Stories in pictures "the grandfathers of Russian cartoons": Humorous illustrations by Oleg Tesler

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

Oleg Tesler - a master of a rare and very difficult direction in the caricature genre, called "streap-cartoon" - a story in pictures. During his lifetime, the artist was called the founder of a new style of drawn humor and "the grandfather of Russian caricature." He not only had his own authorial style, he also had his own hero - a funny character with a crossed-out nose, somewhat resembling the author himself. And today in our publication is a selection of humorous drawings by the artist who is deservedly considered one of the best world cartoonists of the twentieth century.

In the middle of this summer, Oleg Semyonovich Tesler, a world-renowned cartoonist, animator and book designer, art editor of Smena, Olympiada-80, Soviet Screen, Izvestia newspaper, would have turned 82 years old. But, unfortunately, the master of satire and humor did not live up to 60. He died in 1995.

Nevertheless, his unique work is relevant and interesting to the viewer today. It has not become obsolete over the years, has not lost its sharpness and humor, it continues its independent life. And it should be noted that Tesler's creative heritage is enormous. These are tens of thousands of cartoons and illustrations, hundreds of models of magazines and newspapers, for which numerous international and national awards have been received.

It is also worth mentioning that until now there has not appeared in Russia a worthy artist who would seriously work in the genre of "streap-cartoon". It was Tesler who first began to draw and think "differently", so he was somehow jokingly called "the grandfather of Russian caricature." But, the nickname immediately stuck firmly and became quite famous.

Tesler himself never received a professional education as an artist, so he was very critical of his work. Oleg not only skillfully came up with scenarios, directed and painted his iso-stories, it was in this genre that he took place as a world-class artist. His cartoons live in the plot space between the sitcom and the grotesque.

And surely many, having rummaged in their memory, will remember how, in time immemorial, the press and periodicals, still smelling of fresh typographic ink, began to read exactly "from the tail", so that, before plunging into the news and events of the previous day and the announcement of the future, to smile at new revelations cartoonist. And Tesler at that time was in a hurry with his new creations to some of the publishing houses where he served: now in the "Change", then in the "Soviet screen", then in "Izvestia".

Turning the pages of a biography

The cartoonist was born in 1938 in Leningrad in the family of a military engineer, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, then the deputy head of the Civil Engineering Academy of the Ground Forces - Sholom Nakhmanovich (Semyon Naumovich) Tesler. After 1945, the family moved to Moscow. The artist's entire life passed in the capital.

After graduating from school, Oleg graduated from MIIT - "piece of iron" and for several years worked in a computer center. He published his first cartoon in the early 1960s in the Baltics under the name Teslerevichus. This pseudonym helped to hide the author's Russian identity from the Baltic censorship.

And already in 1965, Tesler began long-term close cooperation with the magazines Smena, Krokodil, as well as with Literaturnaya Gazeta. Curiously, Oleg Semenovich was one of the main artists of the 1980 Olympics, as well as of the Soviet magazines Pioneer, Soviet Screen and Izvestia newspaper. Since 1980 he began to draw cartoons for the "Almanac of Satire and Humor". Since 1991 he has become a regular author and actively collaborates with the first Russian magazine for men "Andrei". It was his works created for these publications that had a huge impact on the development of cartoons in the Soviet Union.

He drew a lot and came up with the plots of his funny drawings on the go with amazing ease. At first, he sketched the idea fluently, and then spent hours reworking them, trying to bring every stroke to perfection. To make it seem to the viewer as if it was all done with one stroke of the pen.

Tesler avoided cartoons on the topic of the day and did not make caricatures of politicians. His heroes were small nameless men, outwardly similar to the cartoonist himself, and it was in them that Tesler's whole world as an artist, screenwriter and director was contained. Coming out of the pen of the artist, this or that character went to wander the world. His misadventures were reported in the Soviet magazines, where the cartoonist worked, and in the German "Freie Welt", with which he also collaborated. Leaving his indelible mark, Tesler's character migrated from the pages of a foreign publication to the pages of the Soviet press under the heading: "Western humor" - "Their customs". It was this little man who, having become a participant in many exhibitions, brought Tesler medals, awards, and prizes of international importance. Few people did not recognize his funny hero with a crossed-out nose - the trademark of the caricaturist … The artist, thanks to him, has truly become a star of not only domestic caricature.

I would also like to say that Tesler was an excellent storyteller with a charming smile and a slight sadness in his eyes. And since by his nature he was a kind and cheerful person, he also demanded from his fellow artists to paint people cheerful and positive. From the memoirs of the famous cartoonist Igor Smirnov:

Oleg Semyonovich Tesler since 1988 is a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. When the Union of Artists managed to break through an impenetrable wall - so that cartoonists were finally allowed to join the Union, Tesler, Zlatkovsky and Smirnov were the first to submit applications. However, a dispute broke out between the members of the selection committee. Some were still convinced that cartoonists had no place in their ranks. Nevertheless, Tesler was the first to be admitted to the union by a majority vote.

At the age of 57, the artist died.

In the modern world, the satirical caricature is becoming more and more relevant, which is a very formidable weapon, not only provoking humanity to think about the real modern world, over what it really is, but also calling for radical opposition. Read about this in our publication: Provocative cartoons that brought the artist Gerhard Haderer to prison.