100 Years of Illustration

Félix Vallotton - 2

Félix Vallotton was associated with the Nabis art movement in Paris. They are said to have paved the way for the abstract art movement, but that might be too perjorative a suggestion. I think that Vallotton paved the way for the great Swiss graphic designers and illustrators who followed him a few years later. These woodcuts are great illustrations as well as fine art.

Vallotton in later years at the height of his career. Date unknown, at least to me. From the collection of Fondation Félix Vallotton, Lausanne CH.

Edgar Allan Poe, from his woodcut period.

The photo Vallotton must have used for reference.

Paresse, 1895.

The Flute, 1896.

La Nuit, 1897.

La Raison Probante, 1898.

Sandbanks on the Loire. I don't have a date for this but it must have been a later period in the first years of the 20th century. Click on image to enlarge.

Deux chats passent. Date unknown to me. Click on image to enlarge.

Rape of Europa, 1908. Click on image to enlarge.

Félix Vallotton, Swiss Art & Design

A self-portrait in the collection of Fondation Félix Vallotton, Lausanne CH. Click on image to enlarge.

Swiss by birth and French by adoption, Félix Vallotton was born in Lausanne, in the French-speaking Swiss canton of Vaud, 28 December 1865 and left for Paris at the age of 17 to attend the famous Académie Julian, where he and many of his fellow students achieved fame in the post-impressionist art world.

Before he reached the age of 30, he had made a name for himself in Paris and the world. His woodcuts were considered extremely modern for his time, and several are reproduced herewith which appeared in the November 1900 issue of The Century magazine, noted for its contemporary look. These were done in 1899 when Vallotton was 34. In the following years he devoted himself to painting.

In his lifetime of only 60 years he managed to produce 200 engravings, countless drawings, 1700 paintings, and a few sculptures. He also wrote three novels, several plays, essays and art criticism as well.

Book jacket for "Strolls through Paris--Crowds, Physiology of the Street," 1896. Click on image to enlarge.

The following is a footnote which appeared in the article published in The Century for November 1900

IN THE CROWD AT THE PARIS EXPOSITION
with woodcuts drawn and engraved by F. Vallotton

The wood-engraving of M. Vallotton did not come to the notice of the English and American public until some time after that of Mr. Nicholson [Sir William Nicholson], the English artist, which has justly been much admired. As a matter of fact, M. Vallotton's had precedence. Mr. Nicholson, if we are correctly informed, began to engrave on wood about 1893-94, and did not publish till near the end of 1895, at which time M. Vallotton had identified himself in France with this special style of work. . . . The accompanying examples, which were made for THE CENTURY, are reproduced from the engraver's proofs. Click on images to enlarge them. The Century Magazine began publication in 1881, as a successor to Scribner's Monthly Magazine. It ceased publication in 1930.

"Looking at the jewels."

"The family picnic lunch."

"The Shower."

"The Street of Algiers."

"A foot-bridge."

"Fireworks."

J.J. Shannon's beautiful women

Not many of us have ever heard of this remarkably talented painter. I know this is fine art but I think he belongs here in a tangential way because of the influence he probably had on some of his fellow painters and illustrators who followed him in time, as well as some of his contemporaries.

J.J. Shannon, as he preferred to be known, was born in Auburn, New York, in 1862, of Irish immigrant parents, moved to Canada at the age of eight, thence to London at the age of 18. You can read a brief biography and view some of his extraordinary portraits at this link. He renounced his American citizenship so that he could be knighted as a British subject and be known thereafter as Sir James Jebusa Shannon.

The very prolific art critic of the time, Christian Brinton, wrote extensively about J.J. Shannon and his peers (including a Charles Shannon, of the same surname), and it is Brinton to whom we must refer for an account of Sir James and the times in which he lived.

Lady Marjorie Manners, from "Shannon and Pictorial Portraiture," by Christian Brinton, in Harper's Monthly Magazine" for July 1905. Click on image to enlarge.

Click on image to enlarge.

The following two paintings are from the website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Jungle Tales, 1895. Click on image to enlarge.

Magnolia, 1899.

Mrs. J.J. Shannon, the painter's wife, from "Shannon and Pictorial Portraiture," by Christian Brinton, in Harper's Monthly Magazine" for July 1905. Click on image to enlarge.

Detail from this beautiful painting. Click on image to enlarge.

Miss Marjorie Shannon, the painter's niece, from the same article. Click on image to enlarge.

Detail. Click on image to enlarge.

More detail to show Shannon's extremely competent brushwork. Click on image to enlarge.

Miss Kitty Shannon, the painter's daughter. From the same article. Click on image to enlarge.

Detail. Click on image to enlarge.

Brinton published another article in Harper's Monthly Magazine for August 1910, entitled "Idealism in Modern English Art." Most of his selections appear today to be predictably dull, save this canvas J.J. Shannon called, for whatever reason, "The Silver Ship." Yes, she's holding a ship model and it's probably been made of silver, but one wonders, "Why?" This is a masterly painted portrait of a strikingly beautiful woman, alas unidentified in the article.

Brinton blathers about the lesser talents (critics have been mostly wrong since time began) and says only this: "Here and there are isolated examples which show how widespread is the appeal of fancy, how eager is the desire to escape from the channels of routine effort, and no canvases offer better instances of this than do J.J. Shannon's Infant Bacchus and The Silver Ship. Conceived in true abandonment of spirit, revealing nought save that joyous zest which should be the underlying motive of all such art...." Brinton goes on about the Infant Bacchus apparently oblivious that it is the work of Charles H. Shannon, not John Jebusa. The handsome lady is ignored, saved only by an art editor who gave the work the full page it deserved. Click on image to enlarge.

If only J.J. had told her to get rid of the ship model. I've taken that liberty, playing art director 96 years later. Click on image to enlarge the detail.

Walter King Stone - 3

More wildlife in its natural habitat by Walter King Stone. Click on images to enlarge.

"The duck-hawk nests on the ledges of rock precipices," from "Huns of the Air," a title reflecting a World War reference to German aircraft probably created by Walter Prichard Eaton in the January 1919 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine.

"The sparrow-hawk in a pretty little falcon that does more good than harm," from the same issue. The tacky picture captions also reflect a perfunctory attitude on the part of story editors in this immediate post-war period.

"The cotton-tail rabbit beneath a tent of swamp shrubbery," from "Little Folks that Gnaw," by Walter Prichard Eaton in the Januar 1919 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine.

"A chipmunk waiting expectantly for breakfast," from the same issue.

"In the fairy forests of the weeds," from the same issue. Can you believe this writing?

"Pawing up the snow for frozen apples," from "Deer in the Berkshires," by Walter Prichard Eaton in the February 1920 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine.

Walter King Stone - 2

Walter King Stone's animal life in its environment. Click on images to enlarge them.

"The Mountain Woodchuck crawls out on a height to sun himself." From "A Rocky Mountain Game Trail" in Harper's Monthly Magazine for December 1917.

Another woodchuck "You will see a shrewd face and fat body up on the wall. From "The Ways of the Woodchuck by Walter Prichard Eaton in the November 1915 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine.

"In the hushed naves of the forest," from "The Friendly Chickadee" by Walter Prichard Eaton in the September 1915 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine.

"The heavens declare the glory of God," from "Naure and the Psalmist," by Walter Prichard Eaton in the May 1915 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine.

"All the beasts of the forest do creep forth," from "Naure and the Psalmist," by Walter Prichard Eaton in the May 1915 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine.

"The otter will frisk on the river bank like a puppy," from "Our Wild Animal Neighbors" in the January 1918 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine.