Friday 30 October 2015

"The Iliad And The Odyssey" Adapted From The Homer Classics By Jane Werner Watson, Pictures By Alice And Martin Provensen (Published by Paul Hamlyn, London 1965) Part 3



A few more from the beautiful and dynamic pictures by the famous husband and wife illustrating team - Alice and Martin Provensen. Strongly influenced by the Ancient Greek pottery imagery of course but they also remind me traditional Japanese prints with the flatness of the figures and the graphic representation of trees and animals.




Wednesday 28 October 2015

"The Iliad And The Odyssey" Adapted From The Homer Classics By Jane Werner Watson, Pictures By Alice And Martin Provensen (Published by Paul Hamlyn, London 1965) Part 2



Powerful pictures by Alice and Martin Provensen illustrating Homer's epic stories full of action, drama and violence. The famous American couple worked together since the 1940's producing dozens of children's books. I featured another one of their books earlier this year - the link here
There is also a short biography on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_and_Martin_Provensen



Friday 23 October 2015

"The World Of M.C. Escher" With Texts By M.C. Escher and J.L. Locher (published by Harry N. Abrams Inc., Publishers, New York 1971) Part 3



 Maurits Cornelis Escher (Netherlands, 1898-1972) is one of the best known graphic artists of the 20th century - most people would be familiar with works such as "Relativity" (1953) and "Waterfall" (1961). I particularly like his pattern works and the way one object gradually changes - methodically and with precision - into another. The artist's official website is: http://www.mcescher.com/  It's got an extensive collection of his works and you could even purchase some of the prints (modern copies I imagine - not the originals). I was annoyed to find out that there was an exhibition of Escher's work in Edinburgh but it finished last month and I missed it! It's now moved to Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. For further biography and links this is the wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._C._Escher


Wednesday 21 October 2015

Saturday 17 October 2015

"Russo-Turkish War" Cover Illustration/Design by John Leighton (published by William Mackenzie, Glasgow, Edinburgh, London - date unknown)



I loved the detailed work on this cover as soon as I saw it. It must be over a hundred years old - late 19th, possibly early 20th century. John Leighton (1822-1912) was indeed a renowned artist for his book illustrations and covers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Leighton_(artist)

Friday 16 October 2015

"What Are The Seven Wonders Of The World?" Peter D' Epiro & Mary Desmond Pinkowish, Illustrations by Richard Beards (The Folio Society, London 2005), Part 3

The highly idiosyncratic and intriguing work of British illustrator Richard Beards. Not much information about the artist on the web but there are dozens of examples of his work on his website: http://www.richardbeards.com/engine/foliosite.html  He has illustrated some more titles for The Folio Society books but he worked in France for many years so his work is not very easy to find.