Snowdrop and Other Tales by the Brothers Grimm 1920

This is an illustration by Arthur Rackham, probably made with pen and ink, for a book of fairy tales. Look at the quality of the lines! They are wiry and descriptive, but the drawing remains sparse, economical. Rackham is letting the page breathe. The figure stands confidently on a cloud, a sprig in his hand. His cloak billows behind him. What I love is the way the ink line varies in thickness and intensity; look closely and you can see the artist change the pressure, maybe even pausing to reload the pen. This gives the whole scene a magical, vibrating quality. Rackham’s illustrations influenced so many artists, from Disney animators to illustrators like Maurice Sendak. Fairy tales linger in the mind, and Rackham shows how something dark and strange can be evoked with just a few simple marks.