I am a big fan of Amazon.com. It is not so much because I like books and you can find near any book there but rather because of their ‘Used Books’ section. When browsing for older books you can often find most of them extremely cheap in the Used section. I have acquired many books both for school studies and personal interest for less than 5 $ a book this way. Two of my recent acquisitions are the Dover publications featuring 80 plates with illustrations by Arthur Rackham and another by Edmund Dulac.
Both artists are very well known for their fairy tale illustrations. Arthur Rackham’s artwork mainly features class European fairy tales, whereas many of Edmund Dulac’s illustrations are from The Arabian Nights (1001 Nights). The high quality of the illustrations in both books is so enjoyable and a huge inspiration to fairy tale fans such as myself. The books feature one page introduction about each artists and then the rest is pure illustration.
Snow White and Rose Red Illustrated by Arthur Rackham
I can definitely recommend these! Beautiful, beautiful books filled with childhood memories. Artistically there is so much to be had from these artists. Compared to the complexity of much digital art nowadays their method carry a simplicity that makes the images all the more admirable. Granted Rackham’s method to achiving the unique look, as described in the book, does not sound all that simple at all. However I find it an important lesson for any artist to realize that sometimes less is more.
Links:
Rackham’s Fairytale Illustrations in Full Colour on Amazon
Dulac’s Fairy Tale Illustrations in Full Colour on Amazon
The Pricess and the Pea illustrated by Edmund Dulac
About Kiri
Kiri Østergaard Leonard is a freelance illustrator and artist from Denmark. She works on projects ranging from realistic portraiture to fantasy illustrations. She's available for freelance as well as private commissions.
