Suffering Russia (80 frames of illustrations from Chekhov's novel)

Author: [Russia] Chekhov [Russia] Kukryniksy
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: This book selects outstanding excerpts from 40 short stories by the Russian literary master Chekhov. Each story is accompanied by two illustrations: one in sketch and one in line drawing, highlighting the essence of the stories and vividly recreating the scenes and characters. The illustrator Kukryniksy is the pseudonym of three outstanding Russian illustrators and cartoonists. Except for the eight signed by Lan Yingnian, all excerpts are 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 helpful for understanding these illustrations. Kupriyanov, Kleykov, and Sokolov (Kukryniksy) illustrated Chekhov's works for the first time between 1940 and 1941. Kukryniksy is a master of satirical paintings and cartoons, and during these two years, he devoted all his energy to illustrating Chekhov's works. He began with those works closest to his creative style. The artists produced a series of profound and powerful illustrations, both for Chekhov's humorous stories brimming with joy and laughter (e.g., "The Daughter of Albion," "Surgery," "The Man with the surname Ma") and for Chekhov's satirical stories inheriting the traditions of Gogol and Shestov (e.g., "The," "Sergeant Prishibeyev," "The Man in a Case"). After the German fascists invaded, people's peaceful lives were temporarily disrupted, and the situation forced the artists to take up arms. At this time, people seemed to have no mood to read the works of classical writers, yet it was precisely during the severe war years that people developed a strong interest in reading the works of their homeland's literary masters. 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 years that the illustrated edition of Chekhov's short stories was published for the first time, with Kukryniksy as the illustrator.