German Alekseevich Mazurin: “The old man Hottabych was a woman. German Alekseevich Mazurin: "The old man Hottabych was a woman" Through the book they learn the world "

Russian illustrator.

Studied at the Penza Art School (1947-1952) under I.S. Goryushkina-a-Sorokopudova, M.V. Bunchin.
From 1952 to 1958 he studied at the Moscow State Art Institute. IN AND. Surikov at P.I. Suvorov, M.N. Aleksich, M.S. Rodionova, S.S. Glushkova. He defended his diploma - illustrations for the book by L. Lagin "Old Man Hottabych" under the direction of B.I. Dekhterev.
In 1955 he began working at the Children's Literature Publishing House.
In 1961 he became a member of the Union of Journalists of the USSR, and in 1965 - a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. Since 1958 - participant of art exhibitions

In 1974 he was invited to work at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. IN AND. Surikov, since 1998 - professor of the book workshop of the Moscow State Academy of Arts. 2001-2003 - Professor of the Eastern International Art Institute, Zhengzhou, China.
Personal exhibitions: Moscow, Budapest, Penza, Vienna, Amsterdam, Zhengzhou (China).

G.A. Mazurin illustrated children's and adult literature, Western and Russian: Arkady Petrovich Gaidar (Timur and His Team), Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn), Otfried Preussler (Little Baba Yaga), Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov ("Oblomov"), Sergei Vladimirovich Mikhalkov ("Uncle Stepa"), Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ("Kashtanka") ... For half a century of creative work, German Alekseevich designed about 200 publications. He even owns the style of gohua on rice paper, which he mastered during a long business trip to China.

German Alekseevich immediately realized for himself: you cannot make any incomprehensible forms for children. He recalled how much his granddaughter cried when she saw a turkey drawn with one leg - just drawn in profile, the other leg was not visible. You need to draw very accurately, it is good to know what you are drawing, the artist believes.

“Why invent something when it already exists,” says German Alekseevich. - The village is my second homeland, I was born in Penza. For thirty years I have been coming to the Vyshnevolotsk land, every summer I spend in the village, where I rest and draw. When they give me a book for which I have to make illustrations, I read and see it through Shitovichi. We may not remember the names of the heroes, some episodes, but the pictures in the book rarely disappear from our memory. - I feel like a good tailor, - Mazurin smiles, - a master who sewed a suit, and when a person wearing it enters the hall, no one sees the suit, everyone sees a handsome person. My illustrations should not be visible in the first place, they should merge with the work into a single artistic image. And I live the life described by the author of this book ...

The bibliographic index below includes more than 190 books, illustrated by G.A. Mazurin.

German Alekseevich Mazurin- illustrator, teacher. Honored Artist of Russia.

Was born in Penza. The passion for drawing manifested itself in childhood. His father made him addicted to reading, but the lack of drawings in books led him to the fact that the boy himself began to enthusiastically make sketches of the heroes and events of the book. Having made a sketch on a notebook sheet, he carefully pasted it into the book, so one of these books was "Quiet Don" by M. Sholokhov. Since then, since childhood, drawing has become his main occupation.

In 1952 he graduated from the Penza Art School and entered the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. V. Surikov, where he studied until 1958. He studied at the workshop of B. Dekhterev.

The very first and already legendary literary hero, who laid the foundation for the creative path of German Mazurin, was "Uncle Styopa - a policeman" S. Mikhalkov.

His artist painted in his third year. His teachers showed the drawings to S. Mikhalkov, he liked them, and a few months later in the publishing house "Children's Literature" a book with his illustrations. So since 1955, the artist began a long-term collaboration with this publishing house.

The second, significant book, was his graduation work, created under the direction of B. Dekhterev, the book by L. Lagin "Old Man Hottabych", the book withstood 34 reprints.

Since 1961 - Member of the Union of Journalists, and since 1965 - Member of the Union of Artists.

Participates in art exhibitions since 1958.

In 1974 he was invited to teach at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. V. Surikov.

In 1989 he was awarded the title - Honored Artist of the RSFSR, and in 1998 he became a professor at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. V. Surikov.

In 2001-2003, professor at the Eastern International Art Institute of Zhengzhou, China. Where he not only taught, but also learned to work in the gohua style on rice paper.

The last 30 years he has spent the summer in the small village of Shitovichi, near Vyshny Volochk. Here, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, he draws inspiration. Simple village boys and girls, without knowing it themselves, become prototypes of famous heroes who have forever settled on the pages of books.

German Alekseevich illustrated about 300 books, about 14 filmstrips were created on the basis of his drawings.

Since the beginning of 2013, on the basis of the Pushkin Library-Museum, with the support of the Culture Department of the Belgorod City Administration, the municipal project “Creation of a creative laboratory“ Artists “write” books ”has been implemented. The essence of this project is that during the year in the halls of the library-museum there were exhibitions of Moscow illustrators - teachers and graduates of the "Book Workshop" of the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. IN AND. Surikov, as well as practical seminars on book illustration, which were conducted by the illustrators themselves - Honored Artist of Russia German Mazurin and his students

Mazurin German Alekseevich - Soviet Russian graphic artist, illustrator. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (since 1988). Born on August 10, 1932 in Penza. The artist's childhood fell on wartime. His father was a peasant and naturally did not have a higher education, but despite this he loved to read and collected a whole library. The first book read by eight-year-old German was "Quiet Don" from his father's library. At that difficult time, there were almost no children's books, and there were no pictures in adults. Therefore, the future artist himself drew events and characters on notebook sheets and pasted them into books. Among the favorite books of German Mazurin were adventure novels - "Fifteen Years Captain", "Three Musketeers", "The Secret of Two Captains".

From 1947 to 1952 he studied at the Penza Art School under the teachers of I.S. Goryushkin-Sorokopudov, M.V. Bunchin. Upon graduation, he entered the Moscow State Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov, where he studied with P.I. Suvorov, M.N. Aleksich, M.S. Rodionova, S.S. Glushkova. Mazurin calls his main teacher Boris Aleksandrovich Dekhtyarev, under whose leadership he wrote a diploma, and then worked under him for 30 years in the publishing house "Children's Literature".
The very first hero who laid the foundation for the artist's creative path was the famous uncle Styopa, a policeman. This character Mazurin drew in the 3rd year. He simply chose the work he liked and illustrated it. The works interested his teacher so much that he called S.V. Mikhalkov and soon a book with drawings by German Mazurin was published in the publishing house "Children's Literature". Another step in the creative career of German Alekseevich was his graduation work - illustrations for the fairy tale-story "Old Man Hottabych" by Lazar Lagin. These illustrations have received universal recognition and have become true classics of the genre. Since then, the book with illustrations by Mazurin has withstood 34 reprints.
Since 1961 - Mazurin is a member of the Union of Journalists, and since 1965 - a member of the Union of Artists. Participant of art exhibitions since 1958. In 1974 he was invited to teach at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. V. Surikov, and in 1998 became a professor at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. V. Surikov. In 2001-2003, he was a professor at the Eastern International Art Institute of the city of Zhengzhou, China, where he not only taught, but also learned to work in the gohua style on rice paper.
The artist's personal exhibitions were held in Moscow, Budapest, Penza, Vienna, Amsterdam, Zhengzhou (China).
German Alekseevich illustrated about 300 books, his drawings became the basis for 14 filmstrips. Mazurin also designed books for adults, but it was much more interesting and pleasant for him to create books for children.
The artist takes characters for his works from real life. For example, in the books of the writer Astafiev, all the guys are from Shitovich, and in Gaidar's Blue Cup, the main character Sveta is copied from Svetka Stanovikova, now Svetlana is already an adult, she works in Moscow. The artist also painted his daughter Anya many times, she recently became a grandmother: his grandson Dima is 5 months old, but he is already the hero of the book "Daphnis and Chloe", on which his great-grandfather is now working. The same happened with the hero of "Old Man Hottabych" Volka and with Tom Sawyer, whom Mazurin found in the son of his comrade.
The works of the artist German Mazurin are appreciated not only in our country, but also abroad. For example, in the USA, in the Mark Twain Museum, there are illustrations from the book "Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn". Many drawings are exhibited in Austria, Germany, France and China.

Ours today carries out a great deal of art history work to find, identify and preserve such works that, today, are not yet presented to the general public, but, nevertheless, are a great rarity. today it will not be difficult - you can see it almost on every street, but ours has every reason to be considered one of the best in the capital. We are proud of the works of our dear compatriots presented only here.
This section on our website contains information about Russian and Soviet artists who worked at different times and in a wide variety of genres. The page of each artist contains a short biography, information about achievements, merits and awards, highlights the main directions of his work, and, of course, presents a gallery of works. Here you can select and find it by the author's name from the alphabetical list for ease of search, as well as sort by cost, genre, or size.

"The most important thing an illustrator needs is imagination. We rarely draw from life. Where do I get my nature to illustrate Tom Sawyer's adventures? Only imagination will help here. And imagination is based on experience, observation and the desire to work. Everything that I have ever seen, read, felt, heard and tasted - everything goes to the piggy bank of my imagination. So from scattered pieces I collect an idea, for example, about America in the fifties, and create my own Tom Soeyr. "Herman Mazurin

Illustrator, teacher. Honored Artist of Russia.
The passion for drawing manifested itself in childhood. His father made him addicted to reading, but the lack of drawings in books led him to the fact that the boy himself began to enthusiastically make sketches of the heroes and events of the book. Having made a sketch on a notebook sheet, he carefully pasted it into the book, so one of such books was "The Quiet Don" by M. Sholokhov. Since then, since childhood, drawing has become his main occupation.
The very first and already legendary literary hero who laid the foundation for the creative path of German Mazurin was "Uncle Styopa - a policeman" S. Mikhalkov.
His artist painted in his third year. His teachers showed the drawings to S. Mikhalkov, he liked them, and after a few months in the publishing house "Children's Literature" a book with his illustrations. So since 1955, the artist began a long-term collaboration with this publishing house.
The second, significant book, was his thesis, created under the direction of B. Dekhterev, the book by L. Lagin "The Old Man Hottabych", the book withstood 34 reprints.
In 1989 he was awarded the title - Honored Artist of the RSFSR, and in 1998 he became a professor at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. V. Surikov.

Books with illustrations by the artist

Studied at the Penza Art School (1947-52) under I.S.Goryushkin-Sorokopudov, M.V. Bunchin.
From 1952 to 1958 he studied at the Moscow State Art Institute under P.I. Suvorov, M.N. Aleksich, M.S. Rodionova, S.S. Glushkova. He defended his diploma - illustrations for the book by L. Lagin "The Old Man Hottabych" under the direction of BI Dekhterev.
Since 1955 he began to work in the publishing house "Children's Literature"
He designed and illustrated about 200 books.
Since 1958 - participant of art exhibitions
Since 1961 - member of the Union of Journalists of the USSR
Since 1965 - member of the Union of Artists of the USSR
Since 1974 - a lecturer at the Moscow State Institute of Art. IN AND. Surikova

2001-2003 - Professor of the Eastern International Art Institute, Zhengzhou, China.
Now - professor of the book workshop of the Moscow State Art Institute

Personal exhibitions: Moscow, Budapest, Penza, Vienna, Amsterdam, Zhengzhou (China).
Works are also in museums of Ulyanovsk, Syktyvkar, Saransk, Penza Art Gallery, Chuvash State Art Museum

The artist of our childhood

Herman Mazurin's heroes are inhabitants of the Tver province.

"Uncle Styopa is a policeman", "Kashtanka", "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn", "Old Man Hottabych", "Vovka is a kind soul" and many others. There is hardly anyone who has not read these kind children's books. But few people know that all the drawn characters of these stories came out from under the pencil of the unique artist German Mazurin.

For 30 years now, German Alekseevich has been living every summer in the small village of Shitovichi, which is near Vyshny Volochk. Here, far from the noise of the city, he draws his inspiration. Simple village boys and girls, without knowing it, become prototypes of famous heroes who have settled in books forever.

His drawings come from our childhood. Laugh, make friends, rush to the rescue and never give up - Mazurin's heroes teach more than one generation of children to live and feel for real. Yesterday's boys and girls are now grandparents, reading books illustrated by the artist to their grandchildren.

The guys are whitewashing the fence. Illustration for the novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain. 1976
Paper, etching, tint with watercolors, 33.5x25.2; 21.6x15.6

Surprisingly, no matter how many years have passed, the two-meter policeman Uncle Styopa, brave Timur with his team, good-natured Hottabych and other characters still remain outside the era and excite children's imagination. Moreover, all these characters are not fictional, but real people who are next to the artist: his relatives, friends, comrades and neighbors. For example, Timurovites are guys living in Shitovichi. The forests where Bely Bim and Ivan Ivanovich hunted are located in the villages of Volmen and Selivanikha near Volochk. And the courtyard of the local woman Mana Stanovikova is a prototype of the courtyard from Solzhenitsyn's story "Matryonin Dvor"

- If the theme for the drawing becomes the countryside, then I always draw the Vyshnevolotsk region. I love my village very much, and although I come from Penza, I have become attached to the Shitovichs. More than 30 years ago, I bought a house here, and over the years managed to become related to the Vyshnevolotsk region, the artist admits. - It is easy to work here: I am inspired by the local village flavor, the people living in the neighborhood. Here I spend the whole summer, and in winter I leave for Moscow, where I work as a professor at the V.I.Surikov Moscow State Academic Art Institute.

"Volka is me"

Herman Mazurin's passion for drawing manifested itself in childhood. The father was from a large peasant family and could not get a good education, but he was very fond of books and managed to instill in little Hera a love of reading. But then there were no children's books, and there were no pictures in adults, so the boy enthusiastically drew characters and events on a notebook sheet, and then carefully pasted them into the book. One of these books, which the artist "brought to life" was Mikhail Sholokhov's "Quiet Flows the Don". Since then, drawing has become his main occupation and love.

- I drew everywhere and always, and when the time came to choose my future profession, I decided to associate it with drawing. First he entered the Penza Art School, and then left for Moscow, entered the Institute named after Surikov at the graphic faculty. I studied in the book workshop with the famous professor Boris Dekhterev.

The very first and now legendary hero, who laid the foundation for the creative path of German Mazurin, was none other than the policeman Uncle Stepa. His artist painted in his third year.

S. Mikhalkov "Uncle Styopa policeman" 1956

- I just chose this book and decided to create a character for it, as I saw it. And the teacher took and called Sergei Mikhalkov: “Here I have one student made an uncle, do you want to see?”. Mikhalkov agreed, and now I am at the famous poet's home. Sergei Vladimirovich looked at my drawings with a smile, praised and approved them for publication. A few months later, a book with my illustrations was published at the Children's Literature publishing house. How much joy was there then!

Another joyful event for the artist was the famous "Old Man Hottabych" by Lazar Lagin. This book was the graduation work of a young artist, illustrations in it received universal recognition and went down in history as an example of the classics of the genre. The book has withstood 34 editions since then.

Hottabych and the bear Kuzya on the glacier.
Variant of illustration for Lagin's book "The Old Man Hottabych" - thesis at the Moscow State Art Institute. 1958 Watercolor, black pencil on paper, 41.5х31.8

After graduation, German Mazurin illustrated about three hundred books. In addition to children, he also designed works for adults - serious and dramatic. But, it is recognized that children's literature is much closer to him.

- I, of course, illustrated both Dostoevsky and Gorky, but it is much more interesting and pleasant for me to create books for children, where the heroes are ordinary boys and girls. And the same Volka Kostylkov from "The Old Man Hottabych", one might say, is my self-portrait. A cheerful and reckless boy, honest, cheerful, finding a way out of any situation - this is how I was and still am. I can't imagine myself as the hero of the "Garnet Bracelet", but Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are close to me.

All good things are near

The works of the artist German Mazurin are appreciated not only in our country, but also abroad. For example, in the USA, in the Mark Twain Museum, there are illustrations from the book "Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn". Many drawings are exhibited in Austria, Germany, France and China. And this is not surprising, because only a few manage to tell the story so truthfully through paints, and Mazurin is among them. He doesn't just paint, he lives the same life with his characters. Rather, he lives next to them - boys and girls running barefoot on the grass, chasing chickens and geese in Shitovichi, swimming in the river. It is these sincere, genuine moments that inspire the illustrator when he picks up a pencil.

Doesn't bite. 1972
Paper, etching, tint with watercolors, 31.7х39.7; 24.9x33.5

- Why invent something if I can draw neighbors Dimka or Andrey? These guys are real little heroes. If you want to find something good, you don't have to go too far behind it, all the best is close by. Manage only to notice and remember. That is why I do not part with a pencil and a notebook in order to have time to capture the best moments in life, the best people, their faces, character traits, the manner of moving and speaking. And if you liked the area, then I draw it too. For example, in almost all books where there is rural nature, you can recognize the features of the Upper Volga village.

First, German Mazurin finds images in life, draws them, and then sketches are transferred from the pages of his notebook into books. For example, in the books of the writer Astafiev, all the guys are from Shitovich, and in Gaidar's Blue Cup, the main character Sveta is copied from Svetka Stanovikova, now Svetlana is already an adult, she works in Moscow. The artist also painted his daughter Anya many times, she recently became a grandmother: his grandson Dima is 5 months old, but he is already the hero of the book "Daphnis and Chloe", on which his great-grandfather is now working.

"Through the book they know the world"

German Mazurin prefers to illustrate books by Russian and Soviet authors.

- Western children's literature fosters personal consciousness, and ours - public. For example, a recent case that shook the entire country: the suicide of girls. After all, they were just brought up on personal consciousness - I, me, mine. They did a terrible thing, not thinking about anyone but themselves. And Soviet writers always taught to think about others: about parents, friends, comrades. And before doing anything, the children always wondered: how will my loved ones react to this? Children’s books should be approached very anxiously, it’s impossible to publish anyhow, as they do now, since hack-work in such a case has its consequences.

Book cover

Another problem, inspired by fashion, is the books in the illustrations of which animals, people and insects are drawn in such a way that it is difficult to guess who is in front of you. Unrealistic pictures are all too often, and this is also a big minus for the younger generation.

A.P. Chekhov "Kashtanka"

- A book with a picture forms a child, through a book the child learns the world, he still does not know how to read, and it is the picture that gives him an idea of ​​the environment. Therefore, the better the drawing is drawn, the more realistic and accurate it is, the clearer the children will perceive reality. Before I depict a bear, I study how it looks, what habits and proportions it has, and only then I transfer it to paper. And without such a job I can't imagine my life.

Drawing life as it is is a rare talent that nature has awarded Herman Mazurin. In his characters, everyone will be able to recognize himself, his friend or neighbor. Lively, cheerful, full of optimism, Mazurin's heroes continue to smile at us from the pages of their favorite works, and we, children who grew up on real books, smile with them.

Suzanne Hajiyeva

Site dedicated to German Mazurin on narod.ru - http://masurin.narod.ru/

German Mazurin's story about his own experience of teaching painting in China, published in the magazine "Young Artist" - http://www.masurin.narod.ru/china/index.htm

Filmstrips drawn by the artist German Mazurin:

Hottabych's brother Omar Yusuf - 1963
The Donut Story - 1972
Boy from the Great Mississippi - 1984
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 1967
The Adventures of Robinson Cucuruso - 1969
The EL-76 robot gets in the wrong place - 1967
Simka - 1961
Violinist -1963
Old Man Hottabych - 1962, 1970
Timur and his team. Part 1 - 1966
Timur and his team. Part 2 - 1966
Tom Sawyer. Part 1 - 1964
Tom Sawyer. Part 2 - 1964
Stranger Can't Pass - 1958
Material taken