In the first decades of the twentieth century, drawings by Alexander Nikolaevich Benois (1870 – 1960) were made for “The Bronze Horseman” - the best that was created in the entire history of Pushkin’s illustrations.
Benoit began working on The Bronze Horseman in 1903. Over the next 20 years, he created a series of drawings, headpieces and endings, as well as great amount options and sketches. The first edition of these illustrations, which were prepared for a pocket edition, was created in 1903 in Rome and St. Petersburg. Diaghilev published them in a different format in the first issue of the World of Art magazine in 1904. The first cycle of illustrations consisted of 32 drawings made in ink and watercolor.
In 1905, A.N. Benois, while in Versailles, reworked six of his previous illustrations and completed the frontispiece for The Bronze Horseman. In the new drawings for “The Bronze Horseman” the theme of pursuit by the Horseman little man becomes the main one: the black horseman over the fugitive is not so much Falconet’s masterpiece as the personification of brutal force and power. And St. Petersburg is not the one that captivates with artistic perfection and the scope of construction ideas, but a gloomy city - a cluster of gloomy houses, shopping arcades, fences. The anxiety and concern that gripped the artist during this period here turns into a real cry about the fate of man in Russia.
In 1916, 1921–1922, the cycle was revised for the third time and supplemented with new drawings.

In the drawings of A.N. Benois, the images of A.S. Pushkin’s “Petersburg Tale” are, as it were, colored by the reflections and experiences of a person at the beginning of the 20th century.
Therefore, it was the “modernity” of Benoit’s illustrations that caught the eye of art connoisseurs at the beginning of the twentieth century; it seemed to them no less significant than the artist’s sense of style and understanding Pushkin era and the ability to skillfully theatricalize the action, developing a series of “masterfully choreographed mise-en-scenes.” The artist and art critic Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar at that time wrote to Benoit about these illustrations of his: “They are so good that I still cannot come to my senses from the novelty of the impressions. The era and Pushkin are conveyed damn well, and there is no smell of engraving material at all, no patina. They are terribly modern - and this is important..."

BENOIT Alexander Nikolaevich. A set of postcards with the artist’s illustrations for the poem by A.S. Pushkin "The Bronze Horseman" (Edition " Soviet artist". Moscow. 1966)

Illustration from 1916
On the shore desert waves
He stood there, full of great thoughts,
And he looked into the distance. Wide before him
The river rushed...

Illustration from 1903

A hundred years have passed, and the young city,
There is beauty and wonder in full countries,
From the darkness of the forests, from the swamps of blat
He ascended magnificently and proudly;
Where was the Finnish fisherman before?
Nature's sad stepson
Alone on the low banks
Thrown into unknown waters
Your old net, now there
Along busy shores
Slender communities crowd together
Palaces and towers; ships
A crowd from all over the world
They strive for rich marinas;
The Neva is dressed in granite;
Bridges hung over the waters;
Dark green gardens
Islands covered it...

Illustration from 1916

I love you, Petra's creation,
I love your strict, slender appearance,
Neva sovereign current,
Its coastal granite,
Your fences have a cast iron pattern,
of your thoughtful nights
Transparent twilight, moonless shine,
When I'm in my room
I write, I read without a lamp,
And the sleeping communities are clear
Deserted streets and light
Admiralty needle,
And, not letting the darkness of the night,
To golden skies
One dawn gives way to another
He hurries, giving the night half an hour.

Illustration 1903
Over darkened Petrograd
November breathed the autumn chill.
Splashing with a noisy wave
To the edges of your slender fence,
Neva was tossing around like a sick person
Restless in my bed.
It was already late and dark;
The rain beat angrily on the window,
And the wind blew, howling sadly.
At that time from the guests home
Young Evgeniy came...

Illustration 1903

Terrible day!
Neva all night
Longing for the sea against the storm,
Without overcoming their violent foolishness...
And she couldn’t bear to argue...
In the morning over its banks
There were crowds of people crowded together,
Admiring the splashes, mountains
And the foam of angry waters

Illustration 1903

And Petropol emerged like Triton,
Waist-deep in water.
Siege! Attack! Evil waves
Like thieves, they climb into windows. Chelny
From the run the windows are smashed by the stern.
Trays under a wet veil,
Fragments of huts, logs, roofs,
Stock trade goods,
The belongings of pale poverty,
Bridges demolished by thunderstorms,
Coffins from a washed-out cemetery
Floating through the streets!

Illustration 1916

Then, on Petrova Square,
Where a new house has risen in the corner,
Where above the elevated porch
With a raised paw, as if alive,
There are two guard lions standing,
Riding a marble beast,
Without a hat, hands clasped in a cross
Sat motionless, terribly pale
Eugene….

Illustration 1916

The water has subsided and the pavement
It opened, and Evgeny is mine
He hurries, his soul sinking,
In hope, fear and longing
To the barely reconciled river.
But victories are full of triumph,
The waves were still boiling angrily,
As if a fire was smoldering under them,
The foam still covered them,
And Neva was breathing heavily,
Like a horse running back from battle.
Evgeny looks: he sees a boat;
He runs to her as if he were on a find;
He's calling the carrier...

Illustration 1903

And long with stormy waves
An experienced rower fought
And hide deep between their rows
Every hour with daring swimmers
The boat was ready...

Illustration 1903

What is this?...
He stopped.
I went back and came back.
He looks... he walks... he looks some more.
This is the place where their house stands;
Here is the willow. There was a gate here -
Apparently they were blown away. Where is home?
And, full of gloomy care,
He keeps walking and walking around...

Illustration 1903

But my poor, poor Evgeniy...
Alas, his troubled mind
Against terrible shocks
I couldn't resist. Rebellious noise
The Neva and the winds were heard
In his ears. Terrible thoughts
Silently full, he wandered.
...He'll be out soon
Became alien. I wandered on foot all day,
And he slept on the pier; ate
In the window served in a piece.
His clothes are shabby
It tore and smoldered. Angry children
They threw stones after him.

Illustration 1903
He found himself under the pillars
Big house. On the porch
With a raised paw, as if alive,
The lions stood guard,
And right in the dark heights
Above the fenced rock
Idol with outstretched hand
Sat on a bronze horse.
Evgeny shuddered. cleared up
The thoughts in it are scary. He found out
And the place where the flood played,
Where the waves of predators crowded,
Rioting angrily around him,
And lions, and the square, and that,
Who stood motionless
In the darkness with a copper head,
The one whose will is fatal
A city was founded under the sea...

Illustration 1903

And from the time when it happened
He should go to that square
His face showed
Confusion. To your heart
He hastily pressed his hand
As if subduing him with torment
A worn out cap,
Didn’t raise embarrassed eyes
And he walked aside.

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A.S. Pushkin “The Bronze Horseman”

The history of the creation of the poem The poem is based on real story flood that occurred in November 1824 in St. Petersburg. During the flood, Pushkin was in exile in Mikhailovskoye, so in the poem he described the events according to eyewitnesses. The story about the “revived monument” could have been taken by Pushkin from the story about how in 1812 Emperor Alexander I wanted to remove the monument to Peter from St. Petersburg. But the emperor was stopped by reporting the dream of a major. In his dream, the major saw the “Bronze Horseman” galloping through the streets of St. Petersburg and, approaching the emperor, said to him: “Young man! What have you brought my Russia to! But while I’m in place, my city has nothing to fear.” According to another version, Pushkin could have borrowed the idea of ​​​​a revived monument from Don Juan.

Illustrations by A. N. Benois for the poem “The Bronze Horseman” Eugene at the place where his beloved lived Eugene talking to the Bronze Horseman

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois Alexander Nikolaevich Benois (April 21, 1870, St. Petersburg - February 9, 1960, Paris) - Russian artist, art historian, art critic, founder and chief ideologist of the World of Art association.

Born on April 21, 1870 in St. Petersburg, in the family of architect Nikolai Leontievich Benois and his wife Camilla, daughter of architect A.K. Kavos. He studied for some time at the Academy of Arts, and also studied fine arts independently and under the guidance of his older brother Albert. In 1894 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University. In 1894, he began his career as a theorist and art historian, writing a chapter on Russian artists for the German collection “History paintings of the 19th century century." In 1896-1898 and 1905-1907 he worked in France. Became one of the organizers and ideologists artistic association"World of Art", founded the magazine of the same name. In 1916-1918, the artist created illustrations for A. S. Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman”. In 1918, Benoit headed Picture gallery Hermitage, published her new catalogue. Continued to work as a bookstore and theater artist and director, in particular, worked on staging and designing performances at the Petrograd Bolshoi Drama Theater. In 1925 he took part in International exhibition modern decorative and industrial arts in Paris. In 1926, A. N. Benois left the USSR. He lived in Paris, where he worked on sketches of theatrical scenery and costumes. Participated in S. Diaghilev’s ballet enterprise “Ballets Russes” as an artist and director of performances. Died on February 9, 1960 in Paris. IN last years was working on his memoirs.

Illustrations by M. S. Rodionov for the poem “The Bronze Horseman” Death of Eugene Peter I on the banks of the Neva

Mikhail Semenovich Rodionov Mikhail Semenovich Rodionov (1885, Uryupinsky district of the Volgograd region - 1956, Moscow) - Russian artist and art teacher.

He studied in Moscow, initially in the studios of F. Rerberg and I. Mashkov, then at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in the painting department (1908-1910) and after a break in the sculpture department (1915-1918). In the 1920s was part of the art association "Makovets". In the pre-war period, he actively worked in the field of book illustration, especially for the works of L. N. Tolstoy; The best of these works is named by the Great Encyclopedia "Terra" as the lithographs for the story "The Canvasser" (1934, for the publishing house "Academia"). Among later works A series of lithographic portraits of cultural figures stands out. He was married to Elizaveta Vladimirovna Giatsintova (1888-1965), daughter of art critic Vladimir Giatsintov and sister of actress Sofia Giatsintova.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF RUSSIA

State educational institution higher professional education

"RUSSIAN STATE HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY"

(RGGU)

FACULTY OF ART HISTORY

Higher School of Restoration

DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF A. BENOIT’S ILLUSTRATIONS FOR A. S. PUSHKIN’S POEM “THE BRONZE HORSEMAN”

Coursework for a 1st year student in the evening department

Moscow 2011

1. Introduction _________________________________________________ 3

2. Chapter I. Analysis of historical and artistic context______ 5

3. Chapter II. Graphic sheets 3rd edition: description and analysis ____ 9

4. Chapter III. Features of the art of book graphics _____________ 15

5. Conclusion_______________________________________________ 19

6. List of sources and literature______________________________ 21

Introduction

In the process of working on illustrations for the poem “The Bronze Horseman,” which lasted almost 20 years, A. Benois created three editions of the illustrations - 1903, 1905, 1916. The subject of analysis in this work is the illustrations of the third edition, which were published in the book edition of 1923. The original graphic sheets were made by Benoit in ink, graphite pencil, and watercolor. The illustrations are printed using lithography technique.

A copy of the 1923 edition is in the RSL, also in State Museum(GMP). The original sheets of different editions are divided into different museums: the Pushkin Museum named after. Pushkin, State Historical Museum, Russian Museum, and are also in private collections.

The nature of the analyzed material, book illustration, determines two directions of analysis: book edition and graphic sheets.

The purpose of the work is to explore the relationship between the artistic and technical features of illustrative material in the context of a book publication, the embodiment of poetic images of the poem by artistic and graphic means.

To achieve this goal, the following tasks are solved - to identify Benoit’s artistic concept, historical and cultural aspect in the creation of illustrative material, to identify the technical features of execution, to determine the significance of book graphics in the artist’s work. The objectives of the work also include a comparison of illustrations in the 1916 edition with previous editions, allowing us to trace the development of the artist’s creative thought.

In accordance with the stated goal and objectives, the subject of analysis, the work has a three-part structure. The first part is devoted to the analysis of the artistic and historical context of the artist’s work, as well as Pushkin’s poem. The second part is devoted to graphic sheets in the context of the overall artistic outline of the poem. The third part examines the features of book illustration in terms of technology and book architectonics.

ChapterI. Analysis of historical and artistic context

When studying and exploring the work of A. Benois, one should consider his artistic activity in the context of the “World of Art” association, which was one of the most significant cultural phenomena of the early 20th century. Benoit, along with Somov, Bakst, Dobuzhinsky, was one of its founders. As N. Lapshina notes: “... the range of interests of the World of Art, especially its largest representatives, was unusually wide and varied. Besides easel painting and graphics... they are responsible for high achievements in the art of books... One might even say that in theatrical scenery and book graphics, the creativity of the World of Art artists amounted to the most important stage in the history of not only Russian, but also world art."

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the flourishing of the art of book graphics, woodcuts and lithographs. Of note is the three-volume collection of works for the 100th anniversary of Pushkin with illustrations by Benois, Repin, Surikov, Vrubel, Serov, Levitan, Lanceray, in which Benois presented two illustrations for “The Queen of Spades.” The artist extensively studies the history of book art and engraving, gives a course of lectures on the history of styles and ornament; he is reputed to be an expert and skilled connoisseur of books.

The idea of ​​illustrating the poem “The Bronze Horseman” came to Benoit in 1903. Then he completed 32 drawings, but disagreements with publishers did not allow the planned enterprise to be realized. A feature of Benoit's creative plan was verse-by-strophe illustration and strict adherence to Pushkin's text. This is how Benoit describes the solution to his plan: “I conceived these illustrations in the form of compositions accompanying each page of text. I set the format to a tiny, pocket-sized one, like the almanacs of Pushkin’s era.”

The illustrations for the poem can be considered in the context of the general artistic activity Benois on the “rehabilitation” of the artistic and cultural status of St. Petersburg. For many, Petersburg by that time seemed to be the center of the spirit of officialdom, bureaucracy; modern buildings violated the integrity of the architectural ensemble. In this vein, Benoit’s artistic publications appeared, including “Picturesque Petersburg,” a series of St. Petersburg watercolors. Benoit defines his attitude to the events taking place in the life of the city as “historical sentimentalism”, caused by the contrasts of the old, “classicistic” and new, industrial order of life, the onset of alien architectural elements (factory buildings, factory buildings), the destruction historical monuments. Therefore, turning to the “Petersburg Tale” has strong justification for the artist. “It is still customary to look at St. Petersburg as something sluggish and pale, devoid of own life. Only in recent years have people begun to somehow understand that St. Petersburg has a completely original and unique beauty. ... St. Petersburg is something truly precious for the entire Russian culture.” In this we discover the commonality of the plan of Pushkin and Benois - to create a hymn to the creation of Peter. The city is present in the poem not only as a decoration, a space for the events taking place, but it reveals its own character and dominates the fate of a person. Peter is the genius of this city, and the Falconet monument is his personification.

Researchers point to the deep rootedness of the work of the World of Art artists in the history of St. Petersburg. “Their art was born in St. Petersburg. ... with their art they made us see the graphic nature of the city.”

Benoit is wonderful, subtle historical painter. Here you can recall his work “Parade under Paul I”. The city in Benoit’s illustrations for The Bronze Horseman is presented in all the richness of its architecture, everyday traits. The illustrations represent, in essence, a historical reconstruction and embody the spirit of the Alexander era. Creativity of Benoit rooted in the Pushkin era, poetry, because it was it that served as the key to recreate such dear to my heart artist of the world.

Undoubtedly, Benoit’s appeal to the theme of disaster and natural disaster is interesting in the context of this study. The beginning of the 20th century was filled with forebodings of upheaval. Russia was on the eve of great changes. How much more philosophical and tragic the poem is filled with illustrations in the perspective of future events. In such a prophetic vein, many viewed the drawing that illustrated the scene of the chase and escape of Eugene, which became the frontispiece of the 1923 edition. Let us also note the flood that occurred in St. Petersburg in the fall of 1903. It did not have such tragic consequences as in 1824, “... the water in the Neva and in the canals overflowed its banks, and the streets ... turned into rivers for several hours,” but it provided the artist with the most valuable living material for his work.

Another aspect of Pushkin’s poem seemed to Benoit to be essential in the perception of the relationship between the hero (Eugene) and the city, the creation of Peter. This is the unreality, the fantastic nature of St. Petersburg, which lies in the very essence of the city, without awareness of which it is difficult to appreciate the depth of the hero’s tragedy. Benoit himself emphasizes his passion for this characteristic feature: “... it was this poem that captivated me, touched and excited me with its mixture of the real and the fantastic...” Apparently, this is the characteristic “palette” of the city, where white nights create a feeling of illusory, illusory nature of the surrounding space, where swamp soil gives birth to crazy visions.

The second edition of the illustrations was made by Benoit in 1905. The series consisted of six illustrations, including the famous frontispiece. The artist writes: “... I wanted the book to be “pocket”, in the format of almanacs of the Pushkin era, but I had to subordinate the drawings to the format of our magazine [“World of Art” No. 1 for 1904]. This is the reason why I decided to release the same series of compositions in a much larger format in our other publishing house.” In the original, the size of the frontispiece is 42x31.5 cm, while the illustrations of the first edition had a size of 21.3x21.1 cm.

The illustrative material for the 1923 artistic edition of the poem “The Bronze Horseman” is based on the third edition of Benoit’s drawings, which he completed in 1916. He repeated the six large sheets of the second edition almost without changes, the sheets of the first were drawn again with some corrections. Transferring the originals to the Russian Museum in 1918, the author made dedicatory and memorial inscriptions on almost each of them. These dedications are a kind of autobiographical subtext, an important link in the understanding of the illustrative material, introducing a personal aspect to their perception.

ChapterII. Graphic sheets 3rd edition: description and analysis

The drawings are made in ink, pen, and graphite pencil with different tonal watercolor underlays - gray, greenish, yellowish, applied with a brush. They create an atmosphere, convey the character of the city, its airspace, and the internal state of the main character. The color scheme of the drawings is quite monotonous, sparing, thereby more clearly denoting inner experiences Evgenia, the drama of events. The techniques of watercolor, pastel, and gouache were favorite in the work of the artists of the “World of Art”; they served to embody such important sensations for artists as “the ephemerality of being, the fragility of dreams, the poetry of experiences.”

A feature of the illustrations is the coexistence of different graphic styles - color lithographs are interspersed with graphic splashes that emphasize final episodes each of the parts. This gave rise to criticism of the artist, which included a reproach for lack of integrity, hesitation artistic idea. However, this approach was based on Benoit’s desire to comply with the “generous diversity of stylistic flows of Pushkin’s St. Petersburg epic.” The graphic headpieces are symbolic and reflect the romantic, fantastic nature of the poem. Filling the pages mythological images, such as Triton and the Naiad (frequent characters in park sculpture), emphasizes the animation of the city, the elements, which in Pushkin’s text is conveyed in various poetic images: “The Neva tossed about like a sick person in her bed,” “waves climbed like animals through the windows,” “Neva she was breathing like a horse running back from battle.” The outbreak of the conflict at the end of the first part of the poem is resolved by Benoit precisely with the help of a graphic splash screen, which emphasizes the fantastic nature of the confrontation.

Let us dwell on the key episodes of poetic and illustrative material. The publication opens with a frontispiece depicting a chase scene. Formed as the basis of the poem, it seems to outline the leitmotif, the motive of confrontation, madness, phantasmagoria. It most significantly expresses the contrast between the greatness of the monument and the insignificance of Eugene - it seems to spread along the ground, representing rather own shadow, shadow from the Giant's Shadow. The shining reflection of the moon on the brow of the monument enhances the impression of the fantastic nature of what is happening.

The illustrations accompanying the introduction to the poem are dedicated to the glorification of the city in its arts and are directly related to the motifs of the art of Pushkin’s era.

Unlike the 1903 edition, in which Peter occupies the central part of the drawing, facing the viewer “en face”, in the 1916 drawing Peter stands in the distance and faces the viewer sideways, almost with his back. Here we observe a correspondence with Pushkin’s “He stood”, the replacement of the name with the pronoun. This imparts to Peter the character of sublime, unattainable greatness. IN illustrations by Benoit solves this problem as follows. Peter’s pose, in contrast to his retinue, who is literally blown off his feet, is balanced and calm. The waves seem to peacefully spread at his feet. We understand that in front of us there is no a common person. Greatness in the text reveals his aspirations; in the picture it is the breadth of the horizon, Peter’s aspiration into the distance. Peter's gaze is directed not only into the distance, but also beyond the border of the illustration, which reflects the intentions known only to him. It is curious that Benoit “clears” the horizon of Pushkin’s images of “poor boat”, “blackened hut”. This reflected Benois’s plan and the peculiarities of Pushkin’s poetics - we perfectly see and feel the images beyond the boundaries of the drawing; gusts of wind, billowing clothes, make it possible to clearly distinguish the rustling forest behind the viewer. The stormy, hostile nature of the terrain is emphasized by expressive black lines and strokes.

“A hundred years have passed...” we read in Pushkin’s text, and the next illustration is a panorama of the city, which, according to N. Lapshina’s observation, goes back to the landscape works of the remarkable painter of the Alexander era F. Alekseev. On the right is the corner bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress, in the distance the Exchange building, rostral columns, on the left in the distance is the Admiralty. The space is organized by a perspective expanding in all directions. In the distance, in the background, we see a floating, floating, fantastic city, ready to disappear into the ghostly white night if it were not balanced by the corner bastion. In the canoe floating along the river, emerging from the previous stanza, we see a rower and two riders - a man and a woman. People almost completely disappeared into the surrounding landscape, the elements of granite and water.

This drawing is dedicated to “his wife and friend Akita,” and perhaps the author represents himself and his friend in the riders, thus transporting the graphic story through two centuries. Combining time layers, introducing his own element of the author-lyrical hero, Benoit weaves personal feelings, his life into the fabric of the narrative. The poem acquires the character of historical continuity, and the events taking place - a transhistorical character.

The following interior illustration, located on one spread in contrast to the panorama, takes us to the innermost abode art world Petersburg. The poet, illuminated by the light of the white night, reads poetry to his friends in the darkness of the room. Poetry and graphics reign here. In this close circle, imperishable lines are born. The bright contrast between light and shadow of the composition emphasizes the mystery of what is happening.

In the introduction we discovered the titanic aspirations of Peter; at the beginning of the first part we learn the modest, human dreams of Eugene, which are about to “break” on the granite of the monument. The room depicted in the illustration, in which Eugene is sitting, refers the reader to a different Petersburg, the Petersburg of Dostoevsky’s “poor people,” Gogol’s “The Overcoat,” thereby emphasizing the historical continuity and significance of the theme of the little man raised by Pushkin in the poem.

The illustrations of the first part of the poem represent various scenes of flooding, the triumph of the elements, and mythical natural forces. In depicting the elements, Benoit uses diagonal, broken lines, torn strokes. They destroy the integrity of the composition and the stability of the urban landscape. We can say that the graphic, harmonious rhythms of St. Petersburg are destroyed by the torn diagonals of waves and heavenly outlines.

Let us turn to the illustration with Eugene on a lion (“on a marble beast, astride, without a hat, with his hands clasped in a cross”), which is the beginning of a dramatic conflict. Here we observe a departure from the figurative structure of the poem. “The idol on a bronze horse” rises above the Neva “in an unshakable height.” However, the historical, topographical location of the lion on which Eugene was sitting did not allow Benoit to realize the conflict in one illustration; the silhouette of the monument is only barely outlined as a blur in the distance. Therefore, the occurrence of the conflict is transferred to the next page in the form of a graphic splash screen, imparting a mythical character to future events. We see Peter on a pedestal, on which a mythical lion, as if woven from the elements, is stepping. This decision, however, still somewhat detracts from the drama of the episode.

The illustrations of the second part are dedicated to Eugene’s personal tragedy, his madness and opposition to Peter, the genius of St. Petersburg.

The scenes of Evgeniy approaching the monument and the chase have a cinematic character. Watching the monument from different angles, we seem to sense its materiality. Expressed in a series of successively unfolding scenes of the bypass of the monument and Eugene’s escape, the illustrative outline conveys the dynamism and tension of the chase. The horseman galloping after Eugene is not a living sculpture, but an imprinted monument to Falconet. By depicting the galloping monument in the form of a silhouette, Benoit emphasizes its phantasmagoric, ghostly character. Silhouette also denotes the conventionality of the background and transfers the characters from the depths of the scenery to the plane of the sheet.

A monument rising at the level of a three-story building in last scene, overwhelming with its grandeur, seems to be the apotheosis of hallucinations. Evgeny, pressed with his back to the building, no longer sees or feels the idol behind him, it is everywhere. From the night streets of St. Petersburg we are transported to inner world Evgenia, it’s as if we look into his eyes and see a nightmarish vision there.

Drawing scenes of a night chase and Eugene's madness, Benoit uses contrasts, creating a sense of tension. The sky, filled with alternating, broken stripes of ink and white, conveys the rumble of thunder, the desertedness of the streets increases the tension of what is happening, the white used by the author creates the ghostliness of the lighting; full moon arises as the apotheosis of madness.

In contrast last picture Madness The following illustration has an everyday, realistic character. Eugene wanders among passers-by, he is completely destroyed by his madness, and his tragedy seems to be lost in the general varied rhythm of the city. The monument sits firmly and unshakably on the pedestal, just as Peter once confidently stood on the shore of the desert waves. We see a moment of movement when Eugene and the rider intersect on the same straight line of perspective, presenting complete opposites in their direction.

Let us additionally denote the series artistic features illustrations. They are placed identically and sequentially on each page, determining the strict narrative nature of the illustrative material. In different places we see framing techniques. In the illustration “On the Shore of Desert Waves” Peter looks into the distance, filled with “great thoughts”; in the next frame we see, as it were, an image of his thoughts, the city that has arisen; The Emperor, looking towards the Exchange, and then the rostral column, with huge waves crashing on it; Eugene, sitting astride a lion, reflects on Parasha, and in the next illustration we see a house on the island being flooded by the waves. Also, the illustrative material is rich in plastic connections and repetitions. Watching Eugene destroyed by madness in the last scene against the backdrop of the monument, we see the same monument, unshakably rising among the waves of the flood.

If we follow Vipper’s apt remark that in assessing the work of an illustrator, “the criterion that ultimately decides is ... whether [the artist] has captured the spirit of the work,” then Benoit’s work seems to be the pinnacle of the skill of book illustration. He achieved remarkable authenticity in conveying the spirit of Alexander's, Pushkin's era, the depth of psychological confrontation, the tragedy of the contradiction between the greatness of Peter's cause and the sad fate of the “little man.” It can be argued that the depth of penetration into the text and its interpretation depend on the magnitude of artistic talent, which Benoit fully possessed. This determined the intrinsic value of his illustrations, which represent both an example of the remarkable unity of graphics and poetics, and an independent, self-valuable graphic cycle.

ChapterIII. Features of the art of book graphics

Speaking about a book as a single object, one should talk about its architectonics, that is, the correspondence of the various parts to the general structure, the holistic impression. This is the shape of the book, the features of the font and illustrative material in the organization of the space of the white sheet. Text and illustration (printed graphics), thus, appear to be related phenomena, and their stylistic unity comes to the fore. Whipper identifies the following consonant features: “... the desire for consonance with white paper, the language of black and white contrasts, decorative functions, a certain freedom in relation to spatial and temporal unity. These properties help book graphics to become closer to literature and poetry.”

Stylistic unity is most fully achieved when using the same technique for preparing cliches. This technique was woodcut printing. Clear, precise, laconic lines drawn with a chisel, the conventionality of the background corresponded to the type set. Here we can mention a block book, where the text and illustrations were printed from one board. Over time, other techniques were developed - chisel engraving, lithography. They bring plasticity of images and depth of perspective to the illustration, giving the illustration a character of its own weight and separation from the book page.

Book illustrations for the poem are made using lithography technique. Let's turn to the author's comment: “I immediately colored the prints received from the printing house, reproducing my drawings (made in the style of polytypes of the 30s), in “neutral” tones, which were then to be printed using the lithographic method.” Lithographs are most characteristic full transmission features original technology, wide visual possibilities. Technical features of lithographic technology - soft strokes, smooth transitions, depth of contrasts. “Night and fog are closer to lithography than daylight. Her language is built on transitions and omissions.”

What else could be more suitable for conveying the spirit of St. Petersburg, “the most deliberate and abstract city,” its illusory, ephemeral nature? Stylistic features lithographs served to reveal the romantic appearance of the poem. Probably, in addition to purely craft features, it was the realistic, fantastic, romantic character of the “Petersburg Tale”, the city itself, which Benoit was so passionate about, that determined the artist’s choice in favor of lithography. Using a pen graphite pencil allowed the artist to convey the classicism of the city, expressed with a laconic touch and precise lines.

Book illustrations are a type of accompanying graphics. This determines the direction of the artist’s work - the interpretation of poetic images using graphic means and rhythms. For Benoit, the pictorial and poetic balance of the composition is especially important. Let us note that Pushkin’s word has visual clarity, figurative richness of poetic and sound range. Literally following the text could bring discord into the composition and weaken the poetic experience. So, we can talk about the validity of various omissions, or the introduction of innovations on the part of the artist.

Conceived as a pocket almanac, the first edition of the illustrations reflected their character - laconicism, simplicity. The absence of a frame or frame transfers the characters directly to the plane of the page. In the rough sketches, Benoit resorts to some ornamentation in the design of illustrations, but later refuses in favor of simplicity and naturalness, consistent with the spirit of Pushkin’s poetry.

The drawings of 1916 are framed by a black line, adding weight and some picturesqueness to the illustrations. This affects some isolation of the illustrations from the text, which can be observed in comparison with the graphic headbands that appear in some places among the illustrations. They have a great connection with the text and font. For Benois the theater artist, there may have been an element of theatricality and convention here - the frame seems to separate the stage from the viewer.

Benoit was characterized by recognition of the personal significance of illustration and the responsibility of artistic interpretation. the main objective illustrations - “to sharpen the persuasiveness of those images that were generated by reading, ... remain in close harmony with the main content of the book...”. Illustrations should serve as “decoration... in the sense of truly enlivening the text, in the sense of clarifying it...”. We see here an indication of two accompanying functions of book illustration - ornamental and figurative. Vipper argues in a similar way in his work: “... a book illustration should be both an image and an ornamental sign.” Thus, united by the unity of the sheet and the fabric of the story, the text and the drawing represent two levels of storytelling, coexisting in a subtle unity.

Recognition of the merits of Benoit's graphic works was widespread; they were highly appreciated by Grabar, Repin, Kustodiev, and were enthusiastically received at the exhibition of the Union of Russian Artists in 1904. The 1905 frontispiece was also recognized as a significant phenomenon and made a huge impression. In Benoit's work there was a rapprochement between Russian poetry and Russian art books.

The “material” features of the publication, such as the quality of paper and printing, made it possible to speak of the book as “one of the largest printing achievements of the revolutionary time,” however, the separation of graphic styles, the pictorial, “non-book” nature of the illustrations, overwhelming the thin columns of text, led to critical comments to the publication. The “failure” of the 1923 book was also recognized by the most serious critics: the book evoked a feeling of disharmony, lack of coordination, and randomness.” But there were other opinions. A. Ospovat writes: “The emptiness of the impositions and margins, which arose due to the difference in the width of the text and illustrations ... reads like a knightly gesture of graphics towards poetry.” The whiteness of the book sheet in this case personifies the container of the author's voice, representing the sound ornament of the poetic work.

Conclusion

Illustrations for Pushkin’s “The Bronze Horseman” are one of the peaks in the work of the artist Alexander Benois. He managed to embody in his work the spirit of Pushkin's era, the beauty of the arts that filled the space of St. Petersburg, and at the same time convey one of the most important motives of Pushkin's story - the tragedy of a little man in the light of the greatness of the historical plan.

Important moment at birth artistic design Benois is his commonality with Pushkin's plan - the creation of a hymn to the creation of Peter. While exploring the origins of the idea, it was important for us to turn to the creativity of the World of Art association, one of the directions of which was “rehabilitation” artistic heritage Russian culture XIX century.

Following the graphic narrative, we discovered a number of features - cinematic framing techniques, plastic repetitions, the use of contrasts and oppositions that reflect the dynamics, rhythm of the poem, the intensity of experiences, the drama of events. A feature of the illustrative material is also the coexistence of two graphic styles - these are color lithographs and graphic headbands, reflecting the diversity of stylistic flows of Pushkin's text, the coexistence of the real and mystical layers of the poem.

To understand the unity of illustration and text, the commonality of their tasks is essential - mastering the space of a white sheet of paper. Having examined the artist’s approach to book illustration, we identified two component functions: figurative and ornamental. It is the close unity of these functions that is the key to the coexistence of illustration and text.

Having determined the features of lithographic technique, such as soft strokes, smooth transitions, depth of contrasts, we came to understand their correspondence to the romantic, fantastic spirit of Pushkin’s poem.

Having studied the development of the artist’s creative concept in various editions, we identified their features. Thus, the first edition most closely corresponds to the woodcut technique and reveals closeness to the text and typesetting. Illustrations latest edition have a more picturesque, significant character, representing a self-valued graphic cycle. This approach reflected Benoit’s idea of own meaning illustrations, responsible interpretation of poetic images.

List of sources and literature

Sources

1. Benoit A. My memories. In 5 books. Book 1-3. - M.: Nauka, 1990. - 712 p.

2. Benoit A. My memories. In 5 books. Book 4, 5. - M.: Nauka, 1990. - 744 p.

3. Pushkin horseman: Petersburg story/ ill. A. Benoit. - St. Petersburg: Committee for the Popularization of Art Publications, 1923. - 78 p.

4. Pushkin's horseman. - L.: Nauka, 1978. - 288 p.

Literature

5. Alpatov general history arts - M.: Soviet artist, 1979. - 288 p.

6. Alexander Benois reflects... / edition prepared, . - M.: Soviet Artist, 1968. - 752 p.

7. Whipper in historical study art. - M.: Publishing House V. Shevchuk, 2008. - 368 p.

8. Gerchuk graphics and art books: textbook. - M.: Aspect Press, 2000. - 320 p.

9. Gusarova art. - L.: Artist of the RSFSR, 1972. - 100 p.

10. Zilberstein finds: The Age of Pushkin. - M.: art, 1993. - 296 p.

11. Lapshin art: essays on history and creative practice. - M.: Art, 1977. - 344 p.

Lapshin art: essays on history and creative practice. M., 1977. P. 7.

Benoit A. My memories. In 5 books. Book 4, 5. M., 1990. P. 392.

Gusarova art. L., 1972. P. 22.

Benoit A. Decree. op. P. 394.

Alexander Benois reflects... M., 1968. P. 713.

Alexander Benois reflects... M., 1968. P. 713-714.

Gusarova. op. P. 28.

Ospovat. op. P. 248.

Whipper in the historical study of art. M., 2008. P. 91.

Gerchuk graphics and art books: tutorial. M., 2000. P. 5.

Whipper. op. pp. 87-88.

Benoit A. Decree. op. P. 393.

Whipper. op. P. 72.

Alexander Benois reflects... M., 1968. P. 322.

Right there. pp. 322-323.

Whipper. op. P. 84.

Ospovat. op. P. 228.

Ospovat. op. P. 233.

Painting by A. Benois “The Pursuit. The frontispiece for a separate edition of A. S. Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman” is unusual in that, in addition to being interesting in itself as a work of art, it is an illustration for the immortal poem of the genius of Russian literature.

Few people know that in fact the monument to Peter I, standing in St. Petersburg on Senate Square, was made by sculptor E. Fontane from bronze. And it received its unofficial name - “The Bronze Horseman” - after the publication of A.S. Pushkin’s poem.

In addition, the interesting story is why

A. Benois came up with an illustration of Pushkin's poem. It's worth looking at the historical context here. The year the painting was created is 1905. The beginning of the first Russian revolution. Scrapping historical eras. The country is on the eve of other great upheavals. And in this context, its capital is perceived as the focus of all the negativity that brings with it the agonizing regime of power, bureaucracy, and the military.

Therefore, A. Benois wanted to “rehabilitate” the image of St. Petersburg, including using the material of A. S. Pushkin’s poem. Therefore, the artist took up pen, ink, watercolor, ink - those materials with which the picture was created.

Frontispiece

is a drawing that is printed on the title spread of the publication, setting the tone for all further illustrations. Therefore, the theme of Eugene’s escape through the night Petersburg from the “Bronze Horseman” is key both in the poem itself and in the illustrations to it.

The black and white palette of the picture is absolutely acceptable for the action taking place at night. Eugene, who had previously angered the “Bronze Horseman”, without knowing it, “revived” him and is now trying to escape from under the hooves of Peter galloping on his horse.

Evgeniy’s face is not visible - it is in the shadows and is almost not drawn by the artist. But his whole figure conveys those feelings of indescribable fear and animal horror that he experiences Pushkin hero. He rushes as fast as he can that it seems he is already falling and is about to fall under the horse’s hooves.

The “Bronze Horseman” himself is depicted in his classic pose - the same as at the monument on Senate Square. Thus, it is not possible to understand whether the rider on the horse is really chasing Eugene or whether this is a figment of his sick imagination. But the famous St. Petersburg architecture, recreated by the artist in the background of the picture, is easily visible. The moon peeks through the clouds and casts terrible, ominous shadows from the figure of both Eugene and the horseman.

All these feelings of fear and unreality of what is happening are conveyed by A. Benoit very clearly and clearly emphasize the tragedy of Pushkin’s poem, the relationship of a small man with a big city.