-0
• Yuri Wasnezow: painting, drawings, watercolors, book graphics, lithographs, stage design, porcelain . Leningrad: Aurora-Kunstverlag 1984

literature

• ATAK : Unmistakable. ATAK about the Russian draftsman Yuri Waszenow . DAS MAGAZIN 9/2017, pp. 98–100