The Dulwich Picture Gallery in London will open in November 2007 a new exhibition, dedicated to an important chapter in the history of illustrated books, at the end of the 19th century, focusing on the importance and role of the most important artists of the genre.
 | In 1898, when Aubrey Beardsley passed away, a new chapter began in the world of illustrated books, as the tradition, techniques and themes had gone through major changes. The previous style marked by images of scandal and deviance was cast aside in favour of a manner that evoked both delight and romance. Whimsical and with a touch of pastel, the new type of illustrations built a world characterised by innocence, exoticism and child-like vision, present in the pages of fables, classical tales, children's stories, such as The Arabian Nights and the stories of Andersen. This volumes were no longer cheap and ugly, but beautifully ornamented and printed books, with great care to the details of the illustrations, in great colours, which made them both an artwork and a symbol of a new age. |
This change in the taste of the public also brought with it a new generation of illustrators, many of them young artists, who didn't hesitate to borrow from the ideals of the past, mainly from the rococo, the detailed and rich decorative Oriental art, the Near East and the fairy, surreal worlds of the Victorian artists. The best of this new generations were artists such as Edmund Dulac and Kay Nielson, whose inventive styles and manner became legendary examples for the following imitators. Other new illustrators were Jessie King, Annie French, Sidney Sime, Laurence Housman, Charles Ricketts, in whole an eclectic gathering from all over, very popular then, sadly forgotten today, even if the volumes that they worked upon are considered to be works of art, of great beauty and tremendous financial value.
The Dulwich Picture Gallery will host this show of British fantasy illustration, eagerly awaited by fans, as it will be the first exhibition of this kind in Britain and the first in the world in the last 20 years or so, as the last was in New York, in 1979. According to organisers, around 100 works have already been selected, most of them coming from British museums, while others are on loan from prestigious private collections.
Photo : dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
2007-09-12
