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Ilya Bogdesko
1923—2010

Ilya  Bogdesko<br>1923—2010

Ilya Bogdesko
1923—2010

St.Petersburg, Russia

Calligrapher-artist, People’s artist of the USSR, professor

Biography

Ilya Bogdesko was born in 1923 in Moldova (a former USSR republic). In 1951 he graduated from the Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Leningrad. For many years he presided over the Union of Artists of Moldova. In 1984 he was elected as an active member of The Russian Academy of Arts. From 1993 Bogdesko resided in St Petersburg and was the Head of the Graphic department where he had studied before.

The winner of a number of national and international awards and prizes, including the Leipzig Book exhibition prize (for his illustrations for Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”).

In his graduate work, the illustrations for Gogol’s “Sorochinsky Fair”, he already demonstrated his quick eye, emotional style, and delicate sense of humor.

His sixty year creative advancement was predominantly devoted to illustrations for Moldavian, Russian and world classical literary works: Dostoevsky, Gogol, Pushkin, Swift, Cervantes, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Cooper, etc.

At the same time he created fine paintings, sculptures, and calligraphic works.

The art of book design, however, remained his priority. Starting to work on illustrations: the artist studied the corresponding historical epoch; analyzed the book from a modern world perspective and sifted it through his own experience and observations. His glorious ascent to the Olympus of mastery only seems to have been easy. He concealed all his doubts, torturing searches, and failures in his workshop. The audience saw only elaborate, fine and delicate works of art, carefully weighted on the scales of exquisite taste.

Ilya Bogdesko passed away on March 29th, 2010.

Author works

Amat victoria curam (Victory favors those who take pains)

Paper, ink, pen, 2003-2004

Sapere aude (Dare to be wise)

Paper, ink, 30x21 cm, 2002

Dimidium facti, qui coepit facit (He who has begun has the work half done)

Paper, ink, 24x26 cm, 2002

Laboremus (Let us work)

Paper, ink, 17,5x10 cm, 2002

Rustika

Paper, ink, pen, 25x20 cm, 2003–2004

Rustica - cyrillic

Calligraphy on black

Paper, ink, broad-nib pen, 21х29 cm, before 2004

Slavic paper

Paper, ink, pen, 30x17 cm, 2001

Initial К italics rotate

Two initial BC

Paper, ink, broad-nib pin, 21х29 cm, before 2004

Non scholae sed vitae discimus (We learn, not for school, but for life)

Paper, ink, broad-nib pen, 29x21cm, before 2004

Calligraphy torshon

Paper, ink, broad-nib pen, 29x21 cm, before 2004

Calligraphy

Black paper, white ink, 28x23 cm, 2001

Calligraphy

Сursive writing, broad-nib pens, ink, 39x29 cm

Calligraphy (book)

AGAT Publishers St. Petersburg, 21x28 cm, 2006

Amazing uncial

Paper, ink, 42x31cm, 2008

Headpiece

Etching, 28x39 cm, 1991

“The Purse a'Tuppence” (book)

Literature Artistique Publishers, Chișinău, 50000 copies, 15x23 cm, 1977

Sheet “Meşterul Manole”

Title page, broad-nib pens, Italics, 27x37 cm

Sheet “Н”

Calligraphic monogram, Chinese ink, broad-nib metal pen, 15x19 cm

Sheet “But Don Quixote only regarded it…”

Black ink, red gouache, broad-nib pens, 28x39 cm

Sheet 5

Black ink, red gouache, broad-nib pens, 24x34 cm

Sheet 56

Black ink, red gouache, broad-nib pens, 25x35 cm

Page spread of the “Don Quixote” book (“In the second part of this story...”)

Picture – etching, text – Italics, broad-nib metal pen, 59x36 cm

Page spread of the “Don Quixote” book (“They lifted Don Quixote from the ground and...”)

Picture – etching, text – Italics, broad-nib metal pen, 50x36 cm

Page spread of the “The Praise of Folly” book (“Much less obliged to...”)

Picture – etching, text – broad-nib pen, black ink, red gouache, type – humanistic Italics, 36x31 cm

Page spread of the “The Praise of Folly” book (“Others looking in the coffin...”)

Picture – etching, text – broad-nib pen, black ink, red gouache, author’s stylized Gothic, 31x26 cm

Page spread of the “The Praise of Folly” book (“But the most foolish and wicked are…”)

Picture – etching, text – broad-nib pen, black ink, red gouache, type – humanistic Italics, 32x28 cm

Page spread of the “The Praise of Folly” book (cover)

Picture – etching, text – broad-nib pen, black ink, red gouache, author’s interpretation of Gothic script, 32x28 cm

Pages from “The Purse a'Tuppence” (“Once there was an old woman and an old man”)

Black ink, red gouache, broad-nib pen, author’s interpretation of Half-uncial Cyrillic book hand, pen drawing, 34x27 cm

Pages from “The Purse a'Tuppence”

Black ink, red gouache, broad-nib pen, author’s interpretation of Half-uncial Cyrillic book hand, 35x27 cm

Pages from “The Purse a'Tuppence” (“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”)

Black ink, red gouache, broad-nib pen, author’s interpretation of Half-uncial Cyrillic book hand and Cursive handwriting, nib drawing, 34x28 cm

Literature

Font composition, broad-nib and sharp-pointed nib pens, 30x23 cm

Meşterul Manole (book)

PH Literature Artistique, Kishinev, 21x29 cm, 1986

Michelangelo

Black paper, white gouache, broad-nib pens, words “…and shall rise against evil, overcoming all doubt and pain ”, 31x17 cm

Sketch. Easel graphics. Monumental art

Black paper, white gouache, broad-nib pens, ready for print (ink finishing), 29x34 cm

Yny-i moldovian

Photocopy. Original: broad-nib and sharp-pointed nib pens, composition of Old Russian fonts, words in Moldavian, 19x26 cm

Font

Cursive handwriting, broad-nib pens, ink, ready for print (white gouache finishing), 31x22 cm

Font composition

Broad-nib pens, black paper, white gouache, ready for print (black ink and white gouache finishing), offset process, 39x27 cm, 1984

Font composition 2

Broad-nib pens, black paper, white gouache, ready for printing (finishing in black ink and white gouache), 28,5x40,2 cm, 1983

Fonts

Composition of old Russian fonts, ink, broad-nib pens, 29x43 cm, 1984
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