Thursday 31 March 2011

Garth Williams

Kittelsen's paintings remind me of Garth Williams (1912-1996)







Those fairies, elves or what they are remind me of Richard Doyle...


Theodor Kittelsen

One has to mention Norway as well, and of course it is Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914)





This one could have been made by Tove Jansson :-D

No-one made trolls like Kittelsen...



I'm going to post here two other pictures:

Näcken by Ernst Josephson. He made sev eral versions of him, I like this one best.


 and the other King Valamon the Polarbear by Hilde Kramer, who mentions Kittelsen as one of her inspirations. I see more Kay Nielsen...

Kay Nielsen

The Danish gift to early 20th century fairytale illustrations. (1886–1957)

Of course I have to speak about him too. I learned about him at the same time as I learned about Edmund Dulac, from the Golden Age of Illustrators book.
To me he reminds very much of Rudolf Koivu and John Bauer.





This is one of my favorites... I like the ornamental frame, the white skin of Sheheradzade and the dark cloak and depressed posture of the Sultan... and the sky above it all is... mmm...



This one reminds me of a couple of Finnish Kalevala paintings:
 Väinö Hämäläinen: The Elk Chase (1903)
 Akseli Gallen Kallela: Joukahainen's revenge (1897)
Akseli Gallen Kallela: Kullervo departs for war (1901)

John Bauer

1882-1918

As Scandinavian, the Golden Age of illustration wouldn't be dealt with without mentioning John Bauer. He was drowned in a boat accident, but his legacy lives strong up here in North. He's well worth mentioning and as worthy to be emulated as Rackham and Dulac :-)










The Nordic spruce forests indeed are like a heavy, dark walls...


 John Bauer at artpassions
John Bauer at Illustrators

Harry Clarke

Harry Clarke (March 17, 1889–1931) was an Irish stained glass artist and book illustrator.
Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement.





Ivan Bilibin

Russian Illustrator: Ivan Bilibin and Folklore 
Ivan Bilibin gallery







Edmund Dulac

Edmund Dulac (1882.1953) was the other fairytale illustrator of the Golden Age. (The other one being Arthur Rackham. There are no others like these two.)



The beauty of his lines leaves me speechless, and the soft colors, light and shadows, experimenting with the art traditions of the fairytale culture... like the yellow sky of Princess Badoura... and the details, again. The whole picture is filled with details, background is decorated with rich ornaments, or simple texture or color...

His illustration makes me sated with bliss...