Why the creator of the cat Leopold and the little Raccoon refused to paint the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and did not regret it: Vyacheslav Nazaruk

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

His works are known to every inhabitant of Russia - and, of course, beyond its borders. Picturesque canvases with scenes from Russian history, illustrations for Pushkin's tales and Bazhov's tales … But his most famous works are everyone's favorite cartoon characters, baby Raccoon, Leopold the cat and Mammoth in search of a mother.

Vyacheslav Nazaruk was born in 1941 and from the age of three he surprised everyone with his interest in drawing. He is one of those who choose a profession in childhood and forever. Behind him is the graphic arts faculty of the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute named after V. I. During his student years he traveled a lot around Russia. Vyacheslav Mikhailovich began his career as a production designer for Multi-Telefilm, but the spectrum of his artistic interests always went beyond animation.

One of Nazaruk's hobbies - or vocations - was Russian history and literature. Working on illustrations for the works of Russian authors and plots of Russian history, Vyacheslav Nazaruk became a real expert in the field of ancient Russian culture. He tries to recreate in detail life, costume, weapons and architectural elements, taking into account all the details, historical features of construction and much, much more. Credibility is his main creative principle when it comes to historical images. Vyacheslav Mikhailovich does not keep secrets of creativity under lock and key - he has lectured many times about Russian folklore and fairy-tale characters, wrote several scientific, methodological and educational books about animation, composition and the creation of historical paintings. Nazaruk has lectured in the United States and advised Disney studio staff.

In addition, he works at the intersection of the fields of art, using his knowledge of animation to work on the plots of battles, duels, and hunting. Nazaruk has a truly scientific approach to the creation of illustrations: even his signature ornamental frames are not at all a figment of the artist's imagination. To work on decorative elements, Nazaruk turned to ethnographic materials on the culture of the traditional peoples of Russia, borrowed some details from the Celts, examined ritual shamanic vestments, sat for hours over photographs of petroglyphs and ornaments from chronicle books.

For his historical paintings, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich organizes trips to the places of events, involves archaeologists, historians, horse specialists as consultants for battle scenes with mounted warriors … This attitude to work, of course, incredibly lengthens the process: for example, for a picture of the battle on Kulikovo Field he collected fourteen years, and worked on illustrations for Pushkin's fairy tales (edition for the poet's two hundred and twentieth birthday) for four years. But the publication turned out to be unique, one of a kind, because it includes not five, as is usually the case, but seven fairy-tale works by Alexander Sergeevich with magnificent illustrations - in addition to the widely known ones, the collection includes “The Tale of the Bear” and “The Bridegroom”. The artist faced a difficult choice: along with illustrations for fairy tales, he was offered to paint in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. But he did not hesitate for a second, choosing what his soul had always been to - besides, he had long dreamed of illustrating the tales of the great Russian poet, conveying in drawing and coloring the special music of his poems.

In the creative baggage of Vyacheslav Nazaruk and illustrations for the four tales of Bazhov from the cycle about the Mistress of the Copper Mountain. Working on them for three years, he practically received the education of a geologist - he literally settled in the Moscow Museum of Geology. For many hours he examined and sketched stones in order to find the most accurate and at the same time expressive way of depicting the texture of natural stone.

As in the literary language of Bazhov, folk is interspersed with the author's, so the artist wanted to display a real stone in a special author's manner, because the drawing should reflect the "sound" of the text, exist in close connection with the stylistic features of the literary work. This is how the watercolor "stone" mosaics appeared, giving the illustrations depth and mystery. Vyacheslav Mikhailovich believes that an artist is, first of all, a researcher, and his task is not only to draw, but also to study, and most importantly, to deeply know the history of his native country. In an interview, Nazaruk often indicates his interest in the pagan cultures of the peoples of Russia.

Despite the scrupulous attitude to details and love for the research part of creativity, Nazaruk believes that he is led by insight, something from above - the necessary books, necessary information come across by themselves, the most accurate and true images arise, coming from the depths of memory. This gift - to discover what is needed without effort, to create spontaneously - passed on to his daughter Alina, a composer.

During his long creative life, Vyacheslav Nazaruk illustrated more than a hundred literary works, created many large-format historical paintings and sculptures. But most Russians love him - without even knowing the name! - for his enormous contribution to the development of Soviet animation. Yes, yes, it was Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Nazaruk - the man who created Leopold the cat and his malevolent mouse enemies, the adorable little Raccoon and his friends, the Mammoth in search of a mother and many other cartoon images that are well known to each of us from childhood. Nazaruk, as an animation artist, has worked with more than four dozen cartoons. He left animation in the late seventies after a conversation with another famous animator, Yuri Norstein, who suggested that Nazaruk, with his gravitation for scale, became cramped within the profession.

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich has been a member of the Union of Artists of Russia since 1979, a member of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR and a laureate of the State Prize of the USSR. But the main thing is that his works are known to people of all ages and are dearly loved by them.