The Treasure of Carcassonne 1928

Dorothy Lathrop's image, "The Treasure of Carcassonne," uses pen and ink to create a captivating storybook illustration. I imagine Lathrop hunched over her drawing board, carefully plotting each tiny stroke to form the towering castle walls and the rolling hills leading up to it. The air is thick with the scent of ink and the quiet scratch of her pen against the paper. Look at the way the artist has stippled the sky, creating a sense of depth and texture. It reminds me of the pointillist paintings of Seurat, where tiny dots come together to form a cohesive image. But here, instead of color, Lathrop uses the density of her marks to create light and shadow. You can almost feel the weight of the stone in the castle walls, and the soft, rounded forms of the trees. I wonder, what is the treasure? For Lathrop, the real treasure must have been the joy of bringing this enchanting world to life on paper.