VASILISA THE BEAUTIFUL
A Russian Folk Fairy Tale
Short description:
One of the most popular folk tales in the treasury of Russian fairy stories is about a merchant’s daughter and her trusty helper – a magical doll-amulet. Here the telling of this enchanting fable is augmented by hand-tinted lithographs, original calligraphy, insets and vignettes.
Artists:
Boris Zabirokhin
Denis Lotarev
Boris Zabirokhin
Painter (in oil and tempera) and printmaker. Has illustrated more than 30 books and created more than 100 ex-libris. Has taken part in numerous Russian and international exhibitions and competitions. Member of the Artists’ Union of Russia.
Denis Lotarev
Graphic artist, calligrapher, painter and sculptor. Participant in the 1st International Calligraphy Exhibition in Moscow in 2008 (and regularly thereafter), as well as many group and personal exhibitions in Russia and abroad. Member of the Artists’ Union of Russia.
Edition:
30 copies numbered and signed by the publisher and the artist. Copy № 1 is destined for the collection of the State Hermitage.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
-
Year of publication:2023
-
Number of pages:98
-
Dimensions:350 ×500 mm
-
Paper:Fabriano (Italy), 285 g/m², handmade
Language:
Russian
The anthology of Russian Folk Fairy Tales compiled by the outstanding scholar, historian and folklorist Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasiev – Russia’s first systematized collection of such stories – was conceived as a scholarly publication along the lines of the collection brought out by the Brothers Grimm. The first edition of the anthology was made up of eight parts published between 1855 and 1864. The greater portion of the texts included in the collection came from the archives of the Russian Geographical Society. The compiler received some 1,000 tales from the Russian writer, ethnographer and lexicographer Vladimir Dal. Afanasiev also made use of materials from other collectors and ethnographers, old woodcut (lubok) publications and notes that he himself had made in his native Voronezh province. Altogether, 600 fairy tales were included in the anthology.
“Russian folk fairy tales reveal a vast world to us. The beliefs and legends that we encounter in them tell of the ancient prehistorical life of the Slavic tribes. Embodiments of the elements, prophetic birds and beasts, charms and rituals, mysterious riddles, dreams and omens – all this served as motifs from which there evolved a fairy tale epos that is so captivating in its childish naivete, warm love of nature and enchanting power of wonder.” Alexander Afanasiev
Participants in the creation of the book:
Illustrations and painting of the wooden inset on the cover — Boris Zabirokhin
Original calligraphy, insets, vignettes, layout and ornamental elements repeated on the binding — Denis Lotarev
Design of the cover — Piotr Suspitsyn
Hand typesetting and printing of the end title, cover printing — Ruslan Knyazev
Binding work — Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
Illustrations and painting of the wooden inset on the cover — Boris Zabirokhin
Original calligraphy, insets, vignettes, layout and ornamental elements repeated on the binding — Denis Lotarev
Design of the cover — Piotr Suspitsyn
Hand typesetting and printing of the end title, cover printing — Ruslan Knyazev
Binding work — Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
Vasilisa the Beautiful is a magical fairy tale about a merchant’s daughter who loses her mother at an early age and then suffers from the dislike and envy of her stepmother and her daughters, but is gifted with beauty, quick wits and magical power. With the aid of a doll-amulet left to her by her mother, Vasilisa manages to come through all the trials that befall her, to find love and achieve happiness. The doll-amulet is one of the central characters of the story.
Magical fairy tales reflected the pagan world of our ancestors and so they too are permeated with paganism. Doll-amulets were an important element of Russian traditional culture. Many different types of them are known that were made for various purposes. For example, the type known as Zernushka (from zerno, meaning “grain”) and others with crop-based names were supposed to ensure a good harvest and prosperity, Desiatiruchka (“ten hands”) would help with the housework and keeping peace in the home, while Pelenashka and Bessonitsa (“swaddle” and “sleepless”) protected infants. The amulet that Vasilisa gets from her mother has a life of its own: the heroine of the tale talks with it and even brings it offerings of food. In essence, the doll is a guardian spirit, a protector inhabiting an object. The Romans would call such entities genii; to the Ancient Greeks they were daemons. In the Christian tradition, the idea found embodiment in the concept of the guardian angel.
Magical fairy tales reflected the pagan world of our ancestors and so they too are permeated with paganism. Doll-amulets were an important element of Russian traditional culture. Many different types of them are known that were made for various purposes. For example, the type known as Zernushka (from zerno, meaning “grain”) and others with crop-based names were supposed to ensure a good harvest and prosperity, Desiatiruchka (“ten hands”) would help with the housework and keeping peace in the home, while Pelenashka and Bessonitsa (“swaddle” and “sleepless”) protected infants. The amulet that Vasilisa gets from her mother has a life of its own: the heroine of the tale talks with it and even brings it offerings of food. In essence, the doll is a guardian spirit, a protector inhabiting an object. The Romans would call such entities genii; to the Ancient Greeks they were daemons. In the Christian tradition, the idea found embodiment in the concept of the guardian angel.
In order to convey the atmosphere of the Russian fairy tale, the artist Denis Lotarev turned to the Old Russian ustav script from the 12th century. The historic lettering was deliberately stylized to endow it with a modern-day resonance. In the process of writing the base colour – a pale sepia – was enhanced with complementary colours, producing picturesque extensions. This made it possible to convey through the look of a word or sentence a mood to match this or that turn of the plot. Drawings within the text were a supplement to the calligraphy, but, as the book evolved, they gradually acquired their own independent existence. They were made with brush and India ink. The artist avoided decorative ornamentation in the headpieces and vignettes, giving preference to fantastic creatures instead.
The inspiration for those was provided by the artist’s visits to the Russian North, the White Sea in particular. The fanciful inventions drew upon elements of the Pomorian animal style, while some arose in the imagination during the making of the first copy of the fairy tale and were sketched in pencil in the margins of the future book. In the artist’s conception, all these creatures emerged from the same forest where Baba Yaga lives and wandered off, as it were, across the pages of the book.
The inspiration for those was provided by the artist’s visits to the Russian North, the White Sea in particular. The fanciful inventions drew upon elements of the Pomorian animal style, while some arose in the imagination during the making of the first copy of the fairy tale and were sketched in pencil in the margins of the future book. In the artist’s conception, all these creatures emerged from the same forest where Baba Yaga lives and wandered off, as it were, across the pages of the book.
The book features a series of twelve illustrations produced with virtuoso skill by the distinguished Saint Petersburg graphic artist Boris Zabirokhin in the lithographic technique and tinted by hand. The artist spent his childhood in a remote village in Yaroslavl Region, where he absorbed an interest and love for all aspects of folk culture, enigmatic and mysterious, popular beliefs and legends.
The artist has long been drawn to the theme of Russian traditional fairy tales. At the 2009 Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, his cycle of illustrations for Russian Folk Fairy Tales received one of the highest awards – a BIB Golden Apple.
The artist has long been drawn to the theme of Russian traditional fairy tales. At the 2009 Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, his cycle of illustrations for Russian Folk Fairy Tales received one of the highest awards – a BIB Golden Apple.
All of Boris Zabirokhin’s personages are the result of magical enchanted reflection steeped in positive emotions and vivid expressiveness. He himself compares the process that gives birth to artistic images of popular folklore to witchcraft and alchemy, meditation and contemplation, which manifest themselves particularly when he finds himself in nature or in a village setting. In general, Zabirokhin regards the village as a dwelling place of wonder.
According to the artist, all his mythological and fairy tale personages bear a resemblance to people that he met at one time or another. The prototype for Baba Yaga was Zabirokhin’s own grandmother – Anna Nikolayevna Zhiltsova, who was herself a teller of fairy stories.
According to the artist, all his mythological and fairy tale personages bear a resemblance to people that he met at one time or another. The prototype for Baba Yaga was Zabirokhin’s own grandmother – Anna Nikolayevna Zhiltsova, who was herself a teller of fairy stories.
The book is bound in a bright yellow linen fabric.
In traditional Russian folk art, yellow was a popular colour used to denote the sun, light and warmth. It symbolized the fertility of wheat fields and bee hives, wealth, prosperity, joy and openness.
With the arrival of Christianity, yellow came to indicate the Kingdom of Heaven within the earthly home of its ruler – the church. Yellow candles, the gold of altars, domes and icon frames stood for the soul’s entry into the house of God, the home of absolute Light. They served as symbols of contact with a special – higher, spiritual – form of knowledge.
In traditional Russian folk art, yellow was a popular colour used to denote the sun, light and warmth. It symbolized the fertility of wheat fields and bee hives, wealth, prosperity, joy and openness.
With the arrival of Christianity, yellow came to indicate the Kingdom of Heaven within the earthly home of its ruler – the church. Yellow candles, the gold of altars, domes and icon frames stood for the soul’s entry into the house of God, the home of absolute Light. They served as symbols of contact with a special – higher, spiritual – form of knowledge.
In the centre of the front cover is a round oak inset bearing a depiction of the tale’s character, Baba Yaga, painted by the artist Boris Zabirokhin.
Around the edges there is a stylized Old Russian ornamental plant pattern symbolizing life, fertility and the world tree.
Each copy of the book is kept in a case decorated with fabric.
Around the edges there is a stylized Old Russian ornamental plant pattern symbolizing life, fertility and the world tree.
Each copy of the book is kept in a case decorated with fabric.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
About this edition
About this edition:
-
Year of publication:2023
-
Number of pages:98
-
Dimensions:350 ×500 mm
-
Paper:Fabriano (Italy), 285 g/m², handmade
Language:
Russian
The anthology of Russian Folk Fairy Tales compiled by the outstanding scholar, historian and folklorist Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasiev – Russia’s first systematized collection of such stories – was conceived as a scholarly publication along the lines of the collection brought out by the Brothers Grimm. The first edition of the anthology was made up of eight parts published between 1855 and 1864. The greater portion of the texts included in the collection came from the archives of the Russian Geographical Society. The compiler received some 1,000 tales from the Russian writer, ethnographer and lexicographer Vladimir Dal. Afanasiev also made use of materials from other collectors and ethnographers, old woodcut (lubok) publications and notes that he himself had made in his native Voronezh province. Altogether, 600 fairy tales were included in the anthology.
“Russian folk fairy tales reveal a vast world to us. The beliefs and legends that we encounter in them tell of the ancient prehistorical life of the Slavic tribes. Embodiments of the elements, prophetic birds and beasts, charms and rituals, mysterious riddles, dreams and omens – all this served as motifs from which there evolved a fairy tale epos that is so captivating in its childish naivete, warm love of nature and enchanting power of wonder.” Alexander Afanasiev
Participants in the creation of the book:
Illustrations and painting of the wooden inset on the cover — Boris Zabirokhin
Original calligraphy, insets, vignettes, layout and ornamental elements repeated on the binding — Denis Lotarev
Design of the cover — Piotr Suspitsyn
Hand typesetting and printing of the end title, cover printing — Ruslan Knyazev
Binding work — Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
Illustrations and painting of the wooden inset on the cover — Boris Zabirokhin
Original calligraphy, insets, vignettes, layout and ornamental elements repeated on the binding — Denis Lotarev
Design of the cover — Piotr Suspitsyn
Hand typesetting and printing of the end title, cover printing — Ruslan Knyazev
Binding work — Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
Text
Vasilisa the Beautiful is a magical fairy tale about a merchant’s daughter who loses her mother at an early age and then suffers from the dislike and envy of her stepmother and her daughters, but is gifted with beauty, quick wits and magical power. With the aid of a doll-amulet left to her by her mother, Vasilisa manages to come through all the trials that befall her, to find love and achieve happiness. The doll-amulet is one of the central characters of the story.
Magical fairy tales reflected the pagan world of our ancestors and so they too are permeated with paganism. Doll-amulets were an important element of Russian traditional culture. Many different types of them are known that were made for various purposes. For example, the type known as Zernushka (from zerno, meaning “grain”) and others with crop-based names were supposed to ensure a good harvest and prosperity, Desiatiruchka (“ten hands”) would help with the housework and keeping peace in the home, while Pelenashka and Bessonitsa (“swaddle” and “sleepless”) protected infants. The amulet that Vasilisa gets from her mother has a life of its own: the heroine of the tale talks with it and even brings it offerings of food. In essence, the doll is a guardian spirit, a protector inhabiting an object. The Romans would call such entities genii; to the Ancient Greeks they were daemons. In the Christian tradition, the idea found embodiment in the concept of the guardian angel.
Magical fairy tales reflected the pagan world of our ancestors and so they too are permeated with paganism. Doll-amulets were an important element of Russian traditional culture. Many different types of them are known that were made for various purposes. For example, the type known as Zernushka (from zerno, meaning “grain”) and others with crop-based names were supposed to ensure a good harvest and prosperity, Desiatiruchka (“ten hands”) would help with the housework and keeping peace in the home, while Pelenashka and Bessonitsa (“swaddle” and “sleepless”) protected infants. The amulet that Vasilisa gets from her mother has a life of its own: the heroine of the tale talks with it and even brings it offerings of food. In essence, the doll is a guardian spirit, a protector inhabiting an object. The Romans would call such entities genii; to the Ancient Greeks they were daemons. In the Christian tradition, the idea found embodiment in the concept of the guardian angel.
In order to convey the atmosphere of the Russian fairy tale, the artist Denis Lotarev turned to the Old Russian ustav script from the 12th century. The historic lettering was deliberately stylized to endow it with a modern-day resonance. In the process of writing the base colour – a pale sepia – was enhanced with complementary colours, producing picturesque extensions. This made it possible to convey through the look of a word or sentence a mood to match this or that turn of the plot. Drawings within the text were a supplement to the calligraphy, but, as the book evolved, they gradually acquired their own independent existence. They were made with brush and India ink. The artist avoided decorative ornamentation in the headpieces and vignettes, giving preference to fantastic creatures instead.
The inspiration for those was provided by the artist’s visits to the Russian North, the White Sea in particular. The fanciful inventions drew upon elements of the Pomorian animal style, while some arose in the imagination during the making of the first copy of the fairy tale and were sketched in pencil in the margins of the future book. In the artist’s conception, all these creatures emerged from the same forest where Baba Yaga lives and wandered off, as it were, across the pages of the book.
The inspiration for those was provided by the artist’s visits to the Russian North, the White Sea in particular. The fanciful inventions drew upon elements of the Pomorian animal style, while some arose in the imagination during the making of the first copy of the fairy tale and were sketched in pencil in the margins of the future book. In the artist’s conception, all these creatures emerged from the same forest where Baba Yaga lives and wandered off, as it were, across the pages of the book.
Illustrations
The book features a series of twelve illustrations produced with virtuoso skill by the distinguished Saint Petersburg graphic artist Boris Zabirokhin in the lithographic technique and tinted by hand. The artist spent his childhood in a remote village in Yaroslavl Region, where he absorbed an interest and love for all aspects of folk culture, enigmatic and mysterious, popular beliefs and legends.
The artist has long been drawn to the theme of Russian traditional fairy tales. At the 2009 Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, his cycle of illustrations for Russian Folk Fairy Tales received one of the highest awards – a BIB Golden Apple.
The artist has long been drawn to the theme of Russian traditional fairy tales. At the 2009 Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, his cycle of illustrations for Russian Folk Fairy Tales received one of the highest awards – a BIB Golden Apple.
All of Boris Zabirokhin’s personages are the result of magical enchanted reflection steeped in positive emotions and vivid expressiveness. He himself compares the process that gives birth to artistic images of popular folklore to witchcraft and alchemy, meditation and contemplation, which manifest themselves particularly when he finds himself in nature or in a village setting. In general, Zabirokhin regards the village as a dwelling place of wonder.
According to the artist, all his mythological and fairy tale personages bear a resemblance to people that he met at one time or another. The prototype for Baba Yaga was Zabirokhin’s own grandmother – Anna Nikolayevna Zhiltsova, who was herself a teller of fairy stories.
According to the artist, all his mythological and fairy tale personages bear a resemblance to people that he met at one time or another. The prototype for Baba Yaga was Zabirokhin’s own grandmother – Anna Nikolayevna Zhiltsova, who was herself a teller of fairy stories.
Binding
The book is bound in a bright yellow linen fabric.
In traditional Russian folk art, yellow was a popular colour used to denote the sun, light and warmth. It symbolized the fertility of wheat fields and bee hives, wealth, prosperity, joy and openness.
With the arrival of Christianity, yellow came to indicate the Kingdom of Heaven within the earthly home of its ruler – the church. Yellow candles, the gold of altars, domes and icon frames stood for the soul’s entry into the house of God, the home of absolute Light. They served as symbols of contact with a special – higher, spiritual – form of knowledge.
In traditional Russian folk art, yellow was a popular colour used to denote the sun, light and warmth. It symbolized the fertility of wheat fields and bee hives, wealth, prosperity, joy and openness.
With the arrival of Christianity, yellow came to indicate the Kingdom of Heaven within the earthly home of its ruler – the church. Yellow candles, the gold of altars, domes and icon frames stood for the soul’s entry into the house of God, the home of absolute Light. They served as symbols of contact with a special – higher, spiritual – form of knowledge.
In the centre of the front cover is a round oak inset bearing a depiction of the tale’s character, Baba Yaga, painted by the artist Boris Zabirokhin.
Around the edges there is a stylized Old Russian ornamental plant pattern symbolizing life, fertility and the world tree.
Each copy of the book is kept in a case decorated with fabric.
Around the edges there is a stylized Old Russian ornamental plant pattern symbolizing life, fertility and the world tree.
Each copy of the book is kept in a case decorated with fabric.
VASILISA THE BEAUTIFUL
A Russian Folk Fairy Tale
One of the most popular folk tales in the treasury of Russian fairy stories
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