Sofia Popiordanova - The Snow Princess

The fairy tales of the writer Fani Peycheva are from the 1980s. With a poetic tone, written in rich, somewhat archaic language, they are reminiscent of folk tales. The Snow Princess is the mistress of winter and the guardian of nature. The plots, as in most fairy tales, thematize the struggle between good and evil, affirming traditional moral values. The style of the artist, Sofia Popiordanova, is based on the good examples of Bulgarian children’s illustration from the second half of the 20th century. Stripped of unnecessary detail, these sensitive illustrations have a melancholic impact. The faces of the characters are quiet and engrossed; the compositions are very effective. The tonalities throughout the book are subdued and complex. The scenes are viewed slightly from above and turn the space in a way that makes it schematic and subjective. Sofia Popiordanova’s illustrations give the reader the opportunity to move from the real world into the literary one.