Illustration for The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights 1996

Vyacheslav Nazaruk made this illustration for The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights, and it feels like stepping into a dream. The color palette is muted, like old storybooks, and the way the lines are drawn, thin and precise, reminds me of art as an act of careful translation, from the seen to the imagined. Look at how the architecture breathes, how the lines of the wooden house sort of sag and lean, giving it a life of its own. The colors create a nostalgic, almost melancholy atmosphere. Then you see this woman, and her dog, rendered with such tenderness, that you just want to reach into the picture and give them a hug! Nazaruk's work reminds me of Ivan Bilibin, who also drew from Russian folklore. Art invites us into these endless conversations, and allows each of us to bring our own story to the table.