So the four Brothers took their sticks in their hands, bade their Father good-bye, and passed out of the town gate 

Curator: So, here we have "So the four Brothers took their sticks in their hands, bade their Father good-bye, and passed out of the town gate", a mixed-media work, incorporating drawing, ink and watercolor, attributed to Arthur Rackham. The artwork presents a narrative scene of four young men leaving a town, sticks in hand, dogs at their heels. Editor: It's instantly enchanting! The colors are so muted and gentle, like a half-remembered dream. And there's a real sense of adventure radiating from those figures, that little flurry of dogs running around their legs gives it such life. It reminds me of stories my grandfather used to read... Curator: I find the process of its creation particularly compelling. Consider the layering of ink to define the town gate's brickwork against the lighter washes of watercolor, which construct the receding street scene and its bustling inhabitants. What sort of labour, and social stories are contained within these processes of production? Editor: Hmm, when you put it that way, the labor is apparent. All of that brickwork must've taken hours. But what gets me is how the archway frames the scene like a stage. Are they heading for fame or ruin? And that single, lit window showing shadowy people. So evocative, isn’t it? Almost cinematic, even before cinema was a "thing". Curator: Certainly the artist uses visual techniques to invoke mystery. And yet I find the clear, unwavering line work a deliberate choice in this setting, reminding us that even in fantasy there's structure. This precise articulation is no doubt a response to debates concerning production between commercial work and more traditional artwork. Editor: True, I suppose you could say its tight renderings contrast nicely with a broader feeling of vulnerability...a kind of beautiful vulnerability... like they're stepping into something that both excites and scares them witless. Maybe it is like the leap from illustration as trade to illustration as something beyond a job...into art with a big 'A'. Curator: So in considering this artwork, with its range of material choices, we can see how illustrative imagery of Rackham and others grappled with questions around craft and commerce in the production of art. Editor: I guess so! Although for me the magic wins out. Those lads walking out that gate… what a life before them.