Illustration for the Russian Fairy Story "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka" 1901

Ivan Bilibin made this illustration for the Russian fairy story "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka" using watercolour, gouache, and ink, and you know, looking at it now, it feels really contemporary, in a way. The colours are muted and earthy, the tones of the setting sun against the deep greens feel folkloric and modern at the same time. What I love most here is the border. It is patterned with geometric shapes and stylized mushrooms, a frame within a frame, and the way the artist creates a rhythmic pattern, and how the colours add another layer, that makes the image vibrate a little. The way the narrative is split into two distinct planes, figures in the foreground, field in the distance, really adds to the feeling of the piece, and I can't help thinking about other illustrators, like Arthur Rackham, or Kay Nielsen.