The Universe of Graphics: HSE Art & Design Journal launches issue #9

The HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL is proud to present the ninth edition of the HSE University Journal of Art & Design. This issue moves beyond the traditional view of graphics as a "secondary" medium, exploring it instead as a self-contained universe of narrative pauses and philosophical depth.

In the academic world, graphic art — from drawing techniques to printmaking — is often treated as a mere "draft" for high painting. Our latest issue challenges this hierarchy. We explore the magic of the blank page across a vast timeline, from ancient manuscripts to the bold manifestos of contemporary artists.

Graphics, as we present it here, is an art of dialogue between the hand and the material, defined by the minimalism of black-and-white space and the artist's distinct hand.

• The Rhetoric of Bruegel: Inga Lander explores the "World Upside Down" through the 16th-century engravings of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, decoding the visual narrative of his "Sins" and "Virtues" cycles.
• The Artist’s Identity: Lyubava Chistova examines Annibale Carracci’s drawings from the State Hermitage, viewing them not just as genre sketches, but as a profound reflection on the creator’s status in Renaissance Italy.
• British Woodcuts in Moscow: Tatyana Tyutvinova reveals the history of a 1925 gift from the British Museum to Moscow, featuring works by Edward Wadsworth, Gwendolen Raverat, and the Nash brothers.
• Folk Art & Colonial Shifts: Varvara Novikova dives into the Kalighat drawings of Calcutta, showing how 19th-century Indian folk art integrated British fashion and political changes into traditional iconography.
• Illustration as Innovation: Anna Zavyalova discusses the unpublished illustrations for The Last of the Mohicansby Alexandre Benois and Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, tracing a lineage from Carracci to Japanese Ukiyo-e prints.
• Kirchner’s Radical Line: Maria Belikova analyzes the work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, where the nervous, angular line becomes a tool to capture the "shocks of modernity" and the anxiety of the big city.
• Paper Cinema: Polina Dedyukhina closes the issue by exploring the "novel without words" — a genre of visual narrative by Frans Masereel and Lynd Ward that mirrors the rhythm and montage of silent film.

By revisiting the legacy of Russian and European graphics — from the Old Masters to early 20th-century Modernism — we have uncovered a paradox: an art form traditionally seen as intimate and secondary actually opens up expansive research horizons.

We hope the articles presented in this issue serve as a source of intellectual reflection and creative inspiration for our community. Thank you for your interest and trust!

The full issue is now available to read online.