Publisher: Molodaia Gvardiia (Young Guard)
Author: Vladychina, Galina
Artist: Zemenkov, B. S.
Materials:
Colors: Black, Blue, Green, Orange
Subjects:
- 1He was valiant And brave, The first to set off To the sky.
- 2Astonishment, fear reign, Montgolfier flies skyward.
- 3Unlike other pages in the book, here, the hot air balloon is drawn to scale compared to the other visual elements on the page. However, it is not so much the size of the hot air balloon that is important, but the position of the hot air balloon. The hot air balloon occupies the center of the sky. The sun is positioned at the bottom left corner of the sky. This creates the effect that the hot air balloon takes the place of the sun. This is reminiscent of the Copernican Turn. Just as how the heliocentric model replaced the former model that placed earth at the center of the universe, the hot air balloon replaces the sun (and everything that it represents). This suggests that human ingenuity takes the place of the sun, signalling that modernity locates its central axis in human ingenuity.
- 4When one compares the sun in page 7 to the sun in page 1, there is a noticeable difference in the size of the sun compared to the hot air balloon. On page 1, the sun and the hot air balloon are comparably similar in size. On page 7, the sun appears to recede in both size and position. Not only is the sun subordinate to the hot air balloon in position, its size appears to diminish as well. Since both are yellow and round, this comparison is even more marked.
- 5There is smoke coming from a house’s chimney, from the hot air balloon’s brazier, and from Montgolfier’s pipe. The greatest cloud of smoke emanates from the house chimney. There is a modest amount of smoke emanating from the brazier (which is also to-scale). A small, whimsical wisp of smoke is seen escaping from Montgolfier’s pipe. Since this is the first page where Montgolfier is airborne, the abundance of smoke imagery appear to celebrate flight.
- 6The anchor at the side of Montgolfier’s hot air balloon is the only element attached to the hot air balloon. Its size and position at the front of the hot air balloon makes it a visual element that one cannot ignore. The anchor reinforces that Montgolfier is no longer tethered to the ground; Montgolfier transcends earth-bound existence. The anchor used on the hot air balloon is also reminiscent of anchors used in ships. Perhaps this suggests that Montgolfier’s flight into the air is similar to the maritime ambitions of Western European nations during the Age of Discovery. Does this, then, suggest or predict the Soviet Union’s imperial ambitions and age of space discovery? This also connects to the Soviet Union’s ambitions to outdo foreign aviation, a theme reminiscent in The Song of the Dirigible.
- 7Compared to the detail in the hot air balloon and in Montgolfier, the townspeople are depicted as little more than stick figures. Their arms and legs are lines connected to circular blobs that represent their abdomens. Montgolfier is depicted in a more complex manner, with detailed clothes, shoes, and facial expressions. The townspeople’s fright, shock, and awe upon witnessing Montgolfier’s airborne hot air balloon are simultaneously comical and endearingly simple. Their reactions serve as a foil to Montgolfier’s brilliance. Indeed the “astonishment” and “fear” of the townspeople are contrasted with Montgolfier’s “valiant” and “brave” actions.
- 8Again, the hat here is a bicorne hat, associated with Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon was and still is an archetypal figure of genius. This serves to reinforce the theme of Montgolfier’s genius, bravery, and valiance. The townspeople also wear hats similar to Montgolfier’s, but Montgolfier’s hat is distinguished for its sophistication and green and yellow coloring. The townspeople have simpler hats that are blue and indistinguishable from one another’s--clearly to denote a crasser commonality.