The Irbit Museum of Fine Arts houses a number of works by the Ural artist Alexey Afanasyevich Kazantsev (1928–2002), among which the “Portrait of Vitaly Volovich, a Friend” stands as a particularly poignant testament to a lifelong artistic bond. Though Kazantsev graduated from the Painting Faculty of the Kharkov Art Institute, he rarely turned to oil painting, preferring instead the intimacy and precision of graphic media. A master of technique, he worked with extraordinary skill across a wide range of mediums: etching, lithography, monotype, watercolor, gouache, tempera, varnishes, and enamels.
In this intimate portrait, Kazantsev captures his dear friend, the renowned Ural artist Vitaly Mikhailovich Volovich. In his autobiographical book “Workshop: Notes of an Artist”, Volovich describes his friendship with Alexey Kazantsev as follows: “Sixty years of close and faithful friendship lie behind us. It began back in art college, but we truly grew close after his return from the institute”.
The image recalls Volovich’s signature appearance: a dark beret perched on his head, a loosely tied scarf draped around his neck. Beside him hovers a symbolic muse — her hands cradling brushes and a pen. The natural landscape behind them is no mere backdrop; it reflects the deep connection both men shared with the Russian countryside, where they spent countless years traveling together, sketching the land and its people.
Vitaly Volovich (1928–2018) was an outstanding master of modern graphics, easel painting, and book illustration. An active participant in exhibitions since 1950, he earned numerous prizes at national and international competitions for book art. After graduating from the Sverdlovsk Art College in 1948, Volovich devoted himself almost entirely to graphic arts, specializing in etching, lithography, and engraving on cardboard. His original works were executed in pencil, gouache, watercolor, and tempera.
Volovich saw himself foremost as a book illustrator. In his memoirs, he wrote: “I am a book illustrator. This has been the central purpose of my life. Everything I created — I created for the book or because of it.… I grew up in a family where my mother and stepfather were writers. Before the war, we had a magnificent library. Books were sacred for us — in fact, they were the very measure of life. Is it any wonder that the book became my destiny? That I was, as if preordained, to become an illustrator, weaving together my love of literature and fine art within the pages of a book? Perhaps that was my true calling?”.
This profound reverence for book illustration became the quiet, enduring thread binding Kazantsev and Volovich through decades of friendship and mutual creative respect. From the 1970s onward, Kazantsev immersed himself fully in the world of book art, earning widespread professional recognition. He received multiple diplomas at all-Russian book graphics competitions, admired for his sensitive understanding of illustration.
