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

Ivan Bilibin made this illustration for Pushkin's "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" using ink and watercolour. Look at the graphic quality of the lines, like he’s drawing with a very fine pen. It’s meticulous, but also kind of free. I love the way Bilibin uses these earthy, muted colours to evoke a sense of folklore. There’s a theatrical quality to the composition. It's like the whole scene is set on a stage. The fisherman stands there, almost frozen, holding the fish like a precious jewel. Notice how the line of fish at the bottom anchors the scene, like the base of a proscenium arch. It's an illustration, but also more than that. This feels like a conversation with other artists, maybe someone like Aubrey Beardsley. But Bilibin brings his own sensibility, a Russian fairytale vibe. Art is like a remix, right? We take what came before and twist it into something new, something that speaks to our own time and place.