Leonid Vladimirsky. Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky: interview with the Emerald City illustrations by artist l in Vladimirsky

Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky was born in Moscow on September 21, 1920. The family lived first on Palikha Street (house No. 8), then on the Arbat.

With the outbreak of war in 1941, he was drafted into the army, into the engineering troops, having managed to complete three courses at the Moscow Engineering and Construction Institute (MISI).

After the war, he graduated with honors from the art department of the Institute of Cinematographers (VGIK) at the department of animation. His graduation work was the first filmstrip in the history of VGIK, the creation of which gave Vladimirsky a “start in life”: he was invited to work as the chief artist at the Filmstrip studio, where he created a series of illustrations for 10 tapes.

In 1953, for the filmstrip "The Adventures of Pinocchio" based on the fairy tale by A. N. Tolstoy, the artist created his own image of a wooden hero in a striped cap - an image that has become well-known and considered a classic. After the publication of the book "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by the publishing house "Art" in 1956, Vladimirsky devoted himself entirely to illustrating books for children. The next well-known work of the artist was illustrations for six fairy tales by A. Volkov, the first of which - "The Wizard of the Emerald City" - was published in 1959 (the story of the creation of the fairy tale is devoted to the program "Why and Why").

Among the artist's works are illustrations for A. S. Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila", for Yuri Olesha's story "Three Fat Men", for "The Adventures of Petrushka" by M. A. Fadeeva and A. I. Smirnov, "The Journey of the Blue Arrow" by J. Rodari, the collection "Russian Fairy Tales" and the collection "Smart Marcela".

The total circulation of books published with illustrations by Leonid Vladimirsky exceeds 20 million.

“And what else can we expect from God when he gave us life”

Mischievous Pinocchio in a red and white cap, Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman from the Emerald City. At the mention of these characters, images arise in our memory, which were created by the children's artist Leonid Vladimirsky. His works have become classics of fine art for children. About the age of the soul, the ability to rejoice and miracles, we talk with the artist Leonid Vladimirsky

- Leonid Viktorovich, have you ever wondered the origin of your last name?
- There is a legend in our family that one of the ancestors was a priest. Once he got into trouble and went to Moscow to the Assumption Cathedral to pray to the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, to ask for intercession. His prayers were heard. From that moment on, my ancestor changed his surname and became Vladimirsky.

Interestingly, I was born on September 21 on the birthday of the Mother of God. For a long time I was an unbaptized person. My wife Svetlana was also unbaptized. We are people of our time. Not so long ago, already on the threshold of the twenty-first century, they spent the summer in the countryside. We went to the village church. Yet we are believers. And on that day, my wife suggested to me: "Let's be baptized." I agreed. In the same church, the priest baptized us and after the sacrament he said: “Now put a candle on the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.” "Why?" “Because today is the day of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.” We didn't even think about it. There was a coincidence that makes you wonder.

I believe that the Mother of God takes care of me. There are many amazing things in my life. The fact that I survived the war. The fact that God gave the opportunity, health, time to work. The fact that I am almost ninety years old, and I live. That he met his wife. My first wife died. Her husband died. We are both artists. We met and have been living together for over 26 years.

- How did you find your calling?
- My parents had nothing to do with art. Mother is a doctor. Father is an office worker. In my youth, I became interested in poetry and drawing. I thought about where to go - in literary or artistic. My father said that both are unreliable, you need to have a profession, and do poetry and drawing in your free time. He obeyed his father and entered MISI. He studied for three years, and on the fourth came the war. We Komsomol volunteers went to courses at the military engineering academy, and then to the front. He served in the engineering troops. Didn't do any moves. He built roads and bridges. After the war, he entered the VGIK at the animation department.

I became a children's artist because I am interested in what is interesting for third-grade children. I'm interested in fairy tales. Adults are usually not very interested in fairy tales. There is even such an expression: "Why are you telling me fairy tales." Adults need to survive, their life is so difficult.

I believe that the age of my soul is nine years. There is a wonderful illustrator Igor Ilyinsky. He illustrated Mine Reed. I once told him: “Your soul age is probably fifteen years old.” He replied, "Yes, I know."

- When did you first think about the age of the soul?
- One day I came to the rest house. I had a neighbor there. I told him: “Hello, Petya! What kind of cultural program do we have here? And the neighbor answers me: “What are you interested in? Well, dance tonight." I say: "Dancing! Let's go dancing." And he told me: "What's interesting there?" "Music. Acquaintance. New impressions". “I haven’t been interested in this for a long time.” And stayed in the room. I was forty years old. And the neighbor is twenty-five years old. But it turned out that he was a young old man.

- The fact that your soul is so young, the merit of your parents?
- Maybe from my parents - they raised me in kindness. Or maybe from above - from God.

- You have verses with such lines: And what else can we expect from God, when he gave us life. Is it about humility?
- Yes, about it. You live - rejoice. Please others with your life, your example. You see, I'm not a pink, glamorous old man. I have a difficult life, with pain, with losses. But we must live, humble ourselves, endure. Rejoice in all circumstances. This is what humility is.

Your fairy tale characters are very humane. On their faces, emotions, thoughts. Even the Scarecrow, who has straw in his head, is a personality with character.
- If you can empathize, then you can convey feelings to your characters. When I draw the Scarecrow, I imagine what he feels. Children need to work hard. Who can bring kindness, he can be a children's artist or writer. And to have humor, expressiveness.

The highest joy for me was when I myself began to write and draw at the same time. He wrote and illustrated two fairy tales "Pinocchio is looking for a treasure" and "Pinocchio in the Emerald City". My wife helped me - my critic and adviser. And our dog Tyapa helped, he wagged his tail.

In the second book, Pinocchio was poisoned by Fox Alice, and he turned into a piece of wood. Papa Carlo had to save him, and for this he went to a magical land for magic powder. He passed all the tests. And here is the last locked door in front of him. Then Papa Carlo began to cry ... and I cried with him. As Pushkin wrote: “I will shed tears over fiction.” And in my fairy tale, everything ended well. Papa Carlo unexpectedly discovered the Golden Key, and the second secret of the Golden Key, as you know, is that it opens any door.

- When you look at the pictures created by you, there is a feeling of lightness.
- When I work for children, I am happy. Once at a master class I was asked: "Who are you targeting - professionals or readers." No one needs to be guided. As your soul wants, so it is necessary to work. The main thing is joyfully, sincerely. If you work for someone, you get hack work. Real music, poetry is communication with God. The soul sings or hurts, and the person creates. If he sings, it turns out a work for those who feel good. If it hurts - for those who feel bad.

You, already being a well-known artist, taught children to draw in the art studio at the children's republican library. Tell me, please, some interesting episode.
- Once a girl Masha, five years old, came. And I took children from the age of six. Mom asked me to accept Masha. I asked the girl: “Do you, Masha, want to draw?” She replied: “Yes. Want". I think the child has a desire. Must be accepted. The younger the child, the more interesting his work. And learn to draw.

This is how I dealt with children. I read them a part of the story. Then they made sketches, drew. We laid out the finished work on the floor. And each child in turn said which picture from the work of his comrades he liked and why. The turn has come to Masha, and she says: "I like my picture." Everyone laughed. Now Masha is graduating from an art institute. An excellent pupil. She tells everyone that her first teacher is Vladimirsky.

- What advice can you give to parents who want to teach their children to draw?
Give your child paper, pencil, crayons, gouache early. Recently there was an interview with Viktor Chizhikov on the radio. This is one of the best illustrators. He said he started painting at the age of ten months. First on the wallpaper. His parents allowed him to paint the walls. No need to say: "We draw a cucumber man." Let it be doodles, but your own. Hang a children's picture on the wall. Say: "This is my Vasya painted." To be an incentive. Children need a kind word.

- What are you happy about today?
Because my wife is next to me. We have been given love and understanding. Love must be protected. To the question: "How do you live?" I answer: "We try." In plural. I am helping her. She to me. I was a professional artist, but my eyes were tired. And now I write poetry. Recently I decided to write a poem for my upcoming ninetieth birthday. There were sixteen quatrains. The wife says: "If twice as short, it will be twice as good." I cut it with pain in my heart. And she again: “If it’s twice as short, it’ll be even better. I obeyed. I trust her. I have poems about how a little girl gave me a dryer for my pictures. There really was a case with drying. It happened after my performance at the family orphanage. And I dedicate most of my poems to my wife, my Beregina, my muse.

"I was a quiet boy and not at all like Pinocchio. Dreamy, read books, drew wizards, sorceresses and dragons ..." Leonid Vladimirsky

Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1974), laureate of the Children's Reader's Choice Competition (1996), holder of the Order of Pinocchio (2006).

One of the luminaries of domestic book graphics. Graduated from the Art Department of the Institute of Cinematographers (VGIK), Department of Animation. His thesis work was the filmstrip "Ruslan and Lyudmila". After graduating from the institute, L. Vladimirsky was invited to work at the "Filmstrip" studio, and immediately became the chief artist.

The book "The Adventures of Pinocchio", published with his illustrations in 1956, gave the artist a ticket to book graphics. Since then, Vladimirsky devoted himself entirely to children's books.

The list of books illustrated by him is small, but almost all of his works are iconic: "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by A. Tolstoy (it was the image of Pinocchio in a striped cap invented by L. Vladimirsky that became a classic!), six fairy tales by A. Volkov: "The Wizard of the Emerald City", etc. ., "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by A. Pushkin, "Three Fat Men" by Y. Olesha, "Journey of the Blue Arrow" by J. Rodari, "Vovka Vesnushkin in the Land of Clockwork Men" by V. Medvedev, "The Adventures of Petrushka" by M. Fadeeva.

Leonid Vladimirsky is also known as the author of texts. In the 1990s, he wrote his own continuation of the fairy tale about Pinocchio, at the same time making drawings for them: "Pinocchio is looking for treasure", "Pinocchio in the Emerald City". As the title suggests, the second book also continued A. Volkov's fabulous series about the Magic Land.

Books with illustrations by the artist

There are few graphic artists whose works are familiar to literally everyone who was born and raised in the Soviet era and brought up on good children's books: Russian folk tales, works by A. S. Pushkin, Yu. K. Olesha, A. N. Tolstoy, A. M. Volkova, D. Rodari. One of the most famous and popular book illustrators - Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky would have turned 95 today. He died this spring, a little short of his own anniversary, but the characters in his drawings have long become universally recognized classics, both in our country and abroad. Leonid Vladimirsky was born on September 21, 1920 in Moscow, completed three courses at the Moscow Civil Engineering Institute, but with the outbreak of World War II he was drafted into the engineering troops and went to the front. Demobilized in 1945 with the rank of senior lieutenant, Vladimirsky unexpectedly entered the art department of VGIK, and graduated from it in the animation department. His diploma work was the first filmstrip in the history of the Institute, after which the graduate was invited to work as the chief artist at the Filmstrip Studio, where he created a series of illustrations for ten children's films.

So in 1953, the famous image of a wooden man in a striped cap was born, created by the artist based on the fairy tale by A. N. Tolstoy “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio”. In 1956, the Art publishing house published a book with the same title, illustrated by Leonid Vladimirsky. From that moment on, the artist began to deal only with book graphics for children. In an interview recorded in 2006, the artist admitted: “... I really illustrated only three books - The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Wizard of the Emerald City and Ruslan and Lyudmila. One Scarecrow I drew more than 400 times. More than 150 drawings of Pinocchio ... I drew Pinocchio with my daughter (she was 5 years old then). I tied a cardboard nose to her on a string, and she posed for me. When she was 9 years old, she turned into Ellie. Now I draw Pinocchio from a childhood photo of my granddaughter and even from my great-grandson, who is now 5 years old. Later, when I was already working at the Filmstrip studio, I learned that even before the war, the Golden Key filmstrip was being prepared. Aleksey Tolstoy wrote a frame plan for it (that is, a frame-by-frame text), and the artist Radlov was already drawing Pinocchio. But then the war began, and the work was stopped. There were three copies of the text in total, moreover, one burned down at the "Filmstrip" when a bomb hit it, the second burned down along with the Artist's House. Only the third is preserved in the archives of the Literary Institute. I found it and made a two-part filmstrip, and then a book - with a short text, for kids who are learning to read.

By the way, because of Pinocchio's popularity, funny situations often happened to me. So, one day I decided to take part in the exhibition “Artists for Children” and drew a big Pinocchio. I show it to the chairman of the jury. He looked and said: “Disgrace! You've taken a well-known image! We only accept unique entries. What, don't you know?" I didn't answer and left."

In 1959, the book by A. M. Volkov “The Wizard of the Emerald City” was published, all the images for which were drawn by Vladimirsky. According to the Book Chamber, this work was reprinted in the Soviet Union and abroad more than one hundred and ten times, and always with illustrations by Leonid Viktorovich, which are already perceived by readers of different generations as canonical. This was followed by continuations: drawings for the books Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers (1963), Seven Underground Kings (1964), The Fiery God of the Marrans (1968), Yellow Fog (1970), The Mystery of the Abandoned Castle (1976-1982). Among other works of the artist are illustrations for the poem by A. S. Pushkin "Ruslan and Lyudmila", for the story by Yu. K. Olesha "Three Fat Men", for "The Adventures of Petrushka" by M. A. Fadeeva and A. I. Smirnov, Blue Arrow" by Gianni Rodari, collections "Russian Fairy Tales" and "Smart Marcela". Leonid Viktorovich said: “There are no simple characters and cannot be. I consider the most successful, of course, the images of Pinocchio and the Scarecrow. But the most difficult for me was the image of Lyudmila from Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila. This was my thesis. Everyone liked Lyudmila from the fairy tale, so I decided that everyone should like my Lyudmila too. At first, I drew girls on the street, after which I showed the drawings to my friends. If at least one did not like it, he rejected it. So painted nineteen Lyudmil. Then I decided that it was enough to adapt to other people's tastes, I would draw such a Lyudmila that I myself would like. And I drew. Friends looked and said that I have bad taste, that this is a waitress from a restaurant. And then I realized - you need to draw such an image that Alexander Sergeevich would like. Thought - did. He put a portrait of Natalia Nikolaevna in front of him and began to draw. And so the sad Russian princess arose. By the way, this option was approved by all my friends.

By the way, Leonid Vladimirsky himself is the author of two fairy tales about the adventures of his favorite hero: "Pinocchio is looking for treasure" (1995) and "Pinocchio in the Emerald City" (1996). Back in 1974, for his services in the field of fine arts, the artist was awarded the title of Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR, and in 1996 he became a laureate of the All-Russian Competition of Children's Readers' Choice. The artist has always been true to himself, his audience and his creative vocation, repeatedly repeating: “I never draw what I don’t like, even if there is no money left at all. My friend says to me: "I drew 200 books." So what? And in my fifty creative years I have drawn only twenty books, but if we take it seriously, only three. But their circulation is more than twenty million.

“Every person has a soul age. There are young old men who are not interested in anything. And there are people like me who, at the age of 90, stick their curious nose everywhere. So, my soul - I asked one art critic, and he answered - my soul is no more than 9 years old. I'm so interested in life! And strength is often spent on somehow restraining this interest in life in oneself, fitting into the framework befitting age. (Leonid Vladimirsky)

Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky (September 21, 1920 - April 18, 2015) - Russian graphic artist and illustrator, Honored Artist of the RSFSR. From a young age he was fond of drawing and poetry.

At the age of 33, he became the chief artist at the Filmstrip Studio, where he created 10 filmstrips for children, including The Adventures of Pinocchio (1953) based on the fairy tale by A. K. Tolstoy.

The image of Pinocchio in a striped cap, which has now become a classic, the artist copied from his 5-year-old daughter.

Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky painted with watercolors all his life. Most of the drawings are illustrations for fairy tales.

The artist created many pictures for children's books, but according to Leonid Vladimirsky himself, he really illustrated only three books - "The Adventures of Pinocchio", "The Wizard of the Emerald City" and "Ruslan and Lyudmila". At the same time, he painted the Scarecrow more than 400 times, made more than 150 drawings of Pinocchio.

Illustrations by Leonid Vladimirsky are familiar to all children of our country. Our parents and even some grandparents grew up on books with his illustrations.

"The Adventures of Pinocchio"

"The Wizard of Oz"

"Ruslan and Ludmila"

"Adventures of the Dunno"

Any novice artist always has something to learn from meters of illustration. We wish you inspiration and creative success, friends!

Birthday September 21, 1920

Russian graphic artist and illustrator

With his drawings for various editions of books about A. N. Tolstoy's Pinocchio and A. M. Volkov's Emerald City, he became widely known in the USSR and socialist countries.

Biography

With the outbreak of war in 1941, he was drafted into the army, into the engineering troops, having managed to complete three courses at the Moscow Engineering and Construction Institute (MISI) named after. Kuibyshev.

After the war, he graduated with honors from the art department of the Institute of Cinematographers (VGIK) at the department of animation. His graduation work was the first filmstrip in the history of VGIK, the creation of which gave Vladimirsky a “start in life”: he was invited to work as the chief artist at the Filmstrip studio, where he created 10 tapes.

Works

In 1953, for the filmstrip "The Adventures of Pinocchio" based on the fairy tale by A. N. Tolstoy, the artist created his own image of a wooden hero in a striped cap - an image that has become well-known and considered a classic. After the publication of the book "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by the publishing house "Art" in 1956, Vladimirsky devoted himself entirely to illustrating books for children. The next well-known work of the artist was illustrations for six fairy tales by A. Volkov, the first of which, The Wizard of the Emerald City, was published in 1959.

Among the artist's works are illustrations for A. S. Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila", for Yuri Olesha's story "Three Fat Men", for "The Adventures of Petrushka" by M. Fadeeva and A. Smirnov, "The Journey of the Blue Arrow" by J. Rodari and the collection Russian tales.

The total circulation of books published with illustrations by Leonid Vladimirsky exceeds 20 million.

Literary activity

In 1994-1995 he wrote and published (with his own drawings) his own continuation of the fairy tale about Pinocchio, dedicated to his wife Svetlana:

• Leonid Vladimirsky Pinocchio is looking for a treasure. - Enlightenment, 1995. - S. 120. - 20,000 copies. - ISBN 5-7574-0009-9

• Leonid Vladimirsky Pinocchio is looking for a treasure. - Astrel, 1996. - S. 120. - 25000 copies. - ISBN 5-900986-21-7

Then L. V. Vladimirsky wrote a new continuation to this tale, at the same time continuing the fairy tale series by A. M. Volkov about the Magic Land:

• Leonid Vladimirsky Pinocchio in the Emerald City. - Astrel, 1996. - S. 120. - 25000 copies. - ISBN 5-900986-24-1

Awards

• In 1974, Vladimirsky was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
• In 1996 he became a laureate of the All-Russian Children's Reader's Choice Competition.
• In 2006 he was awarded the Order of Pinocchio.