Illustrated books from the second half of the XXth century – beginning of the XXIst century and the visualization of national traditions included in the UNESCO Representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Abstract

The paper is focused on the visual interpretations of the old-time customs: 1) Men’s group Colindat. Christmas-time ritual; 2) Traditional wall-carpet craftsmanship; 3) Mărţişor as cultural practice associated to the 1st of March. In the text there is provided data on both the body of traditions and the peculiarities of their depiction in book illustrations of outstanding aesthetical value. Seven two-part models were forged and described regarding the historic, cultural, stylistic, technical development of image production in the Republic of Moldova. Important data is offered on the illustrated books and on their illustrators. Although Soviet era is identified as a historical imperative featuring majority of the processes, the main focus is on the contemporary book production, more relevant to the study of the phenomena, as proven finally.