Illustration to 'The crane and heron. Bear.' 1907

This Illustration to 'The crane and heron. Bear.' seems to be made with ink and crayon, though I can imagine it as gouache, maybe. The world the artist has made here is so flat it's almost like a theatre set. The palette is minimal, and the gray bear stands out. What was Narbut thinking when he made this illustration? What inspired him to put the bear front and centre, with his walking stick, amidst all this bareness? The snow is like thick impasto, flattened to a single plane. It feels a bit naive, and I like that. The way Narbut combines the graphic with this kind of folk-art sensibility reminds me a bit of other printmakers I know, like Rockwell Kent. I can feel Narbut’s process in every line, in every choice of colour.