Yury Olesha’s “The Three Fat Men” and Its Illustrators

The article deals with the illustrations by Russian artists to the famous fairy-tale novel “The Three Fat Men” by Yu.K. Olesha, written 100 years ago — from the drawings for the first publication (1928) to the design of recent editions. The author sees his task in recalling some forgotten or underestimated works, to characterize in detail the graphic cycles that can be called the most successful and significant. An attempt is made to identify emerging trends in the visual reading of the anniversary novel, to draw attention to common places and differences in its interpretation. The fairy tale is still a part of children’s reading circle, is constantly reprinted, and the accumulated experience of its pictorial interpretation may be of interest for modern graphic artists, publishers, librarians, book historians, art critics, and for the average reader. The issues related to the illustration of “The Three Fat Men” have already been partially addressed in the book by the literary critic B.E. Galanov, in articles and monographs about individual artists and the history of children’s books in general, in reviews of new editions of the fairy tale. However, these publications do not close the topic, but on the contrary — stimulate its further research, provide valuable material for analysis and generalizations. The author emphasizes the complexity of Yu.K. Olesha’s novel for visual embodiment, the danger of too literal translation of the writer’s metaphorical language into visuals. The works of the first two illustrators of the fairy tale had a noticeable influence on their followers. While M.V. Dobuzhinsky was at the origin of a playful, buffoonish, predominantly comic reading of the story, V.I. Kozlinsky emphasized the theme of rebellion and the social conflict of the characters. Both of these lines found an interesting continuation in the works of artists of the second half of 20th century. The most successful and significant of them are the illustration cycles by B.M. Kalaushin, V.N. Goryaev, M.A. Bychkov, which were recognized by readers and critics and are often reprinted in the 21st century.

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