In 1950, Nikolay Vasilyevich Ilyin created an illustration for Mikhail Lermontov’s poem “Hebrew Melody”. The background of a deep dark sky filled with ink stars emphasizes white silhouettes of ancient columns, two trees with a lush crown, and a crescent.
The bottom edge of the image is indicated by an uneven broken line. The background shows a ridge of mountains outlined with white. The artist’s monogram is located in the bottom right corner. The lyrical nature and plot of the drawing are enhanced through contrasting black and white colors. This technique is the basis of the composition.
The meaning and general mood of the drawing are consonant with two poems by Mikhail Lermontov — “Hebrew Melody” and “For an Album” (“Like a Lonely Grave”). Both of them are translations made by Lermontov in 1836 of the works by George Gordon Byron.
It is no coincidence that while designing the book “Mikhail Lermontov. Poetry” published in 1958, Ilyin placed the drawing on a separate page between these two poems. The artist felt the meaning and the mood of both works so he placed the illustration almost in the center of the white space of the big book page. The work “For an Album” features the poet’s reflections upon the tragic loss of connection between people and his own loneliness. “Hebrew Melody” was viewed by Vissarion Belinsky as “heartache, weary sighs, tombstones for lost joys.”
The drawing has no frame; using a sharp color contrast, Ilyin enhanced the feeling of depth of the black unfathomable sky, which fills most of the sheet.
The exquisite forms of the white tombstone match the whiteness of the book page. The image embodies the beauty and loneliness in the desolate world. The drawing fits the essence of the poem perfectly and makes the viewers think of remembrance and peace.
The location of the engraving which reproduced the book illustration is unknown. The original drawing was purchased from the artist’s son in 1978.
The bottom edge of the image is indicated by an uneven broken line. The background shows a ridge of mountains outlined with white. The artist’s monogram is located in the bottom right corner. The lyrical nature and plot of the drawing are enhanced through contrasting black and white colors. This technique is the basis of the composition.
The meaning and general mood of the drawing are consonant with two poems by Mikhail Lermontov — “Hebrew Melody” and “For an Album” (“Like a Lonely Grave”). Both of them are translations made by Lermontov in 1836 of the works by George Gordon Byron.
It is no coincidence that while designing the book “Mikhail Lermontov. Poetry” published in 1958, Ilyin placed the drawing on a separate page between these two poems. The artist felt the meaning and the mood of both works so he placed the illustration almost in the center of the white space of the big book page. The work “For an Album” features the poet’s reflections upon the tragic loss of connection between people and his own loneliness. “Hebrew Melody” was viewed by Vissarion Belinsky as “heartache, weary sighs, tombstones for lost joys.”
The drawing has no frame; using a sharp color contrast, Ilyin enhanced the feeling of depth of the black unfathomable sky, which fills most of the sheet.
The exquisite forms of the white tombstone match the whiteness of the book page. The image embodies the beauty and loneliness in the desolate world. The drawing fits the essence of the poem perfectly and makes the viewers think of remembrance and peace.
The location of the engraving which reproduced the book illustration is unknown. The original drawing was purchased from the artist’s son in 1978.
