Mavrina (Lebedeva), Tatyana Alexeyevna
(b. 1902 Nizhny Novgorod – d. 1996 Moscow)
Painter and graphic artist
1922–1929 – Studied at Vkhutemas-Vkhutein [The Higher Art and Technical Studios and Institute] in Moscow under N. Sinezubov, R. Falk, and G. Fyodorov.
From 1928 took part in exhibitions, including: 1928 – the Rost [The Growth] group; 1929 – The first exhibition of the Thirteen group;
1929–1931 – Member of the Thirteen group.
Book designer and illustrator. Worked in publishing houses.
Received the USSR National Award in 1975, and the title of Honored Artist of Russia in 1981. Awarded silver medals at the Leipzig Book Fair in 1960, 1965, and 1977, first prize at the International Book Art Fair in Brno and the Ivan Fedorov Diploma in 1966. Received the Hans Christian Andersen Award for a lasting contribution to children’s book illustration in 1976.
“It is important to note that in the years of World War II, Zagorsk provided Mavrina with the impetus to make a detailed and passionate study of national architecture. She also began drawing Moscow’s old monuments at the same time. From her very first sketches, though, Mavrina came up against an unexpected, yet very real, obstacle: drawing from life was impossible, not only because during the war years it was forbidden by law to take photographs or make drawings of city buildings, but also because the inhabitants of the city were themselves very suspicious about anyone who tried to somehow capture an image of buildings, streets, or even an ordinary village view. In effect, it became necessary to leave drawing from life behind and find another way of portraying reality.
Even prior to the war, Mavrina had noticed that works of art produced from memory gain certain new characteristics when compared to drawings made directly from life. Such works are frequently more expressive, wholesome, and integrated, especially as far as composition and color are concerned. Before the war, Mavrina used this method only occasionally, but now, during the war years, this approach became the dominant one for her. She herself said that drawing from memory satisfies her greediness to portray everything she has seen, unites into a single whole all of the impressions she has gained from life, nature, museums, books she has read, stories she has heard, and so forth, and results in the hyperbolic and decorative character typical of her works.”
V.I. Kostin. Sredi khudozhnikov [Among Artists]. M.: Sovetsky Khudozhnik, 1986. Pp. 51—52.
