Suffering Russia: 80 frames of illustrations from Chekhov's novels

Author: Kukryniksy
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Preface: Kupriyanov, Kleykov, and Sokolov (Kukryniksy) were three painters who illustrated Chekhov's works for the first time between 1940 and 1941. Kukryniksy is a master of satirical drawings and cartoons, and in these two years, he devoted all his energy to illustrating Chekhov's works. He began with those works that were close to his creative style. The painters created a series of profound and powerful illustrations. They illustrated both Chekhov's humorous novels filled with joy and laughter (e.g., The Daughter of Albion, Surgery, The Man from Makhno) and Chekhov's satirical novels that inherited Gogol and Shchedrin's traditions (e.g., The Frog Prince, Sergeant Prishibeyev, The Man in the Iron Mask). After the German fascists invaded, people's peaceful lives were temporarily disrupted, and the situation forced the painter to take up arms. During this period, people seemed to have no mood to read the works of classical writers, yet it was precisely in the severe war years that people developed a strong interest in reading the works of the great masters of Russian literature. With excitement, people repeatedly reread the works of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Gorky, and Chekhov. The creations of these literary masters became a pride of national culture. It was precisely during the war that the illustrated edition of Chekhov's novels was published for the first time, with illustrations by Kukryniksy. A Dream Revisited. This book selects outstanding excerpts from 40 of Chekhov's novels, with two illustrations for each—sketches and line drawings—that highlight the essence of the novels and vividly recreate the scenes and characters. The illustrator Kukryniksy is the pseudonym of three outstanding Russian illustrators and cartoonists. Except for the eight signed translations by Lan Yingnian, the excerpts are all translated by Ru Long. The Preface is taken from the book Kukryniksy's Illustrations for Chekhov's Short Stories, hoping to provide readers with background information that helps understand these illustrations.