Riddle-Answer Drawings. Illustrations for Korney Chukovsky’s book Miracle Tree and Other Tales

A leading figure and co‑founder of Moscow Conceptualism Ilya Kabakov worked for many years as an illustrator, collaborating with the publishing houses Detgiz (renamed Children’s Literature in 1963) and Malysh, as well as the magazines Murzilka and Veselye Kartinki (Merry Pictures). Forced to become an illustrator, Kabakov regarded his occupation with indifference: creating drawings on behalf of a character—a typical Soviet artist—he combined solutions approved by publishing editors with canonical design techniques. An important reference point for Kabakov was Vladimir Konashevich, about whom he wrote: “I was significantly influenced by the work of the ‘father of illustration,’ Vladimir Konashevich—a remarkable artist of the 1920s and 1930s, a member of the World of Art group who continued working into the 1950s. He created a style of sentimental drawing for children… When a situation arose at the publishing house and something urgently needed to be done in connection with Konashevich’s illustrations, they might call me and offer me the job.” That is precisely what happened with Korney Chukovsky’s Miracle Tree and Other Tales (1970), published by Children’s Literature: the book already featured illustrations by Konashevich, while the cover and several small drawings were commissioned from Kabakov, which is how “teacher” and “imitator” met in the same publication. Without fully copying the original style, Kabakov preserved Konashevich’s signature manner, “stemming from World of Art, with its hatched drawing style, sentimental and cozy.”