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Archive for the ‘illustration’ Category

Monday, March 20th, 2023

Illustration: EInar Norelius’ Bland Tomtar Och Troll

A few weeks ago, we featured the work of John Bauer from the Swedish Christmas annual, Bland Tomtar Och Troll. After Bauer’s premature death in a shipwreck, Gustaf Tenggren took over the series. A few years later, Tenggren relocated to America and the job was passed on to Einar Norelius.

I first heard of Norelius on P-E Fronning’s blog, Martin Klasch. I went searching for books Norelius had illustrated. I found a batch of various vintages of Bland Tomtar Och Troll with an online bookseller in Sweden and had them shipped to me sight unseen. I wasn’t disappointed…

1929

1934

1944/49

Wouldn’t some of these designs work great as stop motion puppets or designs for CGI animation? If you have any information on Einar Norelius, please let us know about it in the comments below.

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

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

Posted in bland tomtar och troll, einar norelius, fairy tales, illustration | Comments Off on Illustration: EInar Norelius’ Bland Tomtar Och Troll

Thursday, March 16th, 2023

Illustration: N. C. Wyeth’s Legends of Charlemagne

N C Wyeth Today, we digitized a beautiful first edition of Bulfinch’s "Legends of Charlemagne" illustrated by N. C. Wyeth. No illustrator of the golden age had a wider influence on the world of art than Wyeth. His son, Andrew Wyeth became a reknowned fine artist, and many of his other children and grandchildren became artists and musicians as well.

Wyeth studied under illustrator Howard Pyle, and quickly made a name for himself. His first published art was a cover for the Saturday Evening Post, a plum job right off the bat. In his early days, he was known as a Western artist. He travelled West to soak up the landscape. The trip resulted in a portfolio of images of Indians that vividly capture the light and spirit of the Old West.

Wyeth is best known for his book illustrations though. In 1911, he painted 16 color plates for Scribner’s edition of Stevenson’s "Treasure Island". It remains the classic version of the book. Wyeth was incredibly prolific over the next decade or so, "Treasure Island" was followed by "Kidnapped", "The Black Arrow", "The Boy’s King Arthur" and many more. The book we are presenting today was published in 1924 by David McKay. It displays Wyeth at the top of his form. Even the endpapers are beautiful!

N. C. Wyeth Biography at the Brandywine River Museum

Great news! A new book on N. C. Wyeth is being released… Legendary Art of N.C. Wyeth by J. David Spurlock. It’s been quite a while since a good collection of this fabulous artist has been in print. Pick up a copy at Amazon.

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

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

Posted in fairy tales, fantasy art, illustration, wyeth | Comments Off on Illustration: N. C. Wyeth’s Legends of Charlemagne

Tuesday, March 14th, 2023

Illustration: Gustaf Tenggren’s Little Trapper

Gustaf Tenggren was born in Sweden in 1896. Throughout the 1920s, he illustrated children’s books and fairy tales in a richly detailed style similar to Arthur Rackham and Kay Nielsen. In 1936, Walt Disney brought Tenggren to Hollywood to work on Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. His designs for the Dwarfs’ cottage and the forest were directly incorporated into the film by the layout artists.

The experience of working at Disney changed Tenggren’s artistic outlook. He abandoned the European illustrator style for a simpler, more direct, stylized approach. He illustrated the most iconic Golden Books… The Poky Little Puppy, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, The Shy Little Kitten and The Tawny Scrawny Lion, and he continued to paint for Western Publishing until his death in the early sixties.

Tenggren’s Golden Books are exemplified by bold, clear compositions; a harmonious use of color and masterful rendering of a variety of textures. This book, The Little Trapper, is one of Tenggren’s least often seen titles. Published in 1950, several years before DIsney’s Davy Crockett popularized the coonskin cap, this book includes some disarmingly beautiful paintings. In particular, notice how Tenggren renders the fur. It’s a different technique every time.