Gennady Spirin
Author of The Tale of the Firebird
About the Author
Series
Works by Gennady Spirin
The Story of Noah and the Ark (According to the Book of Genesis, from the King James Bible) (2004) — Illustrator — 119 copies, 2 reviews
The Easter Story: According To The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John from the King James Bible (1999) 80 copies, 1 review
Nußknacker und Mausekönig und andere Geschichten der Weltliteratur (1988) — Author — 2 copies, 1 review
Associated Works
The Mysterious Tale of Gentle Jack and Lord Bumblebee (1978) — Illustrator, some editions — 63 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Spirin, Gennady
- Other names
- Spirin, Gennadiĭ
Spirin, Gennadi - Birthdate
- 1948-12-25
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Stroganov Academy of Fine Arts, Moscow
Surikov School of Fine Art - Occupations
- illustrator
painter - Awards and honors
- Gold Medals (4 ∙ Society of Illustrators)
Golden Apple (Bratislava International Biennial)
First Prize (Bologna International Book Fair)
First Prize (Barcelona International Book Fair) - Relationships
- Spirin, Ilya (son)
- Short biography
- Gennady Spirin (1948- ) is a Russian painter and children's book illustrator. A graduate of the Surikov School of Fine Art in Moscow and the Moscow Stroganov Institute of Art, he is noted for his unique style of watercolor illustration. He has illustrated works by classic authors such as William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy as well as children's books by contemporary celebrities. His oil paintings hang in public and private galleries throughout the world, and he has been profiled by The New York Times. His depiction of The Nutcracker was selected by Saks Fifth Avenue as the centerpiece of their famous Christmas display in 1997 and 1998. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992, Spirin immigrated with his wife and sons to the United States, ultimately settling in Princeton, NJ, where he has lived and worked since.
(source: Wikipedia) - Nationality
- Russia
- Birthplace
- Orechowo-Sojewo, Moscow Oblast, USSR
- Places of residence
- Moscow, Russia
Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Germany - Map Location
- Russia
Members
Reviews
One of the most popular carols of the holiday season, The Twelve Days of Christmas provides the text for this beautiful new picture-book from master-illustrator Gennady Spirin. No stranger to Christmas-themed artwork, Spirin - who, the dust-jacket blurb informs us, was born on Christmas day - has previously worked on The Night Before Christmas, The Christmas Story, Joy to the World, and We Three Kings. Here he takes on the classic song celebrating the days from Christmas to Epiphany.
Each show more verse, which chronicles another gift given to the singer, is paired with a lovely, full-page pencil and watercolor illustration. The palette, as always, is rich, and the decorative borders surrounding the text, charming. Unfortunately, Spirin chooses to include the entire range of gifts in each painting, no doubt in an effort to reflect the text itself, necessitating an increasingly "zoomed out" effect. I appreciated the earlier illustrations, with their superior detail, much more than the later ones, and couldn't help but wish that Spirin had chosen to omit earlier gifts, in his depiction of later verses. Still, this is a beautiful edition, and with the inclusion of an informative afterword about the history of the song, as well as its sheet music, it would make a wonderful gift for the Christmas carol lover! show less
Each show more verse, which chronicles another gift given to the singer, is paired with a lovely, full-page pencil and watercolor illustration. The palette, as always, is rich, and the decorative borders surrounding the text, charming. Unfortunately, Spirin chooses to include the entire range of gifts in each painting, no doubt in an effort to reflect the text itself, necessitating an increasingly "zoomed out" effect. I appreciated the earlier illustrations, with their superior detail, much more than the later ones, and couldn't help but wish that Spirin had chosen to omit earlier gifts, in his depiction of later verses. Still, this is a beautiful edition, and with the inclusion of an informative afterword about the history of the song, as well as its sheet music, it would make a wonderful gift for the Christmas carol lover! show less
Russian-born and educated artist Gennady Spirin, whose previous picture-book forays into the world of Christmas include The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Night Before Christmas, and The Christmas Story (not to mention the holiday collection, Joy to the World: A Family Christmas Treasury), here turns his attention to that beloved Christmas carol, We Three Kings of Orient Are. Using the lyrics of the song as his text, Spirin depicts the Three Kings (or Magi), their marvelous gifts of gold, show more frankincense and myrrh, and the glorious host of angels that oversee their journey.
Written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., an American Episcopal minster, in the nineteenth-century - the date given on the dust-jacket blurb here in 1857, although I understand that it was first published in 1863, in Hopkins' Carols, Hymns and Song - We Three Kings has always been one of my favorite Christmas carols, and I enjoyed reading it this morning on the train, while also listening to a recording of it by The Deller Consort. That said, although I love the carol, and appreciated the artwork, I wasn't as thrilled with this one as I expected to be. Spirin's paintings here are beautiful, but their details are rather blurred, and the repetition of the scene with the angels - the same exact painting is used, each time the refrain of the song appears - began to be rather tiring after a while, despite its loveliness.
Despite these issues, overall I enjoyed this picture-book, and I recommend it to fans of the carol (it's the only picture-book presentation of We Three Kings with which I am familiar) and to fans of Gennady Spirin. show less
Written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., an American Episcopal minster, in the nineteenth-century - the date given on the dust-jacket blurb here in 1857, although I understand that it was first published in 1863, in Hopkins' Carols, Hymns and Song - We Three Kings has always been one of my favorite Christmas carols, and I enjoyed reading it this morning on the train, while also listening to a recording of it by The Deller Consort. That said, although I love the carol, and appreciated the artwork, I wasn't as thrilled with this one as I expected to be. Spirin's paintings here are beautiful, but their details are rather blurred, and the repetition of the scene with the angels - the same exact painting is used, each time the refrain of the song appears - began to be rather tiring after a while, despite its loveliness.
Despite these issues, overall I enjoyed this picture-book, and I recommend it to fans of the carol (it's the only picture-book presentation of We Three Kings with which I am familiar) and to fans of Gennady Spirin. show less
This is Gennady Spirin's story of the time his son, Ilya found a crow with a broken wing and took it home. The veterinarian told the boy that it would never fly again. The vet urged the boy to put the crow to sleep, but Ilya refused and said that the crow was going to fly again. In the end the crow does fly and the little boy is sure that she returned to their home when they see a crow nesting in their tree. I picked out this story because Martha (the crow) reminded me of my aunt a lot. The show more doctors told us she wouldn't live and urged my grandmother to put her in a home, but she refused. My aunt's brain has fully recovered, but she's in a wheel chair now. The doctors say she'll never walk again, but I know she will. Sometimes all we have to do is have faith and the impossible happens. This was an extremely inspirational story and I absolutely loved the illustrations!! A must read. show less
The Russian born Gennady Spirin remains one of my favorite artists/illustrators. His book Martha is based on a true story of his son and wife finding a crow with a broken wing. Told by the veterinarian that the crow would never fly again, Gennady's son Ilya brought the crow home, named it Martha, nursed and tamed the bird who then became an integral part of their family.
I plan to read all of Spirin's books that I have not as yet acquired. His work is mesmerizingly detailed, crisp and clear, show more leaving me to go back time and time again to study the images.
And, I will revisit many of my favorites..yet, all are my favorites.
In exquisite watercolor illustrations, Spirin catalogs the journey of Martha and her influence on their family. show less
I plan to read all of Spirin's books that I have not as yet acquired. His work is mesmerizingly detailed, crisp and clear, show more leaving me to go back time and time again to study the images.
And, I will revisit many of my favorites..yet, all are my favorites.
In exquisite watercolor illustrations, Spirin catalogs the journey of Martha and her influence on their family. show less
Lists
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 17
- Also by
- 35
- Members
- 1,434
- Popularity
- #17,941
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 60
- ISBNs
- 51
- Languages
- 5
- Favorited
- 4