Yuri Vasnetsov (1900-1973), was a well-known Soviet painter and graphic artist. His work was closely linked with the traditions of Russian folk art, yet he always remained contemporary in his approach. Vasnetsov made his debut in the late 1920s and became one of those artists who initiated the production of Soviet illustrated books for children. During the fifty years of his artistic career he illustrated over one hundred books. Vasnetsov also produced coloured lithographs and worked in easel painting, demonstrating a manner entirely his own.
This volume is the most complete book on Vasnetsov ever published. It contains 171 plates, 144 of them in colour.
The relationship between traditional and contemporary vision was one of the artist's most important problems both in painting and graphic art.
Vasnetsov's fantastic landscapes are profoundly reworked under the influence of Russian scenery; his birds and beasts and fairy-tale personages are very expressive because he invests them with movement and behaviour observed from life.
Vasnetsov's creative career, which covered almost half a century, is marked by a rare integrity. It was a path of steady growth, perfection and accumulation of skill.