The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky, was written in 1901 and first performed in 1902. The production is significant for its place in the development and popularization of Russian social realism, and my design aims to embrace that style by leaning into the realities of how harsh a life of poverty in Russia at the time could be.
This design was created in spring 2018 using watercolor paper baked in concentrated espresso to give the paper a weathered and vintage quality. The loose quality of the illustrations and the incomplete, bleeding quality of watercolor were intended to emphasize the threadbare nature of the characters' clothes. My research for these designs can be seen here.
Large influence on the designs also came from the following artists depicting Russian life around the turn of the 20th century:
- Abram Arkhipov
- Vladimir Makovsky
- Vasili Maksimov