Poetics of myth in contemporary academic fine arts: graphic works by Khamid Savkuev for Vasily Livanov's novel “Agnia, daughter of Agnia. The legend of the Scythians”

This article examines the question of the reinterpretation of mythical images and cultural artifacts of archaic cultures in contemporary fine art practices. This issue is considered on the example of illustrations made for the reprint of Vasily Livanov's story “Agnia, daughter of Agnia. The Legend of Scythians” (2011) by one of the leading artists of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts Khamid Savkuev. In this case, the artist’s wok on the illustrations was not so much a visualization of the literary text, but an attempt to study visually the relationship between the artistic traditions of the Ancient East, the Scythian world and the culture of the North Caucasus presented in the Nart Epos. It is important that the graphic works of Khamid Savkuev are not a reconstruction, but a reinterpretation of the mythopoetic system of ancient art. This reinterpretation becomes the basis of the author’s unique artistic experience. The concept of the World Tree, the image of the serpentine goddess (Rankenfrau), the status of sacred and fateful artifacts in these book illustrations are placed in a modern cultural context, contribute to the revitalization and enrichment of contemporary academic fine arts...