Illustration for Alexander Pushkin's 'Fairytale of the Tsar Saltan' 1905

This illustration for Alexander Pushkin's 'Fairytale of the Tsar Saltan' was made in 1905 by Ivan Bilibin, probably with pen and ink and watercolour. It's so clean, so precise, you know? The kind of control I could only dream of. Bilibin's got this amazing graphic quality, these clean lines that define everything. The colours are so muted and earthy, yet there's such richness to them. Look at the figure on the left, the way the pattern on their coat just pops. And then you've got that incredible cityscape in the background, all those domes and spires, each one meticulously rendered. I find myself drawn to the flowers in the foreground. They're so delicate and intricate, each petal and stem carefully delineated. And the way they contrast with the geometric patterns in the border is just brilliant. It reminds me a little of Aubrey Beardsley, but with a uniquely Russian sensibility. It’s this incredible mix of fantasy, folklore, and formal design that just gets me.