Favorsky Vladimir is a graphic artist, illustrator, xylographer, theatrical designer, art historian, and teacher, academician of the USSR Academy of Arts, He had the title of People’s Artist of the USSR and was the winner of the Lenin Prize. Favorsky was born in Moscow and got his first art skills at home, with his mother O. Scherwud, an artist. In 1903-1905 he studied at a studio school of K.Yuon and I. Dudin and attended evening classes in sculpture at Stroganov  Art and Industrial School. After the graduation of Fifths Moscow Gymnasium in 1905 he went to Germany. He studied drawing in Mubich at the school of Simon Hollósy. At the same time as studying drawing and painting, he attended classes in Munich at the art history department of the Faculty of Philosophy: he listened to lectures by H. Cornelius, A. Furtwängler, and C. Voll. In 1907 he returned to Moscow and entered the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University. In 1913 he graduated from the art history department of this faculty, which was organized on the initiative of Professor N.I. Romanov in Moscow and students B.R. Wipper, K.N. Istomin, D.S. Nedovich, and V.A. Favorsky.

Having discovered for himself xylography in 1907, Favorsky became a virtuoso of a wood engraving technique that uses the end grain of the wood. He developed a special design theory, understanding the book as an integral aesthetic organism, «a reading instrument». As an illustrator Favorsky’s had a credo which was to convey the inner content of a book, and its worldview. V. Favorsky’s art is life-affirming, beautiful, harmonious, and truthful. Such is the master’s engraving David’s Mourning for Tamar (An illustration to the A. Globa’s tragedy Tamar. The second version)