Archive for the ‘fairy tales’ Category

Thursday, June 29th, 2023

Illustration: Three Early Tenggren Books

Gustaf Tenggren

TenggrenTenggrenToday, we digitized the illustrations from three more early books by Gustaf Tenggren. Tenggren was a key concept artist on Snow White and Pinocchio, and it’s clear that the Disney artists looked to his work for inspiration in establishing the Disney feature style.

As we scan more books, we are able to find interesting parallels. For instance, it’s interesting to compare Tenggren’s approach to Hawthorne’s “Tanglewood Tales” to Edmund Dulac’s highly stylized version.

Tenggren and Dulac

And a similar comparison between Tenggren’s approach to a battle scene and the way Kay Nielsen handled the same subject in East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Tenggren and Nielsen

We can also compare Tenggren’s early “Juan And Juanita” to his treatment of an almost identical subject in a totally different style in the Golden Book, “The Little Trapper”.

Tenggren comparison

We can also see similarities to Tenggren’s contemporary book, “Small Fry And The Winged Horse”.

Tanglewood and Small Fry

As our database fills out, more and more interesting comparisons and relationships like this will become apparent. That’s one of the most exciting things about the collection of Animation Resources. The information has always existed, but gathering it all together in one place, and making it searchable will add a level of understanding that has never been possible before. Stay tuned. It will get even better!

Here then, are three more books by the great artist, Gustaf Tenggren…

Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren

Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren

Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Tenggren

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

IllustrationIllustration

This posting is part of a series of articles comprising an online exhibit spotlighting Illustration.

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Tuesday, June 20th, 2023

Illustration: Dulac’s Hans Christian Andersen

Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales

The invention of chromolithography at the end of the 19th century opened up a new world for book illustrators. It was no longer necessary for illustrators to limit the number of colors and focus on high contrast line work. The printing press was now capable of reproducing oil paintings and watercolors with all of the richness of the original artwork. This resulted in an explosion of illustrated books around the turn of the century, and made superstars of the artists who created them.

Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales

One of the most striking aspects of vintage book illustrations is the use of color. In our memory, our impression of these beautiful images is made up of rich and vibrant hues, but if we analyze the way color is actually being used, we realize that the color harmonies are very subtle, with small brilliant accents used to direct the eye, and careful attention to the rendering of form, texture and lighting effects.

Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales

Art is all about beautiful contrasts, and so is the use of color… warm colors against cool colors, light ones against dark ones, large areas of color against small ones… Edmund Dulac was a master at juggling these contrasts to create a pleasing color scheme from a muted palette. Some of the pictures in today’s post are almost monochromatic, with a variety of shades and shapes defining the image. Others have a variety of hues all around the same value. Dulac is constantly varying the way he handles the lighting and color to convey the feeling of the story.

Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales

Collecting golden age illustrated children’s books can be a difficult and frustrating process. It’s hard to know just how many color plates a book should have. First editions might have had thirty or more color plates; but with each subsequent reprinting, the number might have been reduced to twenty, twelve, eight or four. Modern reissues might contain all of the plates, but the color balance and detail in the reproduction is usually nothing like the original. First editions are always the best, but they can be very costly, selling for as much as a thousand dollars or more for a volume in good condition. For the past twenty years, I’ve been collecting these books… on a budget. I look for damaged bindings or torn text pages that will reduce the value. As long as the illustrations are all present and in good condition, I don’t care how beat up the rest of the book is.

Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales

For a long time, I’ve been wanting to get ahold of an original printing of Edmund Dulac’s most famous book, Andersen’s Fairy Tales. However, the cost of first editions with all 28 plates was prohibitive. The other day I was searching through abebooks.com and with some clever search terms, I discovered that there was a German printing of Andersen’s Fairy Tales that contained all of the plates I was looking for. Since it was in German, the price was a fraction of what an English or American first edition would cost. Needless to say, I didn’t hesitate! Here are the scans…

Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales
Dulac Andersen Fairy Tales

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

IllustrationIllustration

This posting is part of a series of articles comprising an online exhibit spotlighting Illustration.

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Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

Illustration: Gustaf Tenggren’s Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Tenggren

TenggrenTenggrenThis is a real treat… an extremely rare 1923 edition of Grimm’s Fairy Tales illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren.

When I first began my work sharing the stories of the great artists of the past with you, there was very little information on Tenggren online other than a few of his concept pieces for Disney film. I’m happy to have had a part in changing that. Tenggren is one of the most influential and creative illustrators of the 20th century. No other artist reinvented himself the way Tenggren did.

This book is one of the peaks of his early classical illustration career. It’s extremely rare, having never been published in the United States. I’m happy to be able to bring it to you.

Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren
Tenggren

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

IllustrationIllustration

This posting is part of a series of articles comprising an online exhibit spotlighting Illustration.

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