Emerald city illustration of Vladimir. Fabulous illustrations by L.V.

The illustrator Leonid Vladimirsky, who gave the world the images of Pinocchio and the heroes of Alexander Volkov’s fairy tales, has died. The artist was 94 years old. Throughout his life he carried his faith in God. The artist gave this interview to Pravmir on the eve of his 90th birthday

Mischievous Pinocchio in a red and white cap, Scarecrow and Tin Woodman from the Emerald City. When we mention these characters, images that were created by children's artist Leonid Vladimirsky appear in our memory. His works have become classics of fine art for children. We talk about the age of the soul, the ability to rejoice and miracles with the artist Leonid Vladimirsky

Leonid Viktorovich, have you ever been interested in the origin of your last name?

There is a legend in our family that one of our ancestors was a priest. One day he got into trouble and went to Moscow to the Assumption Cathedral to pray to the icon and ask for intercession. His prayers were answered. From that moment on, my ancestor changed his last name and became Vladimirsky.

Interestingly, I was born on September 21st. For a long time I was an unbaptized person. My wife Svetlana was also unbaptized. We are people of our time. Not so long ago, already on the threshold of the twenty-first century, we spent the summer in the village. We went to a village church. Still, we are believers. And that day my wife suggested to me: “Let’s get baptized.” I agreed. In the same church, the priest baptized us and after performing the sacrament he said: “Now light a candle to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.” "Why?" “Because today is the day of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.” We didn't even think about it. There was a coincidence that makes you think.

I believe that the Mother of God is taking care of me. There are many amazing things in my life. The fact that I survived the war. The fact that God gave the opportunity, health, time to work. That I'm almost ninety years old and I'm living. That he met his wife. My first wife died. Her husband died. We are both artists. We met and have been living together for more than 26 years.

How did you find your calling?

My parents had nothing to do with art. Mother is a doctor. Father is an office worker. In my youth I became interested in poetry and drawing. I was wondering where to go – literary or artistic. My father said that both are unreliable, you need to have a profession, and engage in poetry and drawing in your free time. I listened to my father and entered MISS. I studied for three years, and in the fourth the war came. We Komsomol volunteers went to courses at the military engineering academy, and then to the front. Served in the engineering troops. He did not perform any feats. Built roads and bridges. After the war, he entered VGIK in the animation department.

I became a children's artist because I am interested in what is interesting to third grade children. I'm interested in fairy tales. Adults are usually not very interested in fairy tales. There is even an expression: “Why are you telling me fairy tales?” Adults need to survive, their life is so difficult.

I believe that the age of my soul is nine years. There is a wonderful illustrator Igor Ilyinsky. He illustrated Mine Read. I once told him: “Your soul age is probably fifteen years old.” He replied, “Yes, I know.”

When did you first think about the age of the soul?

One day I arrived at a holiday home. I had a neighbor there. I tell him: “Hello, Petya! What kind of cultural program do we have here?” And the neighbor answers me: “Why is this interesting to you? Well, dancing today." I say: “Dancing! Let's go dancing." And he said to me: “What’s interesting there?” "Music. Acquaintance. New impressions". “But I haven’t been interested in this for a long time.” And he remained sitting in the room. I was about forty. And the neighbor is twenty-five years old. But it turned out that he was a young old man.

Is it the merit of your parents that your soul is so young?

Maybe from my parents - they raised me with kindness. Or maybe from above - from God.

You have poems with the following lines: And what else can we expect from God when he gave us life. Is it about humility?

Yes, about that. If you live, be happy. Make others happy with your life and example. Understand that I am not a pink, glamorous old man. I have a difficult life, with pain, with losses. But we must live, humble ourselves, endure. Rejoice under all circumstances. This is humility.

Your fairy-tale heroes are very human. There is worry and thought on their faces. Even the Scarecrow, who has straw in his head, is a person with character.

If you can empathize, then you can convey feelings to your characters. When I draw the Scarecrow, I imagine how he feels. We need to work kindly for children. Anyone who can spread kindness can be a children's artist or writer. And so that there is humor and expressiveness.

The greatest joy for me was when I myself began to write and draw at the same time. He wrote and illustrated two fairy tales, “Pinocchio is looking for treasure” and “Pinocchio in the Emerald City.” My wife helped me - my critic and adviser. And our dog Tyapa helped, he wagged his tail.

In the second book, Pinocchio was poisoned by Alice the Fox, and he turned into a piece of wood. Papa Carlo had to save him, and for this he went to a magical land for magic powder. He passed all the tests. And here is the last locked door in front of him. Then Papa Carlo began to cry... and I cried with him. As Pushkin wrote: “I will shed tears over fiction.” And in my fairy tale everything ended well. Papa Carlo unexpectedly discovered the Golden Key, and the second secret of the Golden Key, as you know, is that it opens any door.

When you look at the pictures you created, there is a feeling of lightness.

When I work for children, I am happy. Once at a master class I was asked: “Who are you targeting – professionals or readers?” You don't need to rely on anyone. As your soul wants, that’s how you should work. The main thing is joyfully, sincerely. If you work for someone else, it turns out to be a hack job. Real music and poetry are communication with God. The soul sings or hurts, and a person creates. If he sings, the result is a piece for those who feel good. If it hurts, for those who feel bad.

You, already a famous artist, taught children to draw in the art studio at the children's republican library. Please tell us some interesting episode.

One day a five-year-old girl, Masha, came. And I took in children from the age of six. Mom really asked me to accept Masha. I asked the girl: “Do you, Masha, want to draw?” She replied: “Yes. Want". I think the child has a desire. We must accept it. The younger the child, the more interesting his work. And he will learn to draw.

This is how I worked with children. I read them a fragment of a fairy tale. Then they made sketches and drew. We laid out the finished works on the floor. And each child took turns saying which picture from his comrades’ works he liked and why. It was Mashenka’s turn, and she said: “I like my picture.” Everyone laughed. Now Masha is graduating from an art institute. An excellent pupil. She tells everyone that her first teacher is Vladimirsky.

What advice can you give to parents who want to teach their children to draw?

Give your child paper, pencil, crayons, and gouache early. Recently there was an interview on the radio with Viktor Chizhikov. This is one of the best illustrators. He said he started drawing when he was ten months old. First on the wallpaper. His parents allowed him to paint the walls. There is no need to say: “Let’s draw a cucumber man.” Let it be scribbles, but your own. Hang a child's picture on the wall. Say: “My Vasya drew this.” To have an incentive. Children definitely need a kind word.

What are you happy about today?

Because my wife is next to me. We have been given love and understanding. Love must be protected. To the question: “How do you live?” I answer: “We are trying.” In plural. I am helping her. She to me. I was a professional artist, but my eyes were tired. And now I write poetry. Recently I decided to write a poem for my upcoming anniversary – my ninetieth birthday. It turned out to be sixteen quatrains. The wife says: “If it’s twice as short, it will be twice as good.” I cut it with pain in my heart. And she again: “If it’s twice as short, it will be even better.” I obeyed. I trust her. I have a poem about how a little girl gave me a dryer for my pictures. There really was an incident with drying. This happened after my performance at a family orphanage. And I dedicate most of my poems to my wife, my Beregin, my muse.

To my wife Svetlana

Don’t cry, my dear, don’t worry, you’re tired,

This is only dearer to me, you have become dearer and closer

No need to look in the mirror for traces of your anxiety -

Gray strands at the temple, severe wrinkles on the forehead

Just be patient, the trouble will go away, we will be able to deal with it

I'm here. I'm near. Forever. And you are my beauty.

Untitled

No matter how you dream, no matter how you pray,

Everyone has their own path

And what else can we expect from God?

When he gave us life.

Long-lived

I found out when the years passed, the result is disrespectful

We fall into childhood - that’s the problem. We are these long-livers

We need to be praised more often. Give some candy once a day

And what did we manage to break: “For luck,” we must say

Don’t forget about vitamins and go to bed early

You are many years younger, but I call you mom

There is no kinder person in the world than you. And I'm the happiest

Drying for tea

The years are moving faster and faster.

Across the road there are stops, anniversaries, summing up.

I will have a mystery anniversary soon.

Ninety. This is hilarious. I don't even believe it myself.

And today a little girl came up by chance:

“For the pictures. This is for tea. And she gave me a dryer"

This sunny circle is more valuable than all awards

This means that I lived my life very well.

REFERENCE:

Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky - (born September 21, 1920 in Moscow) - Russian graphic artist and illustrator.

Born in Moscow in 1920. With the outbreak of war in 1941, he was drafted into the army, having completed three courses at the Moscow Civil Engineering Institute (MISI) named after. Kuibysheva. After the war, he graduated with honors from the art department of the Institute of Cinematographers (VGIK) in the animation department.

In 1953, for the film strip “The Adventures of Pinocchio” based on the fairy tale by A. N. Tolstoy, the artist created his own image of a wooden hero in a striped cap - an image that became well known and is considered a classic. After the publication of the book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by the publishing house “Iskusstvo” in 1956, Vladimirsky devoted himself entirely to illustrating books for children. The artist’s next well-known work was illustrations for six fairy tales by A. Volkov, the first of which, “The Wizard of the Emerald City,” was published in 1959.

Among the artist’s works are illustrations for the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by A. S. Pushkin, for the story “Three Fat Men” by Yuri Olesha, for “The Adventures of Parsley” by M. Fadeeva and A. Smirnov, “The Journey of the Blue Arrow” by G. Rodari and the collection Russian tales.

The total circulation of books published with illustrations by Leonid Vladimirsky exceeds 20 million.

In 1974, Vladimirsky was awarded the title Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

In 1996 he became a laureate of the All-Russian Children's Reading Competition.

In 2007 he was awarded the gold medal of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia

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Today, September 21, would have been Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky’s 95th birthday. It's been 5 months since this talented artist has been with us. Everyone who has at least once seen Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky’s illustrations for books about Buratino by A. N. Tolstoy and The Emerald City by A. M. Volkov becomes fans of his work.
Leonid Vladimirsky is an illustrator, writer, Honored Artist of Russia, chairman of the Friends of the Emerald City club, member of the Union of Artists and Journalists of Russia, laureate of the All-Russian Children's Reading Contest.
Leonid Vladimirsky in Awarded in 2006 Order of Pinocchio “For the courage and presence of mind shown on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, for loyalty to the ideals of childhood, the creation of the classic image of Pinocchio and artistic creations that instill in children inner freedom, purity of thoughts and self-confidence.”

His childhood was spent on Arbat. " My parents had nothing to do with art. Mother is a doctor. Father is an office worker. In my youth I became interested in poetry and drawing. I was wondering where to go – literary or artistic. My father said that both are unreliable, you need to have a profession, and engage in poetry and drawing in your free time. I listened to my father and entered MISS. I studied for three years, and in the fourth the war came. We Komsomol volunteers went to courses at the military engineering academy, and then to the front. Served in the engineering troops. He did not perform any feats. “I built roads and bridges,” said the artist.

He graduated from the war with the rank of senior lieutenant and has a medal “For Victory over Germany.” After demobilization, in 1945, he decided to become an artist, entered the art department of VGIK, the animation department, and graduated with honors in 1951.

In 1953, he was invited to work at the Filmstrip studio as the chief artist, where he created 10 children's filmstrips, including “The Adventures of Pinocchio” (1953) based on the fairy tale by A. K. Tolstoy. The artist created a recognizable image of a wooden man in a red and white cap. He copied his favorite character, Pinocchio, from his daughter, when she was just five years old. I cut out a long nose from cardboard and attached it with an elastic band, and put a striped cap on my head.

Leonid Vladimirsky devoted almost 60 years to book illustration - from 1956, after the publication of the book “The Adventures of Pinocchio”.

The artist’s next well-known work was illustrations for six fairy tales. A.M. Volkov, in 1959 the first book “The Wizard of the Emerald City” was published.

Many people remember Leonid Vladimirsky’s illustrations for to the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by A. S. Pushkin, to the story “Three Fat Men” by Yuri Olesha, to “The Journey of the Blue Arrow” by J. Rodari and “The Adventures of Parsley” M. A. Fadeeva and A. I. Smirnov, collection “Russian Fairy Tales”.

The total circulation of books published with illustrations by Leonid Vladimirsky exceeds 20 million copies.

To the question “What advice can you give to parents who want to teach their children to draw?” Leonid Viktorovich replied: “Give your child paper, pencil, crayons, gouache early. Recently there was an interview on the radio with Viktor Chizhikov. This is one of the best illustrators. He said he started drawing when he was ten months old. First on the wallpaper. His parents allowed him to paint the walls. There is no need to say: “Let’s draw a cucumber man.” Let it be scribbles, but your own. Hang a child's picture on the wall. Say: “My Vasya drew this.” To have an incentive. Children definitely need a kind word.”

All my life I have been working for children.

Each person has his own “soul age”.

Some people's souls grow old early and they are disappointed.

For others, despite their age, their soul remains young.

It seems to me that I generally remained in childhood.

I am fascinated by what is interesting to children 8-10 years old. For example, I love fairy tales.

Children are joyful and curious people. Working for them is pleasant and interesting.

And, as I know, they “like” my work. And if you, adults, like them too, I will be glad.

To my wife Svetlana

Don’t cry, my dear, don’t worry, you’re tired,

This is only dearer to me, you have become dearer and closer

There is no need to look in the mirror for traces of your anxiety -

Gray strands at the temple, severe wrinkles on the forehead

Just be patient, the trouble will go away, we will be able to deal with it

Untitled

No matter how you dream, no matter how you pray,

Vladimirsky Leonid Viktorovich (September 21, 1920, Moscow - April 18, 2015). He grew up on Arbat, his mother was a doctor, and his father was an economist. After graduating from school, he entered the Civil Engineering Institute (MISI), where he managed to complete three courses before the war. In August 1941, he volunteered to join the army and was sent to courses at the Military Engineering Academy. Kuibyshev, then to the engineering units.
He built bridges and fortifications. He graduated from the war with the rank of senior lieutenant.
In 1945, after demobilization, he entered the first year of the art department of the Institute of Cinematographers (VGIK) in the animation department, from which he graduated with honors in 1951.

As the main artist, he was sent to the “Filmstrip” studio, where he painted 10 children’s filmstrips, including “The Adventures of Pinocchio” (1953) based on the fairy tale by A. Tolstoy. In it, the artist created his own image of a wooden hero in a striped cap, which is now well-known. By the way, contrary to the text of A. Tolstoy, where it is stated twice that Pinocchio’s cap was white, Vladimirsky painted it striped. It was the striped cap that became classic and integral in any image of Pinocchio.

And he drew Papa Carlo from his grandfather.

Having won the love of children and having passed the test of time, the image of Buratino by L. Vladimirsky has become classic. It is used in cinema and theater, dolls are made from it, it is painted on the labels of various products, etc.

In the process of searching for “his own style,” the artist illustrated books that were later uncharacteristic for him: O. Obruchev’s “Land of Sannikov” and B. Lyapunov’s “The Struggle for Speed.”
At this stage, the artist works closely with periodicals. The magazines in which you can see magnificent examples of his graphics are difficult to count completely - “Ogonyok”, “Worker”, “Knowledge and Power”, “Entertainer”, “Around the World”, “Health”, “Science and Life”, “Peasant Woman” ", "Pioneer", "Murzilka" and a huge number of others.

The artist illustrated: the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by A.S. Pushkin, the fairy tales “The Journey of the Blue Arrow” by J. Rodari, “The Three Fat Men” by Y. Olesha, “The Adventures of Parsley” by M. Fadeeva and A. Smirnov, “The Adventures of Kyodin the Cog” ” G. Park and M. Argilly.

The artist’s second famous work, which brought him national recognition, is illustrations for six fairy tales by Alexander Volkov.

The first book, “The Wizard of the Emerald City,” with drawings by Leonid Vladimirsky, was published in 1959. And then letters from children came in batches asking them to write a sequel. The popularity of the book was enormous! All circulations were simply “swept away” from the shelves. It was even retyped and redrawn by hand. According to the Book Chamber, since then it has been reprinted more than 100 times with drawings by L. Vladimirsky.
Sometimes it even happened that the artist asked Volkov to remake the text to suit his drawings. For example, when the manuscript “The Twelve Underground Kings” was already ready, Vladimirsky proposed making not twelve kings, but seven, according to the colors of the rainbow. Removing five kings means redoing the whole book!.. Volkov “groaned and grumbled, but sat down and rewrote everything.”

In 1979, for his services in the field of fine arts, he was awarded the title of “Honored Artist of the RSFSR.” And in 1996 he became a laureate of the All-Russian Children's Reading Contest. The artist has a large number of personal exhibitions, both in Russia and abroad. The artist's exhibitions were held at the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Exhibitions of his works are still held in the Central House of Artists (CHA), the Moscow House of Nationalities, the Russian State Children's Library (RGDL) and other exhibition centers.

PS. Otherwise it’s all politics, robots... Jomini and Jomini, and not a word about vodka...

Vladimirsky Leonid Viktorovich born in Moscow on September 21, 1920 - Russian graphic artist and illustrator, the oldest children's book artist, Honored Artist of the RSFSR. His childhood was spent on Arbat. My parents had nothing to do with art. Mother is a doctor. Father is an office worker. In his youth, he became interested in poetry and drawing.
Despite his artistic talent, he decided to enter the Institute of Civil Engineering. Before the war I managed to complete 3 courses. During the war he served in engineering units, built roads and bridges. He graduated from the war with the rank of senior lieutenant, has a medal “For Victory over Germany,” and after demobilization, in 1945, he decided to become an artist. He chose the art department of VGIK, the animation department, and graduated with honors in 1951.
In 1953, he was invited to work as chief artist at the Filmstrip studio, where he created 10 children's filmstrips, including “The Adventures of Pinocchio” (1953) based on the fairy tale by A.K. Tolstoy. The artist created his own image of a wooden hero in a striped cap - an image that has become well known and is considered classic. He copied his favorite hero, Pinocchio, from his daughter. She was just five years old then. I cut out a long nose from cardboard and attached it with an elastic band, and put a striped cap on my head. After the publication of the book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by the publishing house “Iskusstvo” in 1956, Vladimirsky devoted himself entirely to illustrating books for children.

Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky has been painting with watercolors all his life. - Most of all he drew fairy tales. And they contain all kinds of fiction: mermaids, witches, fairies, sorcerers, dragons, devils, gnomes and other amazing creatures. All children of modern Russia, their parents, as well as grandparents know his pictures.

The artist’s next widely known work was illustrations for six fairy tales by A. Volkov, the first of which, “The Wizard of the Emerald City,” was published in 1959. It was first published as a separate book, even before the war, with black and white illustrations by the artist N. E. Radlova A new wave of interest among Soviet children in Ellie’s adventures was caused by the publication of “The Wizard of the Emerald City” with new, original illustrations by Vladimirsky, colorful and beautiful.

The artist's list includes: A. Pushkin "Ruslan and Lyudmila"; Y. Olesha “Three Fat Men”; M. Fadeeva, A. Smirnov “The Adventures of Parsley”; J. Rodari “The Journey of the Blue Arrow”; Tolstoy A. N. “The Adventures of Pinocchio, or the Golden Key”; collection “Russian Fairy Tales” and many other books.

With his drawings for various editions of books about Buratino by A. N. Tolstoy and about the Emerald City by A. M. Volkov, he became widely known in the USSR and socialist countries.

Currently, Leonid Viktorovich lives in one of the capital’s suburbs, in Dolgoprudny. His wife Svetlana Kovalskaya is also an artist. Honored Artist of Russia, member of the Union of Artists of Russia, a legend of Soviet book publishing in his late 90s, he is easy to talk to, cheerful, and holds himself upright. He is very friendly, greets guests cordially, and talks about his creative destiny.

This artist has many fans whom he met at numerous events in children's libraries, schools, clubs, and family centers. Wherever his exhibitions take place, Vladimirsky communicates a lot with children.

Vladimirsky has a lot of interesting things at home: rare books, paintings, a Pinocchio doll from his play, a huge apple tree - “The Tree of Life” is painted right on the wall, on the wallpaper. There are as many apples on its branches as the owner of the house is old. And every year, on September 20, a new one appears. L. Vladimirsky continues his active social activities.

/ A. M. Volkov; artist L. V. Vladimirsky. - M.: Soviet Russia, 1989. - 180, p.: ill.

/ A. M. Volkov; artist L. V. Vladimirsky. - M.: Soviet Russia, 1987. - 198, p.: ill.: 1.00

Volkov A. M. The Wizard of the Emerald City: fairy tales/ A. M. Volkov; artist L. Vladimirsky. - M.: AST, 2007. - 991 p. ill.
In the region book also: Oorfene Deuce and his wooden soldiers; Seven Underground Kings; Yellow fog; Fire god of the Marrans; The mystery of the abandoned castle.

Volkov A. M. Wizard of the Emerald City/ A. Volkov; artist L. Vladimirsky. - M.: AST, 2006. - 175 p.: ill.
Tit on the back. l. also: "The Wizard of Oz" - a reworking of the tale of the American writer Frank Baum "The Wise Man of Oz"

: [fairy tale]/ A. Volkov; artist L. Vladimirsky. - M.: AST, 2004. - 207 p.: ill.

Volkov A. M. The Fire God of the Marrans: a fairy tale/ A. Volkov; [art. L.V. Vladimirsky]. - M.: AST, 2003. - 235, p.: ill. - (Favorite reading)

Volkov A. M. Yellow fog: a fairy tale/ A. Volkov. - M.: AST, 2004. - 238, p.: ill. - (Favorite reading / designed by A. A. Kudryavtsev)

Volkov A. M. Seven underground kings: [fairy tale] / A. Volkov; artist L. Vladimirsky. - M.: AST, 2006. - 205, p.: ill.

Volkov A. M. Wizard of the Emerald City: [fairy tale]:[a guide to extracurricular reading] / A. Volkov; artist L. Vladimirsky. - M.: AST, 2006. - 159, p.
The artist of this book is a laureate of the All-Russian children's reading competition "Golden Key"

Volkov A. M. Urfin Dzhus and his wooden soldiers: [fairy tale] / Alexander Volkov; artist L. V. Vladimirsky. - M.: NF "Pushkin Library", 2005. - 350, pp., color: ill. - (Series "Extracurricular Reading") Cont. book

Volkov A. M. The mystery of the abandoned castle:[fairy tale] / A. Volkov; [ill. L.V. Vladimirsky]. - M.: AST, 2004. - 204, p.: ill. - (Favorite reading / design by A. A. Kudryavtsev) Fairy tale story “The Secret of the Abandoned Castle” continued. books: "The Wizard of the Emerald City"; "Oorfene Deuce and his wooden soldiers"; "Seven Underground Kings"; "Fiery God of the Marrans"; "Yellow Fog"

Volkov A. M. Seven underground kings: a fairy tale/ A. Volkov; [art. L. Vladimirsky]. - M.: AST, 2003. - 220, p.: ill. - (Favorite reading)
Volkov A. M. Urfin Dzhus and his wooden soldiers: fairy tale / A. Volkov; artist L.V. Vladimirsky. - M.: House, 1992. - 206, p.: color. ill. Cont. book "The Wizard of Oz"

Volkov A. M. The mystery of the abandoned castle: a fairy tale/ Alexander Volkov; artist L. Vladimirsky. - Vladivostok: Dalnevost. book publishing house, 1984. - 190 pp.: color. ill.

Danko E. Ya. Defeated Karabas/ E. Ya. Danko.; artist L.V. Vladimirsky.- M.: Soviet Russia, 1989.- 124, p.: ill.
The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio / Tolstoy A. N. Pinocchio is looking for a treasure. Pinocchio in the Emerald City / Vladimirsky L. Defeated Karabas /

Danko E. The second secret of the golden key/Runge S., Kumma A. artist. Leonid Vladimirsky. - M: EKSMO-Press, 2000. - 596, p.: ill.

Lisina E. N. Lop-Eared Ilyuk: a fairy tale story/ E. N. Lisina; artist L. V. Vladimirsky; lane from Chuvash I. Karimov. - M.: Children's literature, 1986. - 142, p.: ill.

Pushkin A. S. Ruslan and Lyudmila: poem/ A. S. Pushkin; [ill. L. Vladimirsky]. - M.: Sov. Russia, 1980. - 102 pp.: color. ill.

Tolstoy A.N.. The Golden Key, or The Adventures of Pinocchio/ Alexey Tolsto; artist L. Vladimirsky. - Omsk: IPK "OMICH", 1992. - 100, p.: ill.

Clever Marcela: Philippine Folk Tales/ [auth. preface.. I. Podberezsky;] comp. and retelling from English. and Tagalog R.L. Rybkin; [ill. L. Vladimirsky]. - M.: Children's literature, 1981. - 190, p.: ill.

Fadeeva M. A. The Adventures of Parsley and Tuzik: a fairy tale/ M. A. Fadeeva; artist L. Vladimirsky. - M.: Children's Book Studio of the Soviet Peace Committee, 1992. - 44, p.: color. ill.

Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky- Russian graphic artist and illustrator, the oldest children's book artist, writer, Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

His childhood was spent on Arbat. My parents had nothing to do with art. Mother is a doctor. Father is an office worker. In his youth, he became interested in poetry and drawing.

Despite his artistic talent, he decided to enter the Institute of Civil Engineering. Before the war I managed to complete 3 courses. During the war he served in engineering units, built roads and bridges. He graduated from the war with the rank of senior lieutenant, has a medal “For Victory over Germany,” and after demobilization, in 1945, he decided to become an artist. He chose the art department of VGIK, the animation department, and graduated with honors in 1951.

In 1953, he was invited to work as the chief artist at the Filmstrip studio, where he created 10 children's filmstrips, including “The Adventures of Pinocchio” (1953) based on the fairy tale by A.K. Tolstoy. The artist created his own image of a wooden hero in a striped cap - an image that has become well known and is considered classic. He copied his favorite hero, Pinocchio, from his daughter. She was just five years old then. I cut out a long nose from cardboard and attached it with an elastic band, and put a striped cap on my head. After the publication of the book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by the publishing house “Iskusstvo” in 1956, Vladimirsky devoted himself entirely to illustrating books for children.

Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky has been painting with watercolors all his life. Most of all he drew fairy tales.

The artist’s widely known work was the illustrations for six fairy tales by A. Volkov, the first of which, “The Wizard of the Emerald City,” was published in 1959. It was first published as a separate book, even before the war, with black and white illustrations by the artist N.E. Radlova. A new wave of interest among Soviet children in Ellie’s adventures was caused by the publication of “The Wizard of the Emerald City” with new, original illustrations by Vladimirsky, colorful and beautiful.

Until now, Leonid Viktorovich lived in one of the capital’s suburbs, in Dolgoprudny. His wife Svetlana Kovalskaya is also an artist. The Honored Artist of Russia, a member of the Union of Artists of Russia, a legend of Soviet book publishing at the end of his nineties was easy to communicate with and cheerful, very friendly, he greeted guests cordially, and talked about his creative destiny.

Article “Fairy-Tale Heroes” in the magazine “Young Artist” No. 10, 1981 (see additional images)

Permission was received to publish the artist’s works for informational purposes on the website