Front page to 'Three Fables of Krylov' 1912

Heorhiy Narbut designed this front page for 'Three Fables of Krylov', using ink to create intricate silhouettes. I can imagine him carefully cutting out these shapes, each snip of the scissors defining the negative space. Look how the black ink forms a dense, almost theatrical scene: trees framing a cameo of a woman, a swan gliding on a pond, birds in flight. There’s a stark beauty in this limited palette; the whole thing has a graphic impact! Narbut was interested in national identity, folk art, and the history of the book. Maybe the artist was thinking about classicism, or the visual language of fairy tales as he made this! It is a bit like looking into a dream, isn’t it? And remember, artists are always in dialogue with one another, riffing on ideas across time. This piece invites us to see how a simple medium can create a world of complex, layered meanings. I really love this piece.