Book Graphics by Nikolay Pavlovich Akimov. To the 120th Birth Anniversary of the Artist

Abstract

The article is devoted to the art work of the outstanding Russian artist, stage director, theatre figure Nikolay Pavlovich Akimov. Using bibliological, art history and source study methods, the author analyzes the least known works of the master in the field of book graphics and posters, which have been overlooked by most researchers. The article traces the relationship between the stage director’s graphic experiments and his theatrical work. The author disputes the statement that most of Akimov’s covers of the 1920s belong to the “illustrative type”, which is often found in the bibliological literature, and emphasizes the generalized, symbolic, conditional nature of the portraits of literary characters. The examples show the coincidences and differences between the poster interpretation of the characters’ images and their book interpretation. The article considers not only the early works of the master, but also his design experiences of the late 1950s — early 1960s. The author reveals the most significant features of Akimov’s graphics: strongly pronounced fantasy spirit, the artist’s predilection for the eccentric and grotesque, for unexpected angles and lighting effects, distortion of real proportions for the sake of sharpening the character of the image, the inclusion of letters in the structure of figurative compositions.