Drawing of the title from the fairy tale The Frog Princess. Russian folk tale “The Frog Princess” ~ Illustrations by Konstantin Sergeevich Bokarev for the fairy tale The Frog Princess. Analysis of the fairy tale "Ivan the Peasant Son and Miracle Yudo"


In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a king and a queen; they had three sons, such daring men that neither a fairy tale nor a pen could describe them. The youngest was called Ivan Tsarevich. As the sons grew in age, the king gathered them and said:
- That's it, sons, it's time for you to get married, take an arrow each, go out into an open field, draw tight bows and shoot in different directions. Where whose arrow falls, look for a wife there.

The elder brother's arrow fell on the boyar's courtyard, the boyar's daughter picked it up and gave it to the prince. The middle brother's arrow flew into the wide merchant's courtyard; the merchant's young daughter gave him the arrow. The younger brother shot his arrow - no one knows where the arrow flew away. So he walked and walked, reached a dirty swamp and saw a frog-croak sitting on a hummock and holding his arrow.

Ivan Tsarevich returned to his father and said to him:
- What should I do? I can’t take the frog for myself! To live a century is not to cross a field. The frog is no match for me.
- Take it! - the king answers him. - You know, this is your fate.

So the princes got married: the eldest to a hawthorn, the middle to a merchant’s daughter, and Ivan Tsarevich to a frog. How long or how little time passes, the king calls them and orders:
- Come on, which of the daughters-in-law is the best housekeeper? So that your wives bake me soft white bread by tomorrow.
Ivan Tsarevich returned sadly, hanging his head below his shoulders.
- Kva-kva, Ivan Tsarevich! What's wrong? - the frog asks him. “Did Al hear an unfriendly word from his father?”
- How can I not get upset? My lord, my father, ordered you to make soft white bread by tomorrow.
- Don’t grieve, prince, don’t worry! Go to bed and rest, the morning is wiser than the evening!

She put the prince to bed and threw off her frog skin and turned into a beautiful maiden, Vasilisa the Wise, went out onto the red porch, clapped her hands and shouted in a loud voice:
- Mothers, nannies! Get ready, get ready, bake me soft white bread by morning, the kind I used to eat at my dear father’s house on holidays.
The next morning Ivan Tsarevich woke up, the frog’s bread had long been ready - lush, ruddy and of such beauty that you couldn’t even think of it, couldn’t imagine it, only say it in a fairy tale! The bread is decorated with various tricks, cities and outposts are displayed on top. Ivan Tsarevich was delighted, wrapped the bread in a towel and took it to his father. The other sons also brought their loaves.

The king first accepted the bread from his eldest son, looked and looked, and sent it to the kitchen. He accepted it from his middle son and sent him there. Ivan Tsarevich handed over his bread, and the Tsar said:

- This is bread, this is bread, you only eat it on holidays! - and ordered it to be brought to the royal table.

After this, the king said to his sons:
“Now I want to see which of the daughters-in-law is the best at needlework.” So that your wives will weave a carpet for me in one night.
Ivan Tsarevich returned home sadly, again hanging his head below his shoulders.
- Kva-kva, Ivan Tsarevich! What's wrong? Did the Tsar Father not like my bread, or did I hear a harsh, unfriendly word from him?
- How can I not feel sad, how can I not be sad? My lord, my father, told me to thank him for the bread, and he also ordered you to weave him a silk carpet in just one night.
- Don’t grieve, prince, don’t worry! Go to bed, you will see for yourself that the morning is wiser than the evening!

She put him to bed, and she shed her frog skin and turned into a beautiful maiden, Vasilisa the Wise, went out onto the red porch, clapped her hands and shouted in a loud voice:
- Mothers, nannies! Get ready, get ready to weave a silk carpet - so that it’s like the one I sat on with my dear father!
The next morning Tsarevich Ivan woke up, a frog was jumping on the floor, and her carpet had been ready for a long time - and so wonderful that you couldn’t even think of it, couldn’t imagine it, only say it in a fairy tale! The carpet is decorated with gold and silver, the entire kingdom is embroidered on it, with cities and villages, with mountains and forests, with rivers and lakes. Ivan Tsarevich was delighted, took the carpet and took it to his father. At this time, other sons also brought carpets.

The eldest prince held out his carpet, the king ordered him to accept it, looked and said:
- Thank you, it will be useful to lay a bed at the threshold!
Here the middle prince presented his carpet. The king ordered it to be accepted, touched it and said:
- This carpet is good for wiping your feet on!
As Ivan Tsarevich unrolled his carpet, everyone gasped. The king himself received him, looked at him, and then gave the order:
- Lay this carpet in front of my royal throne!

And the king ordered his sons to come to him at the feast tomorrow along with their wives. Again Tsarevich Ivan returned sadly, hanging his head below his shoulders.
- Kva-kva, Ivan Tsarevich! What's wrong? Did Ali hear an unfriendly word from his father?
- How can I not get upset? My sovereign father ordered me to come to his feast with you. How I will show you to people!
- Don’t worry, prince! Go alone to the king, and I will follow you; when you hear knocking and thunder, say: “This is my little frog coming in a box!”
So the older brothers came to the Tsar with their wives, dressed up, all dressed up, standing and laughing at Ivan Tsarevich:
- Why did you come without your wife? At least he brought it in a handkerchief! And where did you find such a beauty? Did the tea come from all the swamps?
Suddenly there was a great knock and thunder - the whole palace shook. The guests got scared, jumped up from their seats, and Ivan Tsarevich said:
- Don't be afraid, honest guests! This is my little frog in a box that has arrived.

A gilded carriage, harnessed to six horses, flew up to the royal porch, and Vasilisa the Wise came out - such a beauty that you couldn’t even imagine it, couldn’t imagine it, only say it in a fairy tale. She took Ivan Tsarevich by the hand and led him to the oak tables and the stained tablecloths.
The guests began to eat, drink, and have fun. Vasilisa the Wise drank from the glass and poured the remainder down her left sleeve, bit into a swan and hid the bones behind her right sleeve. The wives of the older princes saw her tricks and let’s do the same. After drinking and eating, it was time to dance. Vasilisa the Wise picked up Ivan Tsarevich and began to dance. She waved her left sleeve - a lake became, she waved her right sleeve and white swans swam across the water. The king and guests were amazed. And the older daughters-in-law went to dance, waved their left sleeves - they splashed the guests, waved their right sleeves - the bone hit the king right in the eye! The king got angry and drove them away.

Meanwhile, Ivan Tsarevich took a moment, ran home, found a frog skin and burned it over a high fire. Vasilisa the Wise arrives, she missed it - there is no frog skin, she became depressed and sad.
- Oh, Ivan Tsarevich! What have you done? If you had waited a little, I would have become yours forever, but now goodbye! Look for me far away, in the thirtieth kingdom - near Koshchei the Immortal.

She turned into a white swan and flew out the window.
Ivan Tsarevich wept bitterly, then pulled himself together, said goodbye to his father and mother, and went wherever his eyes led him. Whether he walked close, or far, for a long time, or for a short time, an old old man came across him.
“Hello,” he says, “good fellow!” What are you looking for, where are you going? The prince told him his misfortune.

Eh, Ivan Tsarevich! Why did you burn the frog's skin? You didn’t put it on, it wasn’t yours to take it off! Vasilisa the Wise was born more cunning and wiser than her father. For this reason he became angry with her and ordered her to be a frog for three years. Well, I'll help you. Here is a ball for you, where it will roll - follow it boldly.

Ivan Tsarevich thanked the old man and went to get the ball. He walks through an open field and comes across a bear. Ivan Tsarevich aimed at the beast, and the bear said in a human voice:
- Don't hit me, Ivan Tsarevich! I'll be useful to you someday.
He goes further, and lo and behold, a drake flies above him. The prince took aim with his bow and was about to shoot him, when suddenly the drake said in a human voice:
- Don't hit me, Ivan Tsarevich! I'll be useful to you someday.
He felt sorry for him and moved on. A sideways hare runs. The Tsarevich again grabbed his bow and began to aim; the Azayan said to him in a human voice:
- Don't hit me, Ivan Tsarevich! I'll be of use to you myself.
The prince took pity on him and went further - to the blue sea, he saw a pike lying on the sand, dying.


“Ah, Ivan Tsarevich,” said the pike, “take pity on me, let me into the sea.” He threw her into the sea and walked along the shore.
Whether long or short, the ball rolled towards the small hut.
On the very shore there is a hut on chicken legs that turns around. Ivan Tsarevich says:
- Hut, hut! Stand in the old way, as your mother did - with your front to me and your back to the sea.
The hut turned around. The prince entered it and saw: Baba Yaga was lying on the stove, on the ninth brick.
- Why, good fellow, did you come to me?
“You should have fed and given me something to drink, steamed me in a bathhouse first, and then you would have asked.”
Baba Yaga fed him, gave him something to drink, and steamed him in a bathhouse. Then the prince told her that he was looking for his wife, Vasilisa the Wise.
- Oh, I know! - said Baba Yaga, “She is now with Koshchei the Immortal.” It’s hard to get her, it’s not easy to deal with Koshchei. Well, so be it, I’ll tell you where Koshcheev’s death is hidden. His death is at the end of a needle, that needle is in an egg, that egg is in a duck, that duck is in a hare, that hare is in a chest, and the chest stands on a tall oak tree and Koschey protects that oak tree like his own eye.

Baba Yaga pointed out where this oak grows. Ivan Tsarevich reached him and does not know what to do, how to get the chest. He tried to rock it this way and that, no, the oak didn’t work.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bear came running and uprooted the tree, the chest fell and broke into pieces. A hare jumped out of the chest and began to run at full speed.
Lo and behold, another hare was chasing him, caught up, grabbed him and tore him to shreds.
Then a duck flew out of the hare and rose high, high. And the drake rushed after her, as soon as he hit her, the egg fell out of the duck straight into the blue sea. In such misfortune, Ivan Tsarevich sat down on the shore and burst into bitter tears.

Suddenly a pike swims up to the shore and holds an egg in its teeth. He took that egg and went to Koshcheev’s dwelling. When Koschey saw the egg in his hands, he began to shake all over. And Ivan Tsarevich began to transfer the egg from hand to hand. He throws, but Koschey fights and rushes about. But no matter how much Koschey fought, no matter how much he rushed in all directions, and when Ivan Tsarevich broke the egg, took out a needle from it and broke off the tip, Koschey had to die. Then Ivan Tsarevich went to the Koshcheev Chambers, took Vasilisa the Wise and returned home with her to his state.


To celebrate, the king threw a feast for the whole world. After that they lived together happily ever after.




Happy New Year!)

A fairy tale is often a fictional story with wonderful characters, funny animals or people endowed with superpowers. Narrative drawing is a useful form of children's creativity. While working on rich material, children are mentally transported to a magical environment, feel the characters and live in their thoughts. Before you start drawing any illustration, you need to read the plot and stop at one of the episodes. And what’s surprising is that one drawing can completely reveal the entire fairy tale. Young artists can create real masterpieces with detailed images of characters, endowed with their own character.

The fairy tale “The Frog Princess” has been known since childhood, and for many it has become a favorite work. It can be re-read several times, and the main character evokes sympathy in the first episodes. If you draw an illustration for such a work, you just need to decide what to draw. Usually the frog itself is present in children's drawings. Since she was a princess, she is often depicted wearing a crown, and in her hands is the treasured arrow of Ivan Tsarevich. There may be several illustration options, let's look at the main ones.

Frog on a water lily
To make the frog's body symmetrical, two perpendicular straight lines are first applied to the sheet. An oval for the head is depicted just above the center. An elongated body is attached to it, and the right and left sides should be symmetrical.
Elongated hind legs with ovals for the paws are drawn on both sides of the body.
At the top of the head, two protruding ovals are added for the eyes. Then the pupil, eyelids and eyelashes are drawn. Just below dots for the nose and smiling mouth are made.
The front legs are added at the base of the hind legs, one of them should be raised up and the other down.
At the end of the work, a crown and an arrow are added, and a water lily is depicted below. The drawing is painted.

Frog Princess with Arrow

This drawing begins by drawing an oval for the head and a blank for the crown.
Protrusions for the eyes are drawn in the middle of the oval, and a neck at the bottom. Expressive eyes with eyelashes and a zigzag mouth are applied to the head.
The crown and legs of the frog are detailed. The left hand will be clenched into a fist.

Continue drawing the shape of the body and hind legs.
Protruding feet are depicted on the legs.
At the end, spots are applied to the frog’s body and an arrow is added. The work is decorated.

Frog for the little ones

The Tale of the Dead Princess drawing step by step

Perhaps the most famous fairy tale by A. Pushkin can be called “The Tale of the Dead Princess.” Its plot is very memorable. After the death of his wife, the king takes a young beauty as his wife. She owned a magic mirror that could broadcast her beauty. The king's daughter became more and more beautiful over the years, so the stepmother plots to kill her sister-in-law. To do this, she sends her to the forest, and when the mirror continues to talk about the beauty of the princess, the stepmother tries to poison her with an apple. Prince Elisha is trying with all his might to bring back his beloved, calling on the Sun, Wind and Moon for help. Only the kiss of her beloved could revive the princess. The young return to their father's house. The lovers' reunion leads to the death of the stepmother.
To begin creativity, it is enough to choose the most eloquent episode of the work, for example, the princess with an apple in her hand, Elisha near the coffin of the “Dead Princess” or the stepmother at the mirror.

Evil stepmother

The sheet is divided by a vertical straight line into two parts. At the top of the line an oval is drawn for the head, a little lower - a horizontal strip for the shoulders with points for the arms, a little above the middle of the line a blank for the waist is outlined.


Then they begin to shape the body and dress. The base of the crown is drawn on the head. The queen holds her hands on her sides.

At the third stage, they begin to detail the face and dress.

Lush hanging flounces are depicted on the sleeves and waist.

Finish off the detailing of the face and dress.

Use an eraser to remove unnecessary details and draw the contours of the figure.

Examples of drawings on the theme of the tale of the dead princess

Marya Marevna drawing for a fairy tale step by step in pencil

The main characters of the famous Russian fairy tale are Ivan Tsarevich, Marya Marevna and Koschey the Immortal; the remaining characters can be classified as secondary. On the way to his sisters, Ivan meets the beautiful Marya. The beauty of the girl captivated him. The happy life of the young people was destroyed by Ivan’s curiosity. Having opened the secret door with Koshchei, he released the villain into freedom. The Tsarevich had to overcome many obstacles to free his beloved.
Marya Marevna begins to be drawn from an auxiliary line, on which a circle is drawn for the head and a straight line for the base of the kokoshnik.

Then they draw a smooth oval with a chin and a swan neck. At the top there is parted hair, and below the kokoshnik there are earrings.

At this stage, Marya’s expressive eyes and eyebrows are depicted. At the bottom of the oval, a small nose and mouth are formed in a smile.

Then they begin to draw the large kokoshnik. It consists of a large semicircle with an ornament.


When the beauty's head is formed, you can proceed to the girl's body. It will consist of a quadrangle and lines of bent arms, and the hem of the dress will go just below.

The top of the clothing is detailed. The beauty is wearing a collared shirt that peeks out from under the straps of her sundress.


Then they begin to form the wavy hem of the dress.


For pomp, folds are applied to the bottom of the sundress.


The sleeves of the shirt are made wide, and the bottom is secured with a cuff. At this stage you can draw the hands.


The sundress is decorated with a strip of triangular patterns. The girl can hold a scarf in her hand.


A pattern is applied to the kokoshnik, the neckline of the sundress and the bottom of the hem. The ornament can be varied, all at the discretion of the artist.

Use an eraser to remove unnecessary details and decorate the work with bright colors.

An illustration for a famous fairy tale can be a drawing by Koshchei.

The Tale of Lost Time, how to draw a picture step by step

The famous fairy tale by Evgeniy Schwartz tells the story of four schoolchildren who did not value time at all. To teach the boys a lesson, three evil wizards turn them into old men. Petya Zubov, one of the three losers, got hold of the secret to returning his childhood. The guys had to turn the clock hands back.
An illustration for the work can be a drawing of a group of guys against the background of a clock, an old man riding a tram, or children moving the hands of a mechanism.


old man

Drawing a grandfather begins by drawing a horizontal line for the step. It is applied by hand or under a ruler.


The line is divided by a perpendicular straight line, slightly protruding beyond the edge. This will be the base for the body.


Near the center, oval blanks for the legs are made on both sides.


The body is drawn in the shape of a square with rounded corners. All figures are depicted in proportion to the axis.


An oval for the head is applied at the top.


Then they begin to detail the face, depicting kind features. Two semi-ovals for the arms are added to the shoulders.

At the top of the square, draw a triangular cutout for the sweater and shirt collar.

On the top of the head, hair is depicted combed to the side.


Finish drawing the hands and the stick. Excess lines are removed and a contour is drawn.

Clock step by step

Drawing step by step for the fairy tale geese and swans

The plot of the work has been known since childhood. Through the fault of his sister, his brother is kidnapped by swans, who bring the boy to Baba Yaga's hut. After passing a series of tests, the sister was able to bring her brother home.
There are many illustration options: the abduction of a brother by birds, a girl overcoming trials, the hut of the evil Baba Yaga, the rescue of her brother.

To begin with, in the left corner of the sheet a tree trunk and cone are depicted.

Branches and fruits are painted on the tree. On the right side of the sheet there is a brick oven.


Pies are baked in the oven.

Alyonushka is depicted in the center, starting work with a sketch of the head and a voluminous sundress.

The girl's arms and legs are being painted.


A bright ornament is applied to the sundress, and the head is decorated with a ribbon.

Start drawing two braids and begin detailing the face.


Ivanushka is depicted in the sky on one of the flying swans.

In the distance you can see fir trees and a stream. The finished work is colored with pencils.
You can limit yourself to only one or two characters, for example, depict a grandfather pulling turnip tops.
The drawing begins by drawing a line of the ground, above which a huge root crop rises.

Then the top strips are added.

Each of these tales has its own moral. To illustrate the work, you need to select a key episode and gradually transfer it to paper. Go for it!

St. Petersburg: Expedition for the procurement of state papers, 1901. 12 p. with ill. The cover and illustrations are made using the chromolithography technique. In a color illustrated publisher's cover. 32.5x25.5 cm. Series “Fairy Tales”. Super classic!


Of course, Bilibin had predecessors, and above all Elena Dmitrievna Polenova (1850-1898). But Ivan Yakovlevich still followed his own path. At first, he did the illustrations not to order, but, one might say, for himself. But it turned out that the Expedition for Procurement of State Papers became interested in them. The best Russian printing house, founded in 1818, printed banknotes, credit cards and other official products that required special means of protection against counterfeiting. Issues of cost and economic feasibility did not concern her. The expedition was generously financed by the state; it did not need funds. But the people who led the Expedition for the procurement of state papers - its manager - the prince, but also the famous scientist, academician Boris Borisovich Golitsyn (1862-1916), engineer and inventor Georgy Nikolaevich Skamoni (1835-1907), were tired of the monotony of official products. Bilibin makes illustrations for “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf”, for “The Frog Princess”, for “The Feather of Finist Yasna-Falcon”, for “Vasilisa the Beautiful”.


These were all watercolors. But in the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers they decided to reproduce them by chromolithography. It was the twentieth century, and the dominance of photomechanical methods of reproduction had already established itself in printing, and the Expedition allegedly revived ancient reproduction processes. Bilibin showed his watercolors in 1900 at the second exhibition of the World of Art. The artist seems to be reconsidering his views on the community, which both Ilya Efimovich Repin and the outstanding critic Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov (1824-1906) interpreted as decadent. The word “decadence,” derived from the Latin decadentia, meaning “decline,” became attached to the new artistic movement.


It is interesting that V.V. Stasov, in his critical analysis of the World of Art exhibition, contrasted Bilibin with the rest of its participants - the “decadents”, drawing parallels between this artist and the Wanderer Sergei Vasilyevich Malyutin (1859-1937). “Not so long ago, in 1898,” wrote Stasov, “Malyutin exhibited about a dozen illustrations for Pushkin’s fairy tale “Tsar Saltan” and for the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”... At the current exhibition there are no illustrations by Mr. Malyutin, but there are several excellent similar illustrations by Mr. Bilibin - 10 pictures for the fairy tales “The Frog Princess”, “Finist’s Feather...” and for the saying:

Once upon a time there lived a king

The king had a court

There was a stake in the yard

There is bast on the stake,

Shouldn't we start the fairy tale over again?

These are all very pleasant and wonderful phenomena. The national spirit in the work of our new artists has not yet died! Against!". The watercolor with the king picking his nose was reproduced by the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers using a special technique - algraphy - flat printing from aluminum plates. The prints were attached to the St. Petersburg magazine “Printing Art,” which enjoyed great authority among printers, but, unfortunately, was not published for long. They started talking about Bilibin, emphasizing the uniqueness and originality of his talent.




Acquaintance with the artists of the Mamontov circle E. Polenova and S. Malyutin, with the paintings of V. Vasnetsov, helped Bilibin find his theme. He, being a member of the “World of Art” circle, becomes an adherent of the national romantic movement. It all started with an exhibition of Moscow artists in 1899 in St. Petersburg, at which I. Bilibin saw the painting “Bogatyrs” by V. Vasnetsov. Brought up in a St. Petersburg environment, far from any fascination with the national past, the artist unexpectedly showed interest in Russian antiquity, fairy tales, and folk art. In the summer of the same year, Bilibin went to the village of Egny, Tver province, to see for himself the dense forests, clear rivers, wooden huts, and hear fairy tales and songs. Paintings from the exhibition of Viktor Vasnetsov come to life in the imagination. Artist Ivan Bilibin begins to illustrate Russian folk tales from Afanasyev's collection. And in the fall of the same year, the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers began to publish a series of fairy tales with Bilibin’s drawings.



Over the course of 4 years, Ivan Bilibin illustrated seven fairy tales: “Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka”, “White Duck”, “The Frog Princess”, “Marya Morevna”, “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf” ", "Feather of Finist Yasna-Falcon", "Vasilisa the Beautiful". Editions of fairy tales are of the type of small, large-format notebooks. From the very beginning, Bilibin's books were distinguished by their patterned designs and bright decorativeness. The artist did not create individual illustrations, he strove for an ensemble: he drew the cover, illustrations, ornamental decorations, font - he stylized everything to resemble an old manuscript. The names of the fairy tales are written in Slavic script. To read, you need to look closely at the intricate design of the letters. Like many graphic artists, Bilibin worked on decorative type. He knew the fonts of different eras well, especially the Old Russian ustav and semi-ustav. For all six books, Bilibin draws the same cover, on which there are Russian fairy-tale characters: three heroes, the bird Sirin, the Firebird, the Gray Wolf, the Serpent-Gorynych, the hut of Baba Yaga. And yet it is clear that this antiquity is stylized as modern. All page illustrations are surrounded by ornamental frames, like rustic windows with carved frames. They are not only decorative, but also have content that continues the main illustration.


In the fairy tale “Vasilisa the Beautiful,” the illustration with the Red Horseman (sun) is surrounded by flowers, and the Black Horseman (night) is surrounded by mythical birds with human heads. The illustration with Baba Yaga's hut is surrounded by a frame with toadstools (what else could be next to Baba Yaga?). But the most important thing for Bilibin was the atmosphere of Russian antiquity, epic, fairy tale. From authentic ornaments and details, he created a half-real, half-fantastic world. Ornament was a favorite motif of ancient Russian masters and the main feature of the art of that time. These are embroidered tablecloths, towels, painted wooden and pottery, houses with carved frames and piers. In his illustrations, Bilibin used sketches of peasant buildings, utensils, and clothing made in the village of Yegny. Bilibin proved himself to be a book artist; he did not limit himself to making individual illustrations, but strived for integrity. Feeling the specificity of book graphics, he emphasizes the plane with a contour line and monochromatic watercolor painting. Systematic drawing lessons under the guidance of Ilya Repin and acquaintance with the magazine and society “World of Art” contributed to the growth of Bilibin’s skill and general culture. The expedition to the Vologda and Arkhangelsk provinces on the instructions of the ethnographic department of the World of Art society was of decisive importance for the artist. Bilibin became acquainted with the folk art of the North, saw with his own eyes ancient churches, huts, utensils in the house, ancient outfits, embroidery. Contact with the original source of artistic national culture forced the artist to practically re-evaluate his early works. From now on, he will be extremely accurate in depicting architecture, costume, and everyday life. From his trip to the North, Bilibin brought back many drawings, photographs, and a collection of folk art. Documentary substantiation of every detail becomes the artist’s constant creative principle. Bilibin's passion for ancient Russian art was reflected in the illustrations for Pushkin's fairy tales, which he created after a trip to the North in 1905–1908. Work on fairy tales was preceded by the creation of sets and costumes for Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” and “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” by A.S. Pushkin. Bilibin achieves special brilliance and invention in his illustrations for fairy tales by A.S. Pushkin.


The luxurious royal chambers are completely covered with patterns, paintings, and decorations. Here the ornament so abundantly covers the floor, ceiling, walls, clothes of the king and boyars that everything turns into a kind of unsteady vision, existing in a special illusory world and ready to disappear. “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” was the most successful for the artist. Bilibin combined the satirical content of the fairy tale with the Russian popular print into a single whole. Beautiful four illustrations and a spread completely tell us the content of the fairy tale. Let us remember the popular print, which contained a whole story in a picture. Pushkin's fairy tales were a huge success. The Russian Museum of Alexander III bought illustrations for “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, and the entire illustrated cycle “Tales of the Golden Cockerel” was acquired by the Tretyakov Gallery.


A little more about Bilibin:

Everyone knows that the most consistently used techniques of ancient Russian and folk art were probably the most famous pre-revolutionary fairy tale illustrator - I.Ya. Bilibin. In 1904-1905 he completed illustrations for The Tale of Tsar Saltan. The artist began working on them under the fresh impression of his trips to the Russian North, from where he brought a collection of folk costume and utensils, sketches and photographs of monuments of wooden architecture. “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” with its pictures of ancient Russian life, oriented, like other Pushkin tales, on the realities of the 17th century, provided rich food for Bilibin’s imagination, allowed him to demonstrate with all generosity and brilliance his knowledge of “this charming fairy-tale time in relation to folk art » n. Illustrated by M.V. Nesterov also has the 17th century, but there he is only the object of the image. For Bilibin, pre-Petrine Rus' not only provided material and themes, but also suggested the forms of their implementation. The ornamentation of ancient Russian clothes and buildings captured by the master transforms into the ornamental structure of contour drawings colored in watercolors. Following The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Bilibin illustrated The Tale of the Golden Cockerel (1906-1907, 1910). In the first case, he conveyed light lyricism, recreated the colorful figures of the characters with gentle humor, and in the whimsical pattern of the drawing reflected the dance rhythm of the most cheerful and festive of Pushkin’s fairy tales. In the second, lyricism is replaced by irony, humor by satire, the variety and colorfulness of the paintings give way to graphic laconicism, in a conventional world there are puppets devoid of individuality, whose fate is predetermined. The intensification of satirical tendencies in Bilibin’s work is associated with his turn to popular print techniques. The traditions of folk pictures were revealed more clearly than before in the drawing for the cover of the revolutionary “satirical magazine “Zhupel”, where the artist first created the image of Tsar Dadon (1905). In the illustrations for “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel,” the influence of the popular print is even more noticeable: Bilibin transfers into them entire compositional and graphic schemes of folk engravings of the 17th-18th centuries, but, in his own words, he “ennobles” the popular print, correcting the drawing according to the laws of professional art. The composition, usually bordered below by a chain of hills, and above by a garland of clouds or horizontal lines indicating the sky, unfolds parallel to the plane of the sheet. Large figures appear in majestic, frozen poses. Dividing space into plans and combining different points of view allows you to maintain flatness. The color becomes more conventional, the lighting disappears, and the unpainted surface of the paper takes on a greater role. Both of Pushkin's fairy tales with Bilibin's illustrations were published by the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers in the form of identical book-albums with text set in three columns. But only in the second schedule was it possible to achieve ensemble. Colored designs go well with black and white decorations and fonts. The horizontal lines running through all the sheets emphasize the format of the book, the compositional and semantic center of which is the folding frieze - the procession of Dadonov’s army, going back to the famous popular print “The Glorious Battle of Alexander the Great with King Porus of India.” The comic effect is achieved here by the contrast of the solemnity and pomp of the procession with the dull indifference and insignificance of its participants, including Dadon himself, whose small ugly profile is visible in the window of a bulky gilded rattletrap with a three-headed eagle on the door. The ending of the book, enclosed in a circle, is expressive: the cockerel delivers a fatal blow to the king’s head, from which the crown is torn off. During the years of the first Russian revolution and Stolypin’s action, “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” was perceived as a caustic pamphlet on autocracy. It is no coincidence that at the same time as Bilibin, she attracted Rimsky-Korsakov: while the artist was creating illustrations, the composer was creating his last opera, during the stage embodiment of which their paths converged. At the end of 1909, a year after the death of Rimsky-Korsakov, The Golden Cockerel was staged at the S.I. Opera Theater. Zimin, designed by Bilibin and at the Bolshoi Theater, designed by Konstantin Korovin. It was difficult for Bilibin with his static graphic compositions to compete with the famous decorator, whose rare gift of color and the dynamism of painting seemed intended for the visual embodiment of musical paintings. Nevertheless, Bilibin’s decorations were more consistent with the ideological content of the opera. While Korovin, as he admitted, wanted to kill the crude tendency with “beauty,” Bilibin, debunking the greatness of Dadonov’s kingdom and the romantic mystery of the possessions of the Shemakhan queen with the frank popular print of his scenery, creates an environment for the development of satirical action. Several illustrations and vignettes by Bilibin for “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” (1908-1911), which the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers was also supposed to release, have survived. Only in the post-revolutionary years did Bilibin return to his plan. He is not limited to genre scenes of an old woman’s altercation with an old man and complements them with expressive pictures of nature: the sea is azure and gentle, boiling and angry, the forest, as if groaning under the gusts of a storm, very uniquely and sensitively accompanies Pushkin’s narrative. Rationalism is noticeable in Bilibin’s works, and nevertheless, thanks to the generous invention, graphic virtuosity and decorative gift of the artist, they remain one of the best illustrations of Pushkin’s fairy tales. A certain tradition in the visual arts of Pushkin originates from Bilibin; many examples of direct borrowing can be cited. Quite eloquent - illustrations by N.A., popular at the time. Bogatov, with whom the publishing house of E. Konovalova and Co. published fairy tales in separate books in the 1910s. Before Bilibin, his constant satellite B.V. turned to The Tale of the Golden Cockerel. Zvorykin. The graphic design in this work is also not independent: in it he imitates the first Bilibin books. There is even more imitation of Bilibin in his 1915 illustrations for “The Tale of the Bear” 17 and in the illustrations for Pushkin’s collection of fairy tales, made along with illustrations for “Boris Godunov” for the Parisian publishing house “N. Piazza" in 1920. Somewhat earlier than Bilibin, in the early 1900s, D.N. worked on Pushkin’s fairy tales. Bartram (published by I.D. Sytin in separate books and a collection in 1904), who came into some contact with Bilibin’s style. However, Malyutin had a greater influence on the artist. Bartram skillfully used his pictorial and graphic techniques, but, unlike Malyutin and Bilibin, he was not imbued with the folk spirit of Pushkin’s fairy tales, their light lyricism, cheerful humor and created only outwardly spectacular illustrations with a touch of symbolic mystery. Reminiscent of Byzantine paintings, the watercolors of R.M. Brailovskaya to “The Tale of the Dead Princess”, “popular” watercolors by M.I. Yakovlev to “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” and woodcuts by I.K. Lebedev's five fairy tales, although free from imitations of Bilibin, are close to his illustrations in their stylization. But, following the path of Bilibin, these artists stepped over the line where he stopped: Pushkin for them is only an excuse to create “stylish” drawings. Bilibin’s work on the stage version of the fairy tale did not pass without a trace. Even such an original artist as N.S. did not escape his influence. Goncharova, who designed the opera-ballet “The Golden Cockerel”, staged in 1914 by M.M. Fokin to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov. Goncharova’s scenery goes back to Bilibin’s in terms of the stage layout, color scheme, and even the design of Dadon’s palace. However, the artist of the new generation, she approaches pictorial folklore in a different way than the masters of the “World of Art” and their epigones, does not “ennoble” it, but tries to preserve the naive spontaneity of the primitive, sharpening, exaggerating the picturesque in free colorful spots, dynamic shifts of forms catchiness of the sign and tray.

In the old days, one king had three sons. So, when the sons became old, the king gathered them and said:

My dear sons, while I am not yet old, I would like to marry you, to look at your children, at my grandchildren.

The sons answer their father:

So, father, bless. Who would you like us to marry?

That's it, sons, take an arrow, go out into an open field and shoot: where the arrows fall, there is your destiny.

The sons bowed to their father, took an arrow, went out into an open field, pulled their bows and shot.

The eldest son's arrow fell on the boyar's yard, and the boyar's daughter picked up the arrow. The middle son's arrow fell onto the wide merchant's courtyard and was picked up by the merchant's daughter.

And the youngest son, Ivan Tsarevich, the arrow rose and flew away, he doesn’t know where. So he walked and walked, reached the swamp, and saw a frog sitting and picked up his arrow. Ivan Tsarevich tells her:

Frog, frog, give me my arrow. And the frog answers him:

Marry me!

What are you saying, how can I take a frog as my wife?

Take it, you know, this is your fate.

Ivan Tsarevich began to spin. There was nothing to do, I took the frog and brought it home. The tsar played three weddings: he married his eldest son to a boyar's daughter, his middle son to a merchant's daughter, and the unfortunate Ivan Tsarevich to a frog.

So the king called his sons:

I want to see which of your wives is the best needlewoman. Let them sew me a shirt by tomorrow.

The sons bowed to their father and left.

Ivan Tsarevich comes home, sat down and hung his head. The frog jumps on the floor and asks him:

What, Ivan Tsarevich, hung his head? Or what grief?

Father, I told you to sew a shirt by tomorrow. The frog answers:

Don’t worry, Ivan Tsarevich, better go to bed, the morning is wiser than the evening.

Ivan Tsarevich went to bed, and the frog jumped onto the porch, threw off his frog skin and turned into Vasilisa the Wise, such a beauty that you can’t even tell in a fairy tale.

Vasilisa the Wise clapped her hands and shouted:

Mothers, nannies, get ready, get ready! By morning, sew me a shirt like the one I saw on my dear father.

Ivan Tsarevich woke up in the morning, the frog was jumping on the floor again, and his shirt was lying on the table, wrapped in a towel. Ivan Tsarevich was delighted, took the shirt and took it to his father. The king at this time accepted gifts from his big sons. The eldest son unfolded the shirt, the king accepted it and said:

This shirt is to be worn in a black hut. The middle son unfolded his shirt, the king said:

You only wear it to go to the bathhouse.

Ivan Tsarevich unwrapped his shirt, decorated with gold and silver and cunning patterns. The king just looked:

Well, this is a shirt - wear it on a holiday. The brothers went home - those two - and judged among themselves:

No, apparently, we laughed in vain at the wife of Ivan Tsarevich: she is not a frog, but some kind of cunning... The Tsar again called his sons:

Let your wives bake bread for me by tomorrow. I want to know which cooks better.

Ivan Tsarevich hung his head and came home. The frog asks him:

What's wrong? He answers:

We need to bake bread for the king by tomorrow.

Don’t worry, Ivan Tsarevich, better go to bed, the morning is wiser than the evening.

And those daughters-in-law, at first they laughed at the frog, and now they sent one back-of-the-house grandmother to see how the frog would bake bread.

The frog is cunning, she realized this. I kneaded the dough; she broke the stove from above and right into the hole, the whole kneading bowl and overturned it. The backwater grandmother ran to the royal daughters-in-law; I told everything, and they began to do the same.

And the frog jumped onto the porch, turned into Vasilisa the Wise, and clapped his hands:

Mothers, nannies, get ready, get ready! Bake me soft white bread in the morning, the kind I ate from my dear father.

Ivan Tsarevich woke up in the morning, and there was bread on the table, decorated with various tricks: printed patterns on the sides, cities with outposts on top.

Ivan Tsarevich was delighted, wrapped the bread in his fly, and took it to his father. And the king at that time accepted bread from his older sons. Their wives put the dough into the oven, as their backwater grandmother told them, and what came out was nothing but burnt dirt. The king accepted the bread from his eldest son, looked at it and sent it to the men's room. He accepted it from his middle son and sent him there. And as Ivan Tsarevich gave it, the Tsar said:

This is bread, only eat it on holiday. And the king ordered his three sons to come to him at the feast tomorrow along with their wives.

Again, Tsarevich Ivan returned home sadly, hanging his head below his shoulders. A frog jumps on the floor:

Kwa, kwa, Ivan Tsarevich, why is he spinning? Or did you hear an unfriendly word from the priest?

Frog, frog, how can I not grieve! Father ordered me to come to the feast with you, but how can I show you to people?

The frog answers:

Don’t worry, Ivan Tsarevich, go to the feast alone, and I’ll follow you. When you hear knocking and thunder, don’t be alarmed. If they ask you, say: “This is my little frog, he’s traveling in a box.”

Ivan Tsarevich went alone. The older brothers arrived with their wives, dressed up, dressed up, rouged, and drugged. They stand and laugh at Ivan Tsarevich:

Why did you come without your wife? At least he brought it in a handkerchief. Where did you find such a beauty? Tea, all the swamps came out.

The king with his sons, daughters-in-law, and guests sat down at oak tables and feasted on stained tablecloths. Suddenly there was a knock and thunder, and the whole palace began to shake. The guests got scared, jumped up from their seats, and Ivan Tsarevich said:

Don't be afraid, honest guests: this is my little frog, she arrived in a box.

A gilded carriage with six white horses flew up to the royal porch, and Vasilisa the Wise came out of there: there were frequent stars on her azure dress, on her head there was a clear moon, such a beauty - you couldn’t imagine it, you couldn’t guess it, just say it in a fairy tale. She takes Ivan Tsarevich by the hand and leads him to oak tables and stained tablecloths.

The guests began to eat, drink, and have fun. Vasilisa the Wise drank from the glass and poured the last of it down her left sleeve. She bit the swan and the bones and threw it by her right sleeve.

The wives of the big princes saw her tricks and let’s do the same.

We drank, ate, and it was time to dance. Vasilisa the Wise picked up Ivan Tsarevich and went. She danced, danced, twirled, twirled - everyone was amazed. She waved her left sleeve - suddenly a lake appeared, waved her right sleeve - white swans swam across the lake. The king and guests were amazed.

And the older daughters-in-law went to dance: they waved their sleeves - only the guests were splashed, they waved at others - only the bones scattered, one bone hit the king in the eye. The king got angry and drove both daughters-in-law away.

At that time, Ivan Tsarevich went away quietly, ran home, found a frog skin there and threw it into the oven, burning it on the fire.

Vasilisa the Wise returns home, she missed it - there is no frog skin. She sat down on a bench, became sad, depressed and said to Ivan Tsarevich:

Ah, Ivan Tsarevich, what have you done! If you had only waited three more days, I would have been yours forever. And now goodbye. Look for me far away, in the thirtieth kingdom, near Koshchei the Immortal...

Vasilisa the Wise turned into a gray cuckoo and flew out the window. Ivan Tsarevich cried, cried, bowed to four sides and went wherever his eyes looked - to look for his wife, Vasilisa the Wise. Whether he walked close or far, long or short, he carried his boots, his caftan was worn out, the rain dried up his cap. An old man comes across him.

Hello, good fellow! What are you looking for, where are you going?

Ivan Tsarevich told him about his misfortune. The old man tells him:

Eh, Ivan Tsarevich; Why did you burn the frog's skin? You didn’t put it on, it wasn’t up to you to take it off. Vasilisa the Wise was born more cunning and wiser than her father. For this he became angry with her and ordered her to be a frog for three years. Well, there’s nothing to do, here’s a ball for you: wherever it rolls, you can follow it boldly.

Ivan Tsarevich thanked the old man and went to get the ball. The ball rolls, he follows it. In an open field he comes across a bear. Ivan Tsarevich has set his sights and wants to kill the beast. And the bear says to him in a human voice:

Don’t hit me, Ivan Tsarevich, someday I’ll be useful to you.

Ivan Tsarevich took pity on the bear, did not shoot him, and moved on. Lo and behold, a drake is flying above him. He took aim, and the drake spoke to him in a human voice:

Don't hit me, Ivan Tsarevich! I will be useful to you, He took pity on the drake and moved on. A sideways hare runs. Ivan Tsarevich came to his senses again, wants to shoot at him, and the hare says in a human voice:

Don't kill me, Ivan Tsarevich, I will be useful to you. He felt sorry for the hare and moved on. He approaches the blue sea and sees a pike lying on the shore, on the sand, barely breathing and says to him:

Why, good fellow, did you come to me? - Baba Yaga tells him. - Are you torturing things or are you just getting away with it?

Ivan Tsarevich answers her:

Oh, you old bastard, you should have given me something to drink, feed me, steam me in a bathhouse, and then you would have asked.

Baba Yaga steamed him in the bathhouse, gave him something to drink, fed him, put him to bed, and Ivan Tsarevich told her that he was looking for his wife, Vasilisa the Wise.

I know, I know,” Baba Yaga tells him, “your wife is now with Koshchei the Immortal.” It will be difficult to get it, it will not be easy to deal with Koschei: his death is at the end of a needle, that needle is in an egg, the egg is in a duck, the duck is in a hare, that hare sits in a stone chest, and the chest stands on a tall oak tree, and that oak Koschei the Immortal, like protects your eye.

Ivan Tsarevich spent the night with Baba Yaga, and the next morning she showed him where the tall oak tree grew. How long or short did it take Ivan Tsarevich to get there, and he saw a tall oak tree standing, rustling, with a government chest on it, and it was difficult to get it.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bear came running and uprooted the oak tree. The chest fell and broke. A hare jumped out of the chest and ran away at full speed. And another hare chases after him, caught up with him and tore him to shreds. And a duck flew out of the hare and rose high, right up to the sky. Lo and behold, the drake rushed at her, and when he hit her, the duck dropped the egg, and the egg fell into the blue sea.

Here Tsarevich Ivan burst into bitter tears - where can one find an egg in the sea? Suddenly a pike swims up to the shore and holds an egg in its teeth. Ivan Tsarevich broke the egg, took out a needle and let’s break the end of it. He breaks, and Koschey the Immortal fights and rushes about. No matter how much Koschey fought and rushed about, Tsarevich Ivan broke the end of the needle, and Koschey had to die.

Ivan Tsarevich went to the white stone Koshcheev Chambers. Vasilisa the Wise ran out to him and kissed his sugar lips. Ivan Tsarevich and Vasilisa the Wise returned home and lived happily ever after until they were very old.












Readers really like it, primarily because of the main character and the magic doll that helped her in everything. They are especially attracted by Vasilisa’s journey to Baba Yaga and the description of her possessions.

Vasilisa is seen as a Russian beauty with a long brown braid, blue eyes, ruddy, and friendly. She is wearing a green sundress, decorated with intricate embroidery, a treasured doll in her pocket, and some kind of needlework in her hands. But the girl is good not only with her face: she is hardworking, patient, and respects her elders. In addition, she is also a needlewoman: she has woven such a thin fabric that you can thread it through a needle, and no one but her can sew shirts from this fabric... This means that they called her that not only for her beauty.
The stepmother and her daughters did not like Vasilisa. She is more beautiful than them and suitors constantly woo her, but no one pays attention to her stepmother’s daughters. Vasilisa easily copes with any work, and it only benefits her. She humbly accepts everything that is entrusted to her and does not contradict anything. This is what pisses off envious women.
According to the text: "...the stepmother and sisters were jealous of her beauty, tormented her with all kinds of work, so that she would lose weight from work, and turn black from the wind and sun - there was no life at all!"

Analysis of the fairy tale "Ivan the Peasant Son and Miracle Yudo"

Artist Mitya Ryzhikov
It is customary to begin the analysis of a fairy tale with a traditional conversation based on the reader’s perception: what did you like and remember, what is the fairy tale about?

Let us remember the main characters of the fairy tale “Ivan the Peasant Son and Miracle Yudo”: Ivan, brothers, Miracle Yudo.

Why do you think, if there are three brothers, only one is mentioned in the title, only he has a name?

Only one of the brothers fought with Chud-Yud, which is why he is named in the title.

And it is no coincidence that he alone has a name. In ancient times, a name had to be earned by some deed, and until a certain time children did not have names; only after reaching the age of 11-12 years were tests arranged for them in which everyone could prove themselves. That's when they got names. In the fairy tale we probably find a reflection of this ancient custom. The older brothers did not show themselves to be anything special, so they remain nameless...

The hero of the fairy tale, in addition to his name, also has a nickname - a peasant son. And this nickname sounds almost like a patronymic. After all, this is how people used to introduce themselves: Ivan, Petrov’s son, or Andrei, Sergeev’s son, etc. From here, by the way, the surnames later appeared. Ivan is called a peasant's son - which means it is important that he is from the peasants.

Traditions are oral stories about the past. The events described in them are reliable or are presented as reliable. The legends obviously arose from the stories of witnesses or participants in the events. Their stories, passed from mouth to mouth many times, gradually turned into legends, were freed from personal assessments and biases, and became more objective. But it is natural that in the course of their existence, legends often departed from authenticity and included a certain amount of fiction, which had neither a fantastic character, as in a fairy tale, nor a religious character, as in a legend. This genre in Slavic languages ​​has the following names: in Russian and Bulgarian - legend, in Serbian - predaњa, in Polish -podania.

In legends, two main thematic groups can be distinguished: historical and toponymic legends. The first tells about events and persons who left a mark on people's memory, the second tells about the founding of cities, the origin of the names of settlements, places, and rivers.

Fairy tale "Moth"

The moth decided to get married. Naturally, he wanted to take a pretty flower for himself.

He looked around: the flowers sat quietly on their stems, as befits young ladies who have not yet been betrothed. But it was terribly difficult to choose, there were so many of them growing here.

The moth got tired of thinking, and he fluttered to the field daisy. The French call her Margarita and claim that she knows how to cast a spell, and she really knows how to cast a spell. The lovers take it and tear off petal by petal, saying: “Does he love you? Doesn’t he love you?” - or something like that. Everyone asks in their native language. So the moth also turned to the chamomile, but did not pick off the petals, but kissed them, believing that it is always better to take them with affection.

Listen to this!

Outside the city, by the road, there was a dacha. You've seen her, right? In front of it is another small garden, surrounded by a painted wooden lattice.

Not far from the dacha, right next to the ditch, a chamomile grew in the soft green grass. The sun's rays warmed and caressed it along with the luxurious flowers that bloomed in the flower beds in front of the dacha, and our chamomile grew by leaps and bounds. One fine morning she completely blossomed - her yellow, round heart, like the sun, was surrounded by the radiance of dazzling white small rays-petals. Chamomile didn’t care at all that she was such a poor, simple flower that no one sees or notices in the thick grass; no, she was happy with everything, greedily reached out to the sun, admired it and listened to the lark singing somewhere high, high in the sky.

Chamomile was so cheerful and happy, as if today was Sunday, but in fact it was only Monday; while all the children sat quietly on the school benches and learned from their teachers, our chamomile also sat quietly on its stem and learned from the clear sun and from all the surrounding nature, learned to know the goodness of God.