Illustration for the epic "Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor's wife" 1912

Ivan Bilibin created this black and white illustration for the epic "Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor's wife". Look how Bilibin has made all of the marks here, it is like watching the construction of a dense forest. Each line is distinct but contributes to the sense of something organic, like a collaboration between nature and the artist’s hand. There's a lot to consider here, like the contrast between the dense foliage and the figures, who seem less detailed and more like placeholders in the narrative. When I look at the canopy of trees in the upper right corner, each leaf is rendered as a tiny, geometric explosion, like bursts of static energy. This repetition creates an almost hypnotic effect, like the patterns in a William Morris wallpaper. It reminds me of Aubrey Beardsley, with its intricate detail and somewhat gothic sensibilities. Ultimately, it is the density of marks that draws me in; so many tiny variations. Bilibin wasn't afraid to get lost in the details, inviting us to do the same, to make our own meaning from the marks on the page.