Alongside his searches in the field of contemporary architecture, in the late 1920s — early 1930s Iakov Chernikhov produced The Painterly Architecture series consisting of Architectural Fairytales, Architectural Romantics, Old Cities, Architecture of Wooden Buildings, and Mills. His fantasy goes into deepest formations of architectural creativity of forgotten and semi-forgotten civilizations and revives not just architecture of bygone epochs but as if possible fantasies of master-builders whose names will remain unknown.


"We don't know and will never know what ancient architects dreamed about, which worlds and compositions created their consciousness. It is impossible to imagine that in all times architects' ideas complied with established canons. Probably there have always been architects — no matter how they were called and in what conditions they worked — who dreamed and fantasized about things they were unable to realize."


"I have chosen the subject of architectural fairytales because I found it necessary to make real the effect of 'unrestrained fantasy' and see what would come out of it. I wanted to see and get convinced by the facts, effects of visualization in 'uncurbed and unlimited fantasy' images. That persistent desire has conquered my mind since I was sure that the human brain would never create absurd, no matter how 'fantastic' architect's product could be. In my 'wishes' I admitted even more — complete unreality, world of utopias, illusions, and ephemeral perceptions. I was in search for architecture of all times, epochs, and peoples. I dipped into inmost inventions and fantasies. I found unseen treasures of perceptions and moved myself and spectators to the world of unseen dramatic experience. At the same time I heard from people not familiar with my new experiments that my works were pure fantasy that had nothing to do with reality. Many people suggested that I should stop my 'ungrounded' search, no matter how beautiful it was, and get involved in the 'real world designing', which everyone works on."


"In spite of the fact that overage architecture can be employed neither from the constructive nor from any other point of view, it is still the most interesting stage in the architectural landscape. Return to bygone days through imaging and graphic compositions is interrelated with our demand for pictorial processes of architectural connotation in contrast with the modern mechanized art of construction. I analyzed everything — from most primitive architectural buildings of puddle clay, cane, wood, stone, etc., all the way through complex stylish structures — to understands how "the space is arranged" and how it is "ornamentally rendered".