Russian Graphic Design, 1880-1917

by Elena Chernevich, Mikhail Anikst, Mikhail Anikst

Russia's rapid industrial growth in the late 19th-centuryresulted in a breathtaking proliferation of commercial art and design. Now, for the first time, this book acquaints the reader with the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558590161
• ISBN13: 9781558590168
• Release Date: August 1990
• Publisher: Abbeville Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 2.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Decent Overview of Pre-Revolutionary Design

This coffee-table book covers the period of 1880-1917, providing a glimpse into the world that was brought to an end with the October Revolution. Chernevich visited Moscow in the late '80s and drew upon the holdings of the Lenin State Library for the book, unearthing items that had not been public displayed since the Revolution. A capable introduction gives the cultural and economic background to put the rest of the book in context. Alas, all the text is rendered in a condensed typeface that is somewhat difficult to read. The selections are divided into five chapters, each starting with several pages of text leading into lush color reproductions. Chapter One covers the "Style Russe", as exemplified in ornate menus, proclamations, announcements, posters and programs reminiscent of illuminated medieval manuscripts. There are also examples drawn from illustrated folk tales, the most remarkable of which were by Ivan Bilibin. Chapter Two covers the Russian Art Nouveau, mostly via posters, cosmetics and candy packaging, the Russian versions of which weren't strikingly different from their Western European counterparts. Chapter Three covers the "World of Art Group", a sort of loose collective of energetic and prolific St. Petersburg artists underwritten by various industrialist philanthropists. Much of their work falls into the realm of illustration and design of posters, books, theater programs, and smaller pieces to accompany articles, poems, and stories in journals. It's hard to find any kind of unifying style amidst their somewhat unremarkable work. The largest section of the book is Chapter Four, which deals with"Commercial Graphics". It's stuffed with materials, mostly posters and broadsheets, advertising products ranging including horseshoes, gunpowder turbines, galoshes, various foodstuffs, Singer sewing machines, and of course cigarettes. There are also plenty of examples of packaging and even wine labels. These are incredibly vivid and elaborate works that are somewhat eerie given the revolution that was to come. The final section is about "Political Graphics", which is limited to posters for war bonds and war-related charities, and a great deal of examples of "luboks". These were popular prints showing brightly colored cartoonish war scenes, usually with some kind of off-color verse below about kicking Prussian butt. On the whole, a decent overview of pre-Revolutionary design work from Russia, probably mostly of interest to those with an interest in Russian art or the history of graphic design. in certain sections the selections get a little repetitive, but that's a minor point.