The giant Galligantua and the wicked old magician transform the duke’s daughter into a white hind 1927

Arthur Rackham made this illustration using ink and watercolor, likely for a book illustration. The linear quality of the ink drawing, with its delicate cross-hatching, provides the structure. Rackham then applied watercolor washes for tone and atmosphere. What’s striking is the material contrast depicted: the rough fur of the giant’s costume, rendered with short, bristly strokes, sets against the smooth skin of the transformed Duke’s daughter. Even the magician’s robe, though ornate, appears flimsy compared to the giant’s imposing presence. Rackham’s decision to use traditional materials and techniques is interesting. He evokes a sense of old-world craft and storytelling, a time when illustration served to illuminate and elaborate narratives. Rackham’s image-making is infused with the kind of labor that he seems to represent: patient, meticulous, and deeply embedded in the act of bringing a story to life through material transformation. Rackham asks us to see illustration as a skilled and thoughtful practice, not just a commercial enterprise.