TO THE POETRY OF ANNA AKHMATOVA
illustrations
Anna Akhmatova. Mother, Wife, Poet. She lived each of her hypostases «solemnly and difficultly», and each of them found its bright and unique place in her work. She received one of the most difficult periods of Russian history. It seems that this is the choice of the fate: by voice of Akhmatova speaks to us troubled twenties, the fatal forties and vile sixties. She endlessly lost everything in her life so that we have acquired priceless: poetry, lived and suffered in every line, every rhyme. All her life Anna Akhmatova lived in St. Petersburg-Leningrad. We also live in this city so we were very lucky to have endless possibilities to visit the famous «Akhmatova places» for work on the illustrations. We sketched at the Fountain House – the Akhmatova Museum, at the Smolensky Cemetery and at the Summer Garden. We visited the famous «Stray Dog café” and drew at the embankment near the Crosses – famous Russian prison, where Akhmatova’s husband died. The work on the illustrations was difficult — Akhmatova is a very deep and difficult poet, but we hope that we were able to represent the mood of her poems. The book was published by Rech Publishing in 2019.
