{ Magical Illustrations - The Art of Arthur Rackham }



After all this time, I'm still on the fairy tale kick. I'm happy to report that I enjoy both Grimm and Once Upon a Time, plus this season of the BBC's Merlin is absolutely fantastic. I'd forgotten how much I loved that show. I also happened to watch a German comedy that spoofed Snow White, called 7 Zwerge ('seven dwarfs'). I found it hilarious in a Robin Hood Men in Tights sort of way.


Anyway, whenever I get to thinking about fairy tales, my mind automatically goes to Arthur Rackham, the Victorian illustrator behind many beautiful editions of classic tales, including the Complete Brothers Grimm, Alice in Wonderland, the opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung, and a series of fairy tale books written by CS Evans. 

I first discovered Arthur Rackham in the way that all things seem to be discovered nowadays--poking around the internet. Since then I've collected an illustration treasury, as well as a few illustrated books. I've since discovered that The Everyman's Library has reprinted the CS Evans books and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on those. The silhouette work in Sleeping Beauty looks amazing. 

Arthur Rackham is known by artists for his use of neutral, earthy color palettes, as well as his gritty realism. Giullermo Del Toro has said that Rackham's work was an inspiration behind some of the designs for his movies, Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy

What I love about his illustrations is the attention to detail. Each image is fully formed, with many of the color illustrations having complete backgrounds that create believable worlds for otherwise unbelievable stories. His illustrations are dark and mysterious and sometimes downright grotesque. They're epic and small in scale, relatable and wondrous, just the tales they illustrate.





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