Ariel, Iris, Ceres & Juno (Original artwork)
- SIGNED
- London , 1926
London, 1926. Original pen-and-ink and watercolor drawing, signed "Arthur Rackham" on lower right-hand corner. Image and board size: 15 1/8 x 10 7/8 inches; 384 x 276 mm. Matted, framed and glazed, frame size: 25 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches; 654 x 526 mm.
This ethereal watercolor was created for the title-page of Rackham’s illustrated edition of Shakespeare's The Tempest (London: William Heinemann, Ltd. [1926]). Although the drawing in the title-page was uncolored, here he has added background and full watercolor to the image to enhance its salability. It is a charming image depicting a pastoral scene with the airy spirit Ariel dancing and holding a flute-like instrument. Ariel, who had been trapped for years in a tree by Sycorax was released by Prospero and serves him throughout the play until he is freed in the final act. Dressed in a pale blue smock, his joyous expression suggest that he has recently been freed from the tree nearby. Intriguingly, the tree in the foreground is somewhat different to Rackham's usual arboreal style, lacking the signature faces and arms. In the top half of the watercolor, Iris, Ceres, and Juno dance above the long branch, each of them playing an instrument: a lute, a shawm or flute and a tambourine. With a few exquisite strokes of pen and brush, Rackham is about to capture a singular transportive moment.
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) is perhaps the most acclaimed and influential illustrator of the Golden Age of Illustration. A prolific artist even from his youth, Rackham got his start as an illustrator working for the Westminster Budget Newspaper (1892). Over the next few years, he took on more and more commissions for children’s books, hitting his career high in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Rackham turned his imaginative pen to every classic—from Shakespeare to Dickens to Poe.
This ethereal watercolor was created for the title-page of Rackham’s illustrated edition of Shakespeare's The Tempest (London: William Heinemann, Ltd. [1926]). Although the drawing in the title-page was uncolored, here he has added background and full watercolor to the image to enhance its salability. It is a charming image depicting a pastoral scene with the airy spirit Ariel dancing and holding a flute-like instrument. Ariel, who had been trapped for years in a tree by Sycorax was released by Prospero and serves him throughout the play until he is freed in the final act. Dressed in a pale blue smock, his joyous expression suggest that he has recently been freed from the tree nearby. Intriguingly, the tree in the foreground is somewhat different to Rackham's usual arboreal style, lacking the signature faces and arms. In the top half of the watercolor, Iris, Ceres, and Juno dance above the long branch, each of them playing an instrument: a lute, a shawm or flute and a tambourine. With a few exquisite strokes of pen and brush, Rackham is about to capture a singular transportive moment.
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) is perhaps the most acclaimed and influential illustrator of the Golden Age of Illustration. A prolific artist even from his youth, Rackham got his start as an illustrator working for the Westminster Budget Newspaper (1892). Over the next few years, he took on more and more commissions for children’s books, hitting his career high in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Rackham turned his imaginative pen to every classic—from Shakespeare to Dickens to Poe.