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Сказки. Василиса Прекрасная
Дорогие читатели! Перед вами русская народная сказка - "Василиса Прекрасная", иллюстрации к которой выполнил замечательный русский художник Иван Яковлевич Билибин (1876-1942). Страстное увлечение Билибина старинным русским искусством отразилось в его иллюстрациях к нaродным сказкам. Билибинскому стилю свойственна красота узорного рисунка и изысканная декоративность цветовых сочетаний. Художник надеялся, что "...под влиянием увлечения минувшей красотою... создастся наконец новый русский стиль, вполне индивидуальный и не мишурный". Детские книги, проиллюстрированные художником, оказали огромное влияние на оформительскую культуру своего времени, и на долгие годы восприятие русской сказочности стало во многом билибинским.
17 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1976
About the author
Alexander Afanasyev
289 books115 followersAlexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (Russian: Александр Николаевич Афанасьев) was a Russian folklorist who recorded and published over 600 Russian folktales and fairytales, by far the largest folktale collection by any one man in the world. His first collection was published in eight volumes from 1855-67, earning him the reputation of a Russian counterpart to the Brothers Grimm.
Born in 1826 in Boguchar, in Voronezh Governate, he grew up in Bobrov, becoming an early reader thanks to the library of his grandfather, a member of the Russian Bible Society. He was educated at the Voronezh gymnasium and from 1844-48 he studied law at the University of Moscow. Despite being a promising student, he did not become a professor, due largely to attacks upon his work by the conservative Minister of National Enlightenment, Count Sergey Uvarov.
Afanasyev worked for thirteen years at the Moscow's Main Archive Directorate under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, during which time he also amassed a huge library and published numerous articles and reviews. In 1862 he was fired from his position, because of his association with philosopher Alexander Herzen. Jobless for a number of years thereafter, he sold his library in order to support his family, eventually finding work as a secretary at the Moscow City Duma and at the Moscow Congress of Justices of the Peace.
Afanasyev wrote a large theoretical work (three volumes of 700 pages each) – "The Poetic Outlook of Slavs about Nature" (Поэтические воззрения славян на природу) – which came out between 1865 and 1869. In 1870 his Русские детские сказки (Russian Children's Fairy Tales) were published. He died in poverty in 1871, at the age of forty-five.
(source: Wikipedia)
Born in 1826 in Boguchar, in Voronezh Governate, he grew up in Bobrov, becoming an early reader thanks to the library of his grandfather, a member of the Russian Bible Society. He was educated at the Voronezh gymnasium and from 1844-48 he studied law at the University of Moscow. Despite being a promising student, he did not become a professor, due largely to attacks upon his work by the conservative Minister of National Enlightenment, Count Sergey Uvarov.
Afanasyev worked for thirteen years at the Moscow's Main Archive Directorate under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, during which time he also amassed a huge library and published numerous articles and reviews. In 1862 he was fired from his position, because of his association with philosopher Alexander Herzen. Jobless for a number of years thereafter, he sold his library in order to support his family, eventually finding work as a secretary at the Moscow City Duma and at the Moscow Congress of Justices of the Peace.
Afanasyev wrote a large theoretical work (three volumes of 700 pages each) – "The Poetic Outlook of Slavs about Nature" (Поэтические воззрения славян на природу) – which came out between 1865 and 1869. In 1870 his Русские детские сказки (Russian Children's Fairy Tales) were published. He died in poverty in 1871, at the age of forty-five.
(source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 22, 2019
Magical, marvellous, stunning illustrations.
But not for the little ones - Baba Yaga and her skulls would have scared the Bejesus out of me when I was little - as did the Banshee in Disney's film 'Darby O'Gill and the Little People'!
But not for the little ones - Baba Yaga and her skulls would have scared the Bejesus out of me when I was little - as did the Banshee in Disney's film 'Darby O'Gill and the Little People'!
February 14, 2020
When Vassilisa's cruel stepmother and stepsisters send her into the forest to seek a light from the terrible witch Baba Yaga, the brave young girl must rely upon her magical doll - given to her by her mother - for help. Successfully completing the impossible tasks set for her, Vassilisa is sent home by Baba Yaga, who informs her: "People like you have no business to be here at all." After the terrible punishment meted out to her step-family by the witch's light, Vassilisa's cloth-making soon brings her to the attention of the Tsar...
Part of a collection of tales retold by poet and folklorist Alexandr Pushkin, Vassilisa the Beautiful is another fairy-tale featuring the incredible Baba Yaga, a seminal figure in Russian folk culture. The description of her eerie hut, with its gruesome gate of human bones, lit by skull-lanterns, is not easily forgotten. But for all her terrifying appearance, Baba Yaga is an ambivalent character, who almost never harms the pure and virtuous...
This retelling, published in the former Soviet Union in the 1970s, includes Ivan Bilibin's fantastic folk-motif artwork. His depiction of Baba Yaga's three riders - the white horseman to usher in the "Bright Day", the red one to herald the "Radiant Sun," and the black one to bring the "Dark Night" - are particularly powerful. I love to collect and compare various retellings of the same tale, and there is no question that Ivan Bilibin's illustrations are among my favorites. Another rendition of this tale that the reader might want to examine is Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave , retold by Marianna Mayer, and illustrated by the marvelous Kinuko Craft. Both are excellent, in their way.
Part of a collection of tales retold by poet and folklorist Alexandr Pushkin, Vassilisa the Beautiful is another fairy-tale featuring the incredible Baba Yaga, a seminal figure in Russian folk culture. The description of her eerie hut, with its gruesome gate of human bones, lit by skull-lanterns, is not easily forgotten. But for all her terrifying appearance, Baba Yaga is an ambivalent character, who almost never harms the pure and virtuous...
This retelling, published in the former Soviet Union in the 1970s, includes Ivan Bilibin's fantastic folk-motif artwork. His depiction of Baba Yaga's three riders - the white horseman to usher in the "Bright Day", the red one to herald the "Radiant Sun," and the black one to bring the "Dark Night" - are particularly powerful. I love to collect and compare various retellings of the same tale, and there is no question that Ivan Bilibin's illustrations are among my favorites. Another rendition of this tale that the reader might want to examine is Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave , retold by Marianna Mayer, and illustrated by the marvelous Kinuko Craft. Both are excellent, in their way.
August 14, 2018
Again, everything about this was beautiful. The story is inspiring, and reminds me a little of Cinderella.
January 7, 2018
First book of 2018! I quite enjoyed it and was a quick and charming read reminiscent of Cinderella but with enough flair, charm, and dark wit to keep me intrigued throughout the whole time. This makes me excited to finally read Vassa In The Night. XD
June 11, 2025
The better Cinderella version. Glorious illustrations too.
January 20, 2022
This is a supposedly Cinderella story, but there is a lot of differences. In fact there are more differences and similarities. The only similarities are that Cinderella has the wicked stepmother and two stepsisters; and that in the end she marries the czar. Other than that there are so many storylines that have nothing to do with the original Cinderella tale
March 25, 2014
فاسيليسا هي سندريلا و لكن من دون فردة الحذاء... لا أدري أيهما أسبق على الأخرى؛ فاسيليسا أم سندريلا!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews