Arthur Rackham's World: An Exercise in Imagination
Arthur Rackham, 1867-1939, was perhaps best known for his illustrations of gnomes, fairies, witches, gnarled trees and related motifs; illustrations which show a wide range of human emotions and characteristics; all which may reflect our vulnerabilities and limitations as humans in one guise or another. His unique linear style may have been encouraged by late nineteenth century technologic advances in the printing process. Like many of the artists working at the turn of the century, Rackham utilised developments which took place in the printing process. Rackham's life spanned the change from wood-graving to the advent of the photomechanical process. Arthur Rackham eventually become what, today, would be known as a good 'lineman' and the majority of his plates, good or bad, can easily be considered coloured line drawings rather than painted illustrations.
Although his style is virtually inseparable from the new colour process which he exploited, he was obviously more concerned about the relationship between tone and line, than hue and composition. This suggests that the illustrator first conceived his ideas in terms of drawing, then decided on the colour. His preference for line may very well explain why he so often favoured creating gnarled trees, roots, and wrinkled faces, all of which allowed him to develop the object in terms of a line drawing. The greatest influence on the artist which may have encouraged him to develop his linear style, was a technological development. In 1867, an illustrator would have submitted his drawings to a wood-engraver who, in turn, would have glued them to a boxwood block and then turn cut them down with his burin therefore often putting the artist's ideas at the mercy of the engraver. There is record of a well-known artist complaining, in the early 1890s, that when he submitted his drawings for publication, the wood engraver dictated both the angle and the style of the cross-hatching in order to better suit his needs.
One can only imagine the sense of relief that the artist must have felt at the new found freedom that the new process allowed. These improvements began with what was known as the photo-zinc process which consisted of photographing the line drawings which were transferred to a zinc-faced block and later etched with acids. Such a method did not enable the engraver to act as an interpreter. Rackham's earliest work was produced under the supervision of an engraver, but within a year his work was already being produced via the new photographic method. This enabled him to produce line drawings which could faithfully be produced down to the smallest detail. This technological advancement allowed the individuality of many turn of the century illustrators to flourish.
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