Twin sistersĀ Anna and Elena Balbusso (known as Anna + Elena = Balbusso Twins) are celebrated illustrators, with more than 40 (!) illustrated books under their belts. Those include children picture books, classic novels, and fiction of great classical authors such as G. Chaucer, W. Shakespeare, A. Pushkin, G. De Maupassant and famous contemporary authors such as Margaret Atwood, illustrating the multi-award-winning novel The Handmaid’s Tale.
Their work has also been published in esteemed magazines and newspapers that include The New Yorker magazine, The New York Times Sunday, and Le Monde. With so much going on for them, they’ve been able to transform their passion into a full-time job.
“We work together on all projects, even when we divide the tasks,” the sisters shared in an interview with CreativeFluff Magazine. “There are many phases of a project that they can be easily divided between us, overall we decide together which is the best way to work and we agree on the final result.”
Working together, their artistic style has developed gradually. “It is not difficult for us to work together because it is a natural thing as drinking a glass of water!” they admit. “There is no competition between us. It would not be possible to work together if one dominates the other. There is a lot of joy to share the credit. We share the credit and successes but also difficulties and fatigue.”
“Every project is different,” they add, saying “we do not work in series, our sources of inspirations change, there is not a specific art period but art in general, from Ancient Rome mural painting (frescoes at Pompeii), Italian Renaissance, Romanticism (prelude of modern art) Modern Art (symbolism, surrealism, Russian constructivism, Italian Futurism) and Contemporary Art. In all our work there is a clear reference to artists and paintings.”
Take a look at some of their collaborative work in the gallery below:
