VASYA & MeDVED

Illustration based on The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Digital, 2019

About “Vasya & Medved”

The Bear and the Nightingale tells the story of a young noble girl named Vasilisa (Vasya) who is a descendant of the witch Baba Yaga. Growing up, Vasya spends most of her time running wild in the forests next to her home in northern Russia. One day she becomes lost in the woods that were always so familiar to her. It is still winter in this new part of the forest and she happens across a giant tree where a man dressed in tattered ragged clothing sleeps in the snow. Fearing that he will die there, Vasya attempts to rouse him. What she doesn’t realize is that she is about to free Medved, also known as The Bear, a one-eyed god of war, pestilence, chaos, and the undead.

This image captures the moment Medved wakes up. To make the setting believable, I referred to a book about Russian costume in the 1300’s when designing Vasya’s clothing. The trimming of her dress shines to demonstrate her aristocratic background in contrast to Medved’s ripped simple woolen clothes. His face is in shadow to visually indicate that he is unknown to Vasya and that this lack of familiarity is a danger to the young girl. His single eye glows through the shadows to show this malevolent stranger is awake — this bear is aware of the girl with magic in her veins and he’s ready to eat her.