Art book - Еxlibris of russian artists

ARTISTS  OF  EUROPE   IN   ART – BOOKPLATES

            OF   21   AGE



A book is a so-called “companion” of any educated and cultured person. Nowadays there appear more and more people, who are eager to mark their personal collections of books by this “guarding sign” of property – by ex-libris.
- Ex-libris M.V. (L. Alimov , etching, 58*87? 2004 – Belorussia) [«РЭЖ», №4/2006. – p.9]
Ex-libris became closer to every book-lover, and to those, who collect books for their private or professional libraries.
With every year European painters produce more and more ex-libris at high graphic level.
Many ex-libris critics mention the growing popularity of European ex-libris in the world.
Ex-libris Josef Burch (Y. Yakovenko, etching, mezzotint, 2005 - Belorussia) [«РЭЖ», №4/2006. – p.9]
With the development and improvement of modern techniques, connected with engraving and plastic engraving. It became easier to replicate sophisticated colourful ex-libris.

Most of the experts of modern ex-libris from Saint- Petersburg and Nizhniy Tagil master the unique art of coloured etching. Among them are: V. Vereshchagin, V. Zuev, Yu. Nozdrin, O. Yakhnin, Yu. Lyukshin, E. Blyumkin, N. Kazimov and S. Kazimov, V. Zastolsky, O. Yuntinen. E. Zayats, S. Bakshaeva, Yu. Borovitsyn, O. Listov, V. Anopova, N. Kuznetsova, E. Guseva, E. Bortnikov, M. Abramova, A. Nasedkina, E. Lvovich, V. Alekseev, O. Shishkina, E. Titov, O. Potapova, N. Efimova and others.
- Ex-libris P.C. Cubileo (A. Stroganov, etching. aquatint, 123*123, 2002 - Russia) [«РЭЖ» magazine, №2/2005. – p.60]
[«РЭЖ», 2/2005. – p.60]
Ex-libris Julia Vermes (O. Keleinikova, etching with handmade colouring, 117*82, 2000. - Russia)
Ex-libris Eva-Maria Pfeiffer (D. Reutov, woodcut, 85*86, 2003. - Russia)
Ex-libris of R.Kopylov (R.V. Kopylov, coloured xylograph on 7 plates, 98*87, 1999. – A portrait of Dionisy)
Ex-libris of E.Briginevich (R.Kopylov, coloured xylograph on 4 plates, 120*88, 1999. with an inscription “Charles Pierre Baudelaire”)
Ex-libris of Olshanskaya (R. Kopylov, coloured xylograph, 75*50, 1990. – A portrait of Nikolay Gumilev, standing in front of the burning candle, that is a symbol of poetic creative work and inspiration).
The modern European ex-libris (in the end of the last in the beginning of the present century) is a special expressive work of art, that is characterized by its associative, aphoristic and commemorative destination. It may be called an illustration of some specific interests and weaknesses of the owner of the library.
Many journalists, literary critics, poets and editors have their own ex-librises. European museums, libraries and publishing houses repeatedly order the painters book-plates. These are various logotypes, proprietary marks, that reflect the industrial and cultural direction of the activity of some organizations.

Modern ex-libris

At the end of the 90s of the XXth century and in the beginning of the XXst century originates the establishment of the modern stage, when takes place the development of Russian and European ex-libris.
The period of contempoprary history of ex-libris’s development is characterized by the bright works of talented Russian and Belorussian painters.
Unlike the traditional ex-libris, the modern book-plate is of much greater artistry. Earlier one considered xylography and linocut the best techniques of relief printing.
But nowadays has come the epoch of various techniques, including computer graphic, too.
The creative attitude to the producing of ex-libris is very important and valued much these days.
A modern painter, who deals with book-plate is not simply a person who makes this to order, but, first of all, a creator, expressing his credo in a unique way (including author techniques with handmade colouring of ex-libris, that are used by artists who take part in exhibitions and competitions).
The heavy social situation that formed in Russia in the 90s, the bureaucratic pressure in the sphere of visual art made many young, talented painters get down to independent creative work.
These masters often work in a surrealistic manner; they Deep etching is often printed like relief printing, using knurling.
Prints, enriched with details are processed very subtly, achieving so an original perception of the engravings.
At first sight engraved ex-librises may sometimes be taken for linocuts.
Most artists use etching with aquatint.
Veniamin Khudoley is a famous collector and organizer of numerous exhibitions of modern ex-libris in Saint-Petersburg/ He is also a chief-editor of the magazine “РЭЖ” («Russian magazine of ex-libris»). This person was lucky to be a chairman of the Club of Saint-Petersburg ex-libris artists.
During the last 20 years he managed to unite many painters and the members of the abovementioned Club. Together with S. Petrov Veniamin Khudoley held the Congress of Ex-libris, that took place in Russia (FISAE), on a high level. What is more, he was successful at establishing and consolidating the international connections with Europe.
The exhibitions organized by V. Khudoley have helped to find new talented artists.
The activity of the Clubs of ex-libris that are functioning in such cities as Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Odessa, Kharkov, Prague, Warsaw and other cities of Europe is an inseparable part of creative work of modern masters of ex-libris.
National decorative motifs are typical of the work of V. Orlov, N. kazimova, Ayne karlson and others.
Vladimir Mitin is a painter and collector from Kislovodsk, who also successfully organized and held a number of exhibitions of ex-libris in the South of Russia from 1995 to 2006.
Such artists as S. Parfenov, I. Zemtsov, V. Kiselev, N. Biryukov, V. Tikhomirov, M. Neymesh, V. Yakobi and others worked actively at ex-libris during this period.
Nowadays Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Nizhniy Tagil and Vologda are centers of Russian book-plate.

One should mark the original works of such painters as A. Kalashnikov, Yu. Lyukshin, M. Verkholantsev, V. Mishin, I. Zhelkostov, V. Kortovich, E. martyshev, A. Dmitrievsky, B. Zabirokhin, V. Vereshchagin, O. Yakhnin, Yu. Nozdrin, A. Zuev and others.
E. Kiseleva, A. Durandin, V. Guzenyuk, L. Alimov, S. Kharlamov are those who alongside other artists quite often get awards and prizes on various prestigious international exhibitions.
Among the masters of Belorussian ex-libris are such interesting painters as Armen Kashkure,Nikolay Ryzhy, Gennady Vyal, Vladimir Vishnevsky, Olga Krupenkova, Yury Yakovenko and many others. There are also a lot of young promising Belorussian artists. For an instance Roman Sustov, Anna Larina, Alena Volchek, Vladislav Kvartalny.
The topic of this edition is “The culture and religion of Europe in ex-libris”. It is very close to many painters of new generation, to the painters of the XXIst century and it has been reflected in the creative works of these young masters, in their illustration to the books and in ex-libris.
There is a list of the above-mentioned ex-librises:

Eugenio  BRIGINEVICH
Nord CAUCASUS of
SOUTH  RUSSIA
Kislovodsk- Town
2007