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Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin
About museum
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was a Russian artist, book illustrator and theatrical designer, and a member of the 'Mir Iskusstva' (World of Art) association. Ivan Yakovlevich was born on 16 August 1876 in the village of Tarkhovka near St. Petersburg into a military doctor's family. After graduating from gymnasium with a silver medal in 1896, he studied law for a while at St. Petersburg University.
In 1898 Bilibin went to Munich to study under Anton Ažbe. Upon returning to Russia he studied at the studio-school of Princess Maria Tenisheva under the guidance of Ilya Repin, after which he entered the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts.
At the beginning of the 20th century Bilibin became an active member of the Mir Iskusstva association. His first illustrated book, 'The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Grey Wolf', was published in 1899. He created illustrations for Russian bylinas and fairy tales, and also designed theatrical productions. After the 1917 Revolution the artist emigrated; he lived in Crimea and Egypt where, among other things, he painted an Orthodox church and continued to work on illustrations and stage designs.
In 1936 Bilibin returned to the USSR. He was appointed a professor at the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Leningrad and was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Art History. Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin died in besieged Leningrad on 7 February 1942. His last work was an illustration for the bylina 'Duk Stepanovich'.
Date of birth
04 August 1876
Date of death
07 February 1942
Occupation
Artist