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specialistpracticegeorgesmith · 5 years

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Personal Specialist Field: The History of Illustration [Task 1]

01.03.19

How long has illustration been practiced? Does it have a history and can we trace the development of illustration through the research of key individuals?

Throughout history, humans have used images which are narrative in order to tell stories to others without the aid of speech. The earliest recorded illustrations appeared in the cave paintings that were created in Lascaux, France, during ca.15,000 B.C. These images featured pictorial representations or logograms in succession, which detailed important events of the time. In ancient civilizations of Italy and Greece, art flourished to honour the gods, cultures, and humans themselves. Mainly, the paintings consisted of primarily of large animals, once native to the region. These were drawn and incised onto ceremonial vessels. Illustrative wall paintings and floor mosaics were created to decorate the homes of the powerful and wealthy.

In the middle Ages, narrative pictorials appeared in illuminated manuscripts. Christian belief in the sanctity of religious writings was the primary reason for the preservation and copying of books. Starting in the 14th century, artists of the Renaissance presented new literature, music, art, and publications that could be mass-produced and distributed due to the invention of a mechanical printing process by Johannes Gutenberg in 1452. With the start of the Industrial Revolution, in the mid-1700s, printing technology had improved rapidly and much more publications were distributed and seen by people everywhere. Illustration became more commonly encountered in daily life. The profession of illustration fully takes hold in the early 1800s. French and English caricaturists independently earned a living as full-time illustrators with sales of etched or engraved prints through small, gallery-like print shops and city street book stalls. This made illustration accessible and affordable. Books by Charles Dickens and other popular writers were illustrated throughout.

Below is an illustration by Luke Fildes for “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” by Charles Dickens

Under the influence of the first generation of successful American narrative illustrators in the late-1800s led by Howard Pyle, dedicated young artists like Elizabeth Shippen Green, N.C. Wyeth, Frank E. Schoonover,Jessie Willcox Smith, and many others saw that a career could be achieved, and a flood of talent entered the field. Publishers quickly realised that illustrations helped to sell magazine subscriptions and increase advertising revenue. Strong and consistent sales allowed more commissions of original art, and the business of illustration was finally fully established.

Influential Illustrators

Some of the most influential illustrators range from Maurice Sendak, who was born in Brooklyn in 1928. He is often considered the leading children’s book creator of the 20th century. Inspired by his father’s storytelling abilities, Sendak knew that he wanted to be an illustrator from an early age. His most famous illustrated work being “Where the Wild Things Are”. Best known for the “Peanuts” comic strip, Charles M. Schultz who, much like Sendak, pursued his passion from an early age by completing a correspondence cartoon course during high school. He created the “Peanuts” strip in 1950.

One of my personal favourites is a man named Hayao Miyazaki, who is one of the world’s leading anime (film) and manga artists. He has influenced numerous illustrators, filmmakers and animators throughout his 40-year career, even including “Toy Story” director John Lasseter. His combination of Japanese anime with American animation styles makes for exciting, detailed landscapes and much more. His whimsical 2001 film “Spirited Away” remains the highest grossing movie of all time in Japan and was the first anime film to win an American Academy Award. My personal favourite of his work would be “Ponyo”, shown below.

Quentin Blake was born in Kent in 1932. He began drawing at an early age and began publishing cartoons in satirical magazine “Punch” while he was 16 and still at school. Best known for his collaboration with children’s author Roald Dahl, Blake has illustrated over 300 books, including even 35 that he wrote himself. One last person I will talk about is Beatrix Potter, a keen observer of nature who drew inspiration from wildlife she encountered on childhood holidays to Scotland and the Lake District. She developed her talents by studying botanical illustration at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Her 1901 best-selling children’s story “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” was actually inspired by a letter she herself wrote to the children of her former governess and was initially self-published after being rejected by seven publishers. Her universe of likable animal characters that retained their true likeness has influenced generations of artists and authors, even including people like the aforementioned Maurice Sendak, Richard Adams, and George Orwell.

Bibliography:

Illustrationhistoryorg. 2019. Illustrationhistoryorg. [Online]. [1 March 2019].Available from: https://www.illustrationhistory.org/history

Bradshaw foundation. 2019. Bradshaw Foundation. [Online]. [1 March 2019].Available from: http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/lascaux/

Falmouthacuk. 2019. Falmouthacuk. [Online]. [1 March 2019]. Available from: https://flexible.falmouth.ac.uk/about/blog/view,5-most-influential-illustrators-of-all-time_192.htm

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worldfootprints · 5 years

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March is Women’s History Month. Celebrated in the UK, the USA, and Australia to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8th, this month highlights the contributions women have made to events in history and contemporary society. If you’re traveling to England during March, there are plenty of museums and monuments dedicated to amazing women. Here are some of the best you should check out.

Pankhurst Centre, Manchester

Emmeline, Sylvia, and Christabel Pankhurst were leading figures in the suffragette movement, which sought women’s right to vote in the early part of the 20th century. From 1898 to 1907, the Pankhursts lived at 62 Nelson Street, Manchester. The parlor in this house was the location of the suffragette movement’s first meeting and where the Women’s Social and Political Union was formed. It now houses a small museum dedicated to this iconic moment in women’s history, furnished in the same Edwardian style of the time as when the Pankhursts lived there. It currently serves as the headquarters of Manchester’s Women’s Aid and as a women’s center as well, continuing in the spirit of the original women’s movement. The museum is only open on Thursdays and the second and fourth Sundays of each month.

Emmeline Pankhurst plaque. Photo: CreativeCommons

Florence Nightingale Museum, London

Florence Nightingale, known around the world as ‘the Lady with the Lamp,’ revolutionized nursing, becoming the founder of the modern profession we know today. This museum takes you on the journey of her incredible life, from her childhood in Victorian England to her amazing career in the Crimean War, where she succeeded in bringing the mortality rate of patients down from 70% to 5%, and finally onto her later years as a staunch social and health reform campaigner. Highlights of the museum include: her beloved pet owl Athena, whom she rescued in Athens, hand-reared and subsequently took everywhere with her; her medicine chest, which she brought with her to the Crimea; and a rare Register of Nurses, detailing the women who worked under Nightingale in the military hospitals of Turkey and the Crimea. Located on Lambeth Palace Road in London, the museum is open daily.

Photo courtesy of WikiCommons – author Joy of Museums.

Bletchley Park

Used as the secret base for codebreaking during the Second World War, Bletchley Park is well known for its most famous resident, Alan Turing, whose work included improvements to the system that broke the code of the Enigma machine. However, three-quarters of the workforce at Bletchley Park was made up of women, and more is being done to focus on the work that they accomplished. There are many exhibitions, including: The Road to Bletchley: Codebreaking in World War I; huts recreating the codebreaking offices during World War II; and interactive exhibitions explaining codebreaking. Bletchley Park is in Milton Keynes and is open every day.

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Hill Top Farm and the Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead

Beatrix Potter is a true feminist icon. Financially independent at a time when it was unusual for a woman to be so, she made her money by writing and illustrating her series of extremely popular children’s books, including the famous The Tale of Peter Rabbit. However, she was not just a writer and artist. She was a keen conservationist and in the early years of the 20th century bought Hill Top Farm in the Lake District; over the next few years, she purchased a number of others to keep them as working farms. When she died, she gifted all her land and property to the National Trust; this land now forms a huge part of the Lake District. You can visit Hill Top Farm, which contains all of her favorite things – with items totaling over 1,400 – and has been left as though she was still living there. There’s also a stunning garden to putter around in with a vast array of flowers, vegetables, fruit, and herbs. Down the road is the Beatrix Potter Gallery, which displays much of her original artwork. Hill Top is open daily except for Fridays, although this can be subject to change. Keep an eye on the website for more details. The Beatrix Potter Gallery is open daily.

Exterior of the Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead. Photo courtesy of Sykes Collages.

The cottage at Hill Top Farm as once owned and lived in by Beatrix Potter. Courtesy of Phil Bartle

Jane Austen’s House Museum

Lauded as one of the greatest female writers of all time, Jane Austen changed the shape of women’s literary fiction. She unashamedly explored the role of women in Georgian society, looking at their social standing, marriage and financial security. She spent most of her formative years at this house in Chawton in Hampshire, where she wrote, edited and published all six of her major novels. Her story is told through many objects, including: her jewelry, first editions of her books, personal letters, and the writing table where she wrote her books. The museum is open from February to December. Check the website for more details.

History is full of amazing women who have forged paths and done great things. On a visit to one of these fabulous museums, you will see some of the great work these women have done and what inspired them.

Jane Austen House Museum. Photo is courtesy of WikiCommons

Celebrate Women’s History Month with a Visit to These English Museums March is Women’s History Month. Celebrated in the UK, the USA, and Australia to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8th, this month highlights the contributions women have made to events in history and contemporary society. 888 more words

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