Illustration for the poem "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" by Alexander Pushkin 1908

This illustration by Ivan Bilibin depicts a scene from Alexander Pushkin's famous fairytale "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish." Created in 1908, the work exemplifies Bilibin's signature style, which blends elements of Russian folk art and traditional woodcuts with a distinctive Art Nouveau sensibility. The image portrays the fisherman, a simple man in a long coat, with his net, having caught a single golden fish that could grant wishes. The simple composition and the stylized, almost folk-art-like figures are typical of Bilibin's illustrations for Russian fairytales. This piece is a great example of the "Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" being adapted for visual art, which can be a very effective way of communicating the themes of the story.