Famous illustrator from Rybnitsa village

An outstanding graphic artist and illustrator – all this is about a native of a village of Rybnitsa district Ilya Bogdesko. He is known all over the world for his illustrations for works of world classical literature. Ilya Bogdescu was talked about in the Rybnitsa branch of Pridnestrovian State University today. The round table was held at the initiative of the "Renewal" party within the framework of the project "My great countrymen" about the famous natives of Pridnestrovie. The Parliament Vice-Speaker Galina Antyufeeva, the PMR Supreme Council Deputy Ilona Tyuryaeva and the parliamentarians of the constituencies of Rybnitsa district Yakov Galak and Vasily Kunitsky took part in its work.

The meeting place was not chosen by chance. Future designers receive professional education in Rybnitsa. The famous Moldovan and Soviet illustrator and graphic artist himself was born not far from Rybnitsa, in the village of Butuchany. He became the People's Artist of the USSR at the age of 41 – the youngest of those awarded such a high title.

One of the most famous works of Ilya Bogdesko is illustrations for the novel by Jonathan Swift "Gulliver's Travels", made in the technique of engraving with a chisel on metal, which was widespread in Swift's time. Bogdesko was awarded a diploma named after Ivan Fedorov for this work, at the All-Union competition "The Art of the Book" in 1980. Ilya Bogdesko created a series of 33 illustrations for Cervantes' Don Quixote in five years. It is thanks to the Moldavian artist that we now present the famous hero as such – tall, angular, with a sharp mustache and beard. Ilya Bogdesko wrote the entire text by hand in the book "Pungutsa ku doi ban" ("Purse with two coins") by Ion Creanga. In total, the famous artist Ilya Bogdesko designed more than a hundred books. Many of his graphic cycles have become classics of the book illustration genre.

According to the Rybnitsa branch of Pridnestrovian State University, the works of the famous Moldovan master are kept today in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, and in many other museums, galleries and private collections around the world. One of his best monumental works has been preserved in our republic. This is a painting of the House of Culture in the village of Kitskany. Ilya Bogdesko was awarded the Big Gold Medal of the Academy of Arts of the USSR for this work. He worked on creating a symbolic image of the Moldovan village for about a year. The prototypes of the heroes of the composition were the inhabitants of Kitskany. The painting is made in the technique of tempera painting, painted on a thin canvas pasted on the wall. This is a huge composition – 27 meters long and 7 meters high.

By the anniversary of the famous countryman, students of the Department of Decorative and Applied Arts of Pridnestrovian State University conducted and presented their small studies of Bogdesko's work. They talked about the influence of the Moldavian icon on the illustrations for the book by Ion Creanga, about the symbols in the depiction of the authors of the books, on the design of which Ilya Trofimovich worked in his time. The topic of calligraphy was touched upon separately. After all, People's Artist of the USSR, Academician of the Academy of Arts of the USSR Ilya Bogdesko was recognized as one of the ten best calligraphers in the world. He is the author of the "Calligraphy" textbook. The artist designed and created his own typographic typeface, which is called the Bogdesko alphabet. This is a set of capital letters of the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, which is included in the register of all alphabets that exist and are used today.

The day before, admirers of Ilya Bogdesko's talent celebrated his centenary. A meeting with pupils of a rural school in the native village of Bogdesko, Butuchany, was held in the local library, as its organizers spoke about during a round table in Rybnitsa. However, the talented artist, graphic artist and illustrator these days are remembered not only in Pridnestrovie. An exhibition dedicated to the birthday of Ilya Bogdesko was opened in St. Petersburg, where Bogdesko moved in 1992.