George Narbut: biography and creativity

George Narbut is an artist and illustrator. He was engaged in the design of children's books and magazines. He became the author of the first banknotes and postal stamps of the Ukrainian state. About the details of his professional and personal life, we'll talk.

George Narbut: biography

The artist was born in 1886 in the territory of the modern Sumy region in Ukraine. His father was a small servant, although he belonged to a Lithuanian noble family. Mother was the daughter of a priest. In addition to George, there were eight other children in the family.

Together with his younger brother, he entered the Glukhov Gymnasium, then the Philological Faculty at St. Petersburg University. Very soon George Narbut got acquainted with the illustrator and artist Ivan Bilibin, who became his first mentor. He also studied with Mstislav Dobuzhinsky and Leon Bakst, in 1910 he attended a graphic studio in Munich.

Narbut became a member of the association "World of Arts", worked in the magazine "Apollo" and "Gerboved", served in the department of heraldry. In 1915 he was drafted into the army, where he settled in the Red Cross. In 1917 the schedule moved to Kiev.

In the capital, George Narbut becomes a professor and co-founder of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts. He teaches Lozovsky, Mogilev, Khizhinsky, Kirnarsky. In 1919, one post replaces the other. Narbut belongs to the professional union of artists, then to the commissariat for arts and culture. Later he holds the post of the head of the arts department in the People's Commissariat for Education, supervising the print media.

A self-taught lover

George Narbut was fond of painting since childhood, in particular he was fascinated by ornaments. Artistic skills, he began to form himself, without anyone's help. When money was not enough for the paint, the young Narbut cut out patterns and silhouettes of colored paper, putting them all over the house.

Later I got carried away with redrawing. He was constantly copying frames, fonts, letters of old books, repeating sketches from I. Bilibin's books. At the university he found his like-minded people. In the evenings, they were going for a joint drawing. And once they arranged an exhibition, inviting experienced masters to it.

Bilibin immediately noted the potential of Narbut and even recommended it for the Roerich school. His undoubted talent was backed up by persistent practice. George Narbut was engaged from morning till late evening. Recognition and respect he received during his lifetime. He was called "immense size talent", and George Lukomsky dubbed him "the best schedule in the world."

George Narbut: illustrations for fairy tales

Narbut created the very first illustration of the book in school. It was an image for the poem "The Song of Roland". The next works were the fairy tale "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by A. Pushkin, "Stories" by Sholom Asha, "Fence" by V. Pyast. At first, the artist was accused of lacking individuality and imitation of Bilibin. However, very soon he managed to develop his own individual style.

In Germany, he works on the books of V. Zhukovsky, publishes a series of books called "Toys." The most famous works are Georgy's illustrations to Krylov's fables and Andersen's fairy tales. Here the author's style of Narbut is most clearly represented.

His pen belongs to the design of the book "Three Fables of Krylov", "Krylov: Fables" and "1812 in Krylov's fables", and the cover to Andersen's book "The Nightingale" is considered one of the best works of the master. He also designed the cover to "Steadfast Tin Soldier" and a book "Jumper". The last book of Narbut was "The Tale of Love of the Beautiful Queen and the Right Prince", published in 1916.

The Ukrainian period

Creativity of George Narbut was not limited to the design of children's books. The artist goes deep into the study of Ukrainian art and heraldry. In 1913 he participated in the compilation of the "Little Russian Arms", where he makes out the cover of the book and about 160 arms. In 1915 the book "Coats of arms of the hetmans of Little Russia" was published.

Moving to Kiev, he takes up the design of various packages, stamps, playing cards in the national style. Enthusiasm for fonts and ornaments is reflected in the development of the Ukrainian alphabet, which the artist never managed to complete. The letters of the alphabet combined in themselves domestic and foreign book traditions, their style is often called "Narbutovsky".

What else did Georgi Narbut do? Illustrations of the artist were published in a dozen magazines, such as "Zorya", "Mystetstvo", "Our End". At the heart of his work lay Ukrainian folklore motifs. In the last years of his life he designed Zaitsev's book Oksana, the first love of Shevchenko and began work on Aeneid Kotlyarevsky, which he never finished.

National Symbols

In 1918 George Narbut is engaged in the design of national symbols of Ukraine. He creates the State Press, which depicts a Cossack with a musket in the frame of a baroque cartouche. Above the Cossack was a trident. The image was placed on 1000 karbovanets.

In addition, Narbut designed the first banknote of the UNR - 100 carbovans, where he used elements of Ukrainian baroque, a trident and the coat of arms of the Kiev magistrate of the XVIII century. After the introduction of the hryvnia, the artist made sketches for bills of 10, 100 and 500 hryvnia.

He also participated in the contest for the best design of postage stamps, after which George became the author of the first in the UPR marks for 30, 40, 50 steps. On one of them was depicted "Young Ukraine" - an allegory in the form of a girl with a wreath on her head. She also attended the bill of 500 hryvnia.

Personal life

During his life George Narbut was married twice. Even in school years, he fell in love with a younger brother's classmate Maria Belovskaya. They often talked, and, as a student, the artist made an offer to the girl. But the proposal was rejected, since she was in love with his brother Vladimir.

George did not waste time and in the same year fell in love with Vera Kiryakova. She was the daughter of a landowner in the native village of the artist - Narbutovka. In 1913 they were married. In the marriage they had two children. Daughter Marina Berezovskaya became a choreographer and performer of classical dance. Son Daniil became a famous artist.

In 1918, Narbut married Natalia Modzalevskaya. Previously, she was the wife of his close friend Vadim Modzalevsky. In 1920, George Narbut died after an operation to remove kidney stones. He was buried in the Baikovo cemetery.