Wunderhorn

This boy is having entirely too much fun with his magical horn.

after Moritz von Schwind — Des Knaben Wunderhorn — 1879

A Terrible Day in 1872

From a sketch by E.Y. Breck

'On Christmas Eve, 1872, a dreadful derailment took place at Prospect Station, Pennsylvania. Twenty-five passengers were killed when coaches fell from the bridge into a frozen creek bed, where they were set afire from overturned stoves. The derailment was caused by a broken wheel.'

Bloggy Blog Blog

This image is totally out of season, totally unrelated to anything—who cares? Right? Bloggy blog blog. Images, images, we're all hungry for images.

Sorry, I'm a little hyper. We're moving home and studio over the next couple of days, and then I pick up my new super-duper, top of the line, dee-luxe, 800 hundred horsepower, slick-trick magic machine. Yes, it's a Mac and I'm proud to say it.

Good golly, why am I so hyper. I moved a truck-load of furniture today and I'm dead tired. But change is exciting and I'm almost done with my 3 years in the making deadlines for 3 separate clients! And then what . . . I dunno.

Okay, this image is slightly related to something relevant. This is, of course, from a Mid-Summer Night's Dream, and we saw a terrific performance of same while we were in London! You just can't go to London and not do something Shakespeare related.

From an old print, don't know the artist, date or anything else. 
But look close at the elegant engraving lines— 
somewhat like paper currency.

Psyché et l'Amour

High drama from the Victorian Age . . .

Robaudi — Psyche and Cupid — circa 1885

Tragedy of a Nest

Wow, such dynamic energy for an engraving . . .

engraving by Elbridge Kingsley — A Tragedy of a Nest

late 19th century

Drama! Action! Adventure!

Speaking of historical reconstructive art — long before Roy Krenkel, long before Hal Foster, long before Donn Crane, long before so many others, there was an illustrator who was a master of drama, action, adventure!

Hermann Vogel, a German illustrator of the 1800s created beautifully detailed fairy tale renderings as well as historically accurate images of battles and campaigns of long ago, such as this amazing view of a pillaging of Rome.

Hermann Vogel — Pillage of Rome

And a detail scan to show the intricate engraving line work:

Hermann Vogel — Pillage of Rome — detail

Distill the Essence

The old engravings are a great resource for students and professionals to examine and study composition, human anatomy, architectural details and fabric drapery folds. Usually engraved after paintings, these monochromatic works distill the essence of those studies.

after Alex Cabanel — Portia and the Caskets

after Alex Cabanel — The Sulamite

Seasonal Attempt

This engraving by Prud'hon was to illustrate the narrative poem Phrosine et Mélidore, by Gentil-Bernard, later adapted into an opera. Without going into the rest of it, this scene is where the lovers are united after she nearly drowned at sea trying to swim to his rendezvous beacon. Yada yada.

Looks a lot like a vampire, no? Yes? My lowbrow attempt at another seasonal graphic. And oh, my adoration of Prud'hon's talent.

Pierre-Paul Prud'hon — Phrosine et Mélidore

The Man Who Lived in the World of Dreams

Dante Alighieri—a man whose trek through heaven and hell has resonated through the centuries. If he hadn't truly lived, he would have had to be a protagonist of legend, like Faust.

Below, a beautiful portrait engraving of Dante, from a 19th century magazine.

Dante's life and visions were recounted for children in the wonderful early 20th century My Book House series, using the versatile Donn P. Crane as the illustrator, who has 'translated' the classic visuals of Gustave Doré.

Below, the opening page of the narrative, to give you the flavor of the text. It goes on recounting Dante's visions, but I'm just showing Crane's lovely drawings.