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Rackham's Fairies, Elves and Goblins: More than 80 Full-Color Illustrations
Through his extraordinarily drawn interpretations of favorite fairy tales and fantastic literature, Arthur Rackham (1867�1939) remains an enduring legend of the Victorian era's Golden Age of Illustration. Rackham took the printing developments of the early twentieth century further than any other artist of his time, masterfully manipulating the latest color processes. At once a technical and artistic genius, Rackham had few equals when it came to the use of muted color, ambience, and expressive lines.
This magnificent collection displays more than eighty of Arthur Rackham's most beguiling illustrations. These phantasmagoric renderings spring from such literary legends as Rip Van Winkle, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Aesop's Fables, Puck of Pook's Hill, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and A Wonder Book. From the loveliest fairy to the most grotesque goblin, Rackham's art captures the wonder, innocence, and adventure that forever stir the human heart.
This magnificent collection displays more than eighty of Arthur Rackham's most beguiling illustrations. These phantasmagoric renderings spring from such literary legends as Rip Van Winkle, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Aesop's Fables, Puck of Pook's Hill, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and A Wonder Book. From the loveliest fairy to the most grotesque goblin, Rackham's art captures the wonder, innocence, and adventure that forever stir the human heart.
96 pages, Paperback
First published December 26, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 23, 2018
《They were ruled by an old squaw who hung up the new moons in the skies and cut up the old ones into stars.》
Stunning. Such a charming book ✨
May 4, 2017
A gorgeous book of one of my favorite artist’s fantasy illustrations, a collection of works from 1905 to 1922, with the list of plates (each plate getting their own full page) including information on the book the plate was from, the author, publisher, and date. Though these were illustrations intended for children’s books during the Golden Age of Illustration (the 1880s-1920s), I like many adults greatly admire the skill, artistry, and creativity behind them.
Before the plates there is a two-page introduction, with editor and compiler Jeff A. Menges noting Rackham’s “penchant and flair for depicting delicately drawn fairies...grotesque goblins…and mischievous elves…an astonishing juxtaposition of realistic human figures with hordes of fairies and elves.” Menges noted that the “life and personality that he imparted to his characterizations was an artistic achievement matched by few, if any, of his contemporaries,” something I agree upon looking through the plates. This level of detail and characterization wasn’t limited to the fantastic subjects beloved by Rackham, but also extended to the landscape and often especially the trees in a given plate, as “when his texts gave him the slightest inclination as to the demeanor of a forest, Rackham would have a creative field day.” I agree with the editor that Rackham’s “creatures speak with a unique visual voice, standing out from the other illustrations of the period and making his work markedly distinct and easily identifiable.”
The plates are chosen from a variety of works, including Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, Puck of Pook’s Hill by Rudyard Kipling, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, as well as Peter Pan, several works of Shakespeare, and a number of English fairy tales.
It’s really hard to pick favorite and I am new to reviewing art in any way, but I will nevertheless gush about a few of the plates. Plate 15, titled “Why, Mary Ann, what are you doing here?” from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland makes the rabbit character, though sporting a realistic head, a bit alien almost, an effect amplified by the cloudless, off-color sky and weird trees, especially one titled at an odd angle, almost threateningly towards the girl in the picture, the tree a character of itself, bereft of leaves and shorn of full limbs. Plate 17, from The Ingoldsby Legends, features deeply odd underwater creatures, some looking like a mixture of faerie and undead fish, each with rather expressive (and often unfriendly and disapproving) faces, seemingly all ganging up on some unfortunate who does not belong there. Plate 21 from A Midsummer-Night’s Dream features a gathering of tiny faeries dancing in a circle but my eye didn’t immediately see them as the grotesque trees and twisted woodscape around them were every bit as fantastical; only after taking in the dancing faerie does one realize that the trees are indeed even more fantastic than they first appeared with a hidden figure. Plate 28 from Tales from Shakespeare, titled “When Caliban was lazy and neglected his work, Ariel would come silly and pinch him,” showed a unique version of Caliban, who looks part reptilian almost, part leonine, and definitely a lot of something else, though again with a nicely expressive face. Plate 32 features a line of faeries dancing behind an older human gentlemen (an “Old Mr. Salford”), the man apparently unaware as bat-winged goblin creatures and two hauntingly beautiful faerie girls, each with teasing, laughing expressions, fly through the air behind him. Plate 57, “The Leviathan” from Arthur Rackham’s Book of Pictures, features a creature that looks part western dragon, part eastern dragon, and all joy as it seems to relish splashing through the waves and opening a mouth full of intricately imagined and depicted teeth in a draconian grin. Plate 74, from Comus, titled “By all the Nymphs that nightly dance…Upon thy streams with wily glance,” really nails down the wily glance, as the nymphs, walking over or just above the water, are both gorgeous women but also have decidedly knowing expressions, promising a bad end to the viewer that they cannot wait to bring about. Even one nymph, her mouth hidden by her arm, promises with her gaze that something bad is coming and she will take a bit of joy in what looks maybe a desire for vengeance. Just as in plate 21, the viewer is rewarded by continued study of the illustration as there are hidden faerie figures present.
Excellent book, glad I purchased it.
Before the plates there is a two-page introduction, with editor and compiler Jeff A. Menges noting Rackham’s “penchant and flair for depicting delicately drawn fairies...grotesque goblins…and mischievous elves…an astonishing juxtaposition of realistic human figures with hordes of fairies and elves.” Menges noted that the “life and personality that he imparted to his characterizations was an artistic achievement matched by few, if any, of his contemporaries,” something I agree upon looking through the plates. This level of detail and characterization wasn’t limited to the fantastic subjects beloved by Rackham, but also extended to the landscape and often especially the trees in a given plate, as “when his texts gave him the slightest inclination as to the demeanor of a forest, Rackham would have a creative field day.” I agree with the editor that Rackham’s “creatures speak with a unique visual voice, standing out from the other illustrations of the period and making his work markedly distinct and easily identifiable.”
The plates are chosen from a variety of works, including Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, Puck of Pook’s Hill by Rudyard Kipling, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, as well as Peter Pan, several works of Shakespeare, and a number of English fairy tales.
It’s really hard to pick favorite and I am new to reviewing art in any way, but I will nevertheless gush about a few of the plates. Plate 15, titled “Why, Mary Ann, what are you doing here?” from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland makes the rabbit character, though sporting a realistic head, a bit alien almost, an effect amplified by the cloudless, off-color sky and weird trees, especially one titled at an odd angle, almost threateningly towards the girl in the picture, the tree a character of itself, bereft of leaves and shorn of full limbs. Plate 17, from The Ingoldsby Legends, features deeply odd underwater creatures, some looking like a mixture of faerie and undead fish, each with rather expressive (and often unfriendly and disapproving) faces, seemingly all ganging up on some unfortunate who does not belong there. Plate 21 from A Midsummer-Night’s Dream features a gathering of tiny faeries dancing in a circle but my eye didn’t immediately see them as the grotesque trees and twisted woodscape around them were every bit as fantastical; only after taking in the dancing faerie does one realize that the trees are indeed even more fantastic than they first appeared with a hidden figure. Plate 28 from Tales from Shakespeare, titled “When Caliban was lazy and neglected his work, Ariel would come silly and pinch him,” showed a unique version of Caliban, who looks part reptilian almost, part leonine, and definitely a lot of something else, though again with a nicely expressive face. Plate 32 features a line of faeries dancing behind an older human gentlemen (an “Old Mr. Salford”), the man apparently unaware as bat-winged goblin creatures and two hauntingly beautiful faerie girls, each with teasing, laughing expressions, fly through the air behind him. Plate 57, “The Leviathan” from Arthur Rackham’s Book of Pictures, features a creature that looks part western dragon, part eastern dragon, and all joy as it seems to relish splashing through the waves and opening a mouth full of intricately imagined and depicted teeth in a draconian grin. Plate 74, from Comus, titled “By all the Nymphs that nightly dance…Upon thy streams with wily glance,” really nails down the wily glance, as the nymphs, walking over or just above the water, are both gorgeous women but also have decidedly knowing expressions, promising a bad end to the viewer that they cannot wait to bring about. Even one nymph, her mouth hidden by her arm, promises with her gaze that something bad is coming and she will take a bit of joy in what looks maybe a desire for vengeance. Just as in plate 21, the viewer is rewarded by continued study of the illustration as there are hidden faerie figures present.
Excellent book, glad I purchased it.
September 19, 2023
ترم قبل برای یکی از درس ها درمورد آرتور راکهام کنفرانس دادم. کاملا با ذوق تمام نشستم کارهاش رو دونه دونه نگاه کردم و پاورپوینت درست کردم این کتاب رو هم بین سرچ هام برای تصویرسازی هاش پیدا کردم. راکهام برای دوره ایه که بهش میگن دوره طلایی تصویرسازی در انگلیس و خودش جزو مهم ترین تصویرسازهای این دوره ست. کتابها و کارهاش تا سالیان چاپ میشدن و مورد تحسین بودن. بیشترین کارش تو زمینه تصویرسازی افسانه های پریان بوده.
چیزی که خیلییی درمورد کار های راکهام دوست دارم اینه که شیطنت موجودات افسانه ای مثل الف و پری اینا رو کاملا میشه تو تصویرسازی هاش دید.تو افسانه های عامیانه اروپایی این موجودات کوچولو اکثرا شیطنت میکنن و دردسر سازن و راکهام خیلی قشنگ این رو به تصویر کشیده.
درمورد درخت هاش تو کارهایی که کشیده میتونم ساعت ها حرف بزنم. فکر کنم یه جا خوندم درخت هایی که کشیده الهام بخش شخصیت فائون(؟) فیلم هزارتوی پن بوده.
پالت رنگیش چیزیش نیست که من دوست داشته باشم(اونم بخاطر امکانات محدود چاپ اون دوره بوده انتخاب این رنگ ها) ولی شخصیت پردازی، قدرت طراحی و فضاسازی چیزاییه که این هنرمند رو برام خیلی خاص میکنه و کارهاش رو دوست دارم به همین دلیل.
چیزی که خیلییی درمورد کار های راکهام دوست دارم اینه که شیطنت موجودات افسانه ای مثل الف و پری اینا رو کاملا میشه تو تصویرسازی هاش دید.تو افسانه های عامیانه اروپایی این موجودات کوچولو اکثرا شیطنت میکنن و دردسر سازن و راکهام خیلی قشنگ این رو به تصویر کشیده.
درمورد درخت هاش تو کارهایی که کشیده میتونم ساعت ها حرف بزنم. فکر کنم یه جا خوندم درخت هایی که کشیده الهام بخش شخصیت فائون(؟) فیلم هزارتوی پن بوده.
پالت رنگیش چیزیش نیست که من دوست داشته باشم(اونم بخاطر امکانات محدود چاپ اون دوره بوده انتخاب این رنگ ها) ولی شخصیت پردازی، قدرت طراحی و فضاسازی چیزاییه که این هنرمند رو برام خیلی خاص میکنه و کارهاش رو دوست دارم به همین دلیل.
March 23, 2014
A delightful collection of wonders. They are not all from British folklore, though many are. Several, for instance, are from Comus or Greek legends. But they all have his charm.
June 22, 2015
Lovely art. Could have done with story, but actually worked anyway.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews