Adrian Mikhailovich Ermolaev (1900–1977) was an artist and illustrator and member of the Artists’ Union of the USSR. When he was 4 years old, the Ermolaev family moved from Rostov-on-Don to Saratov. In 1918, Adrian graduated from the Bogolyubov Drawing School (now the Saratov Art School of A.P. Bogolyubov). In 1925 he left the city and matriculated at the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Leningrad College of Art and Industry (now the St. Petersburg Art College named after N.K. Roerich). In 1936 he began to work with the country’s leading publishers.
Ermolaev illustrated Fedin’s novel First Joys on two separate occasions: in 1946 for the Molodaya Gvardiya Publishing House and in 1967 for the Detskaya Literatura Publishing House. The artist’s work always delighted Fedin: ‘You were able to capture so much of the world that I wanted to convey in the novel First Joys. For you and me both the source was our shared native land, but believe me, when I look at the drawings, I sometimes feel that you have described certain people, characters, more concisely and more deeply. You have a penetrating eye’. Ermolaev’s illustrations for Fedin’s novel Unusual Summer (1947) and the story Carp (1963) received similarly enthusiastic reviews from the writer.
Fedin maintained friendly relations with many artists. He had loved drawing and painting himself since he was a child. At one time he even thought seriously about his calling in life. Having chosen writing as his life’s main work, he nevertheless never forgot about drawing. Ermolaev’s illustrations for Fedin’s works were particularly dear to Fedin. After all, Ermolaev knew and loved Saratov as did the author. Therefore, he was able to convey the spirit of the city and the atmosphere of the time in the works with particular accuracy. Ermolaev presented the originals of some illustrations with views of old Saratov to Fedin.
The picture shows the Sretensky boy’s primary school, where little Kostya Fedin received his primary education in 1899–1901. Here he not only learned to read but also first became acquainted with the works of classical Russian literature. The building now houses the Fedin State Museum.
Ermolaev illustrated Fedin’s novel First Joys on two separate occasions: in 1946 for the Molodaya Gvardiya Publishing House and in 1967 for the Detskaya Literatura Publishing House. The artist’s work always delighted Fedin: ‘You were able to capture so much of the world that I wanted to convey in the novel First Joys. For you and me both the source was our shared native land, but believe me, when I look at the drawings, I sometimes feel that you have described certain people, characters, more concisely and more deeply. You have a penetrating eye’. Ermolaev’s illustrations for Fedin’s novel Unusual Summer (1947) and the story Carp (1963) received similarly enthusiastic reviews from the writer.
Fedin maintained friendly relations with many artists. He had loved drawing and painting himself since he was a child. At one time he even thought seriously about his calling in life. Having chosen writing as his life’s main work, he nevertheless never forgot about drawing. Ermolaev’s illustrations for Fedin’s works were particularly dear to Fedin. After all, Ermolaev knew and loved Saratov as did the author. Therefore, he was able to convey the spirit of the city and the atmosphere of the time in the works with particular accuracy. Ermolaev presented the originals of some illustrations with views of old Saratov to Fedin.
The picture shows the Sretensky boy’s primary school, where little Kostya Fedin received his primary education in 1899–1901. Here he not only learned to read but also first became acquainted with the works of classical Russian literature. The building now houses the Fedin State Museum.
