Introductory Materials

self-portrait

Sullivan had evidently studied closely Albrecht Dürer and the German engravers, and the drawings [in Sartor Resartus] show obvious signs of their influence, although they are entirely his own. The drawing throughout is sure and confident, and the artist has here realized and celebrated his worship of the power and beauty of line. The woman . . . [in eighteenth-century costume] is an example of this delight. How splendidly, too, throughout the book has Sullivan drawn hands, a great test of the good draughtsman, and how excellent are his nudes. The little portrait heads at the beginning of the chapters are perfect of their kind and how much he enjoyed, like his admired Boyd Houghton, drawing beards. Here are imagination, invention, fancy and humour, masterly penmanship and colour, all the qualities of the perfect illustrator. It is in all respects the greatest English illustrated book within the limitations of pen and ink, and the student will learn much from a careful consideration of its methods.

There are two ways of making a pen drawing, each with its own variations. In the first the lines are used to indicate tone, shadows and colour as with a pencil, and, if this is capably done, one loses consciousness of the lines. E. A. Abbey, Charles Keene, Linley Sambourne and Daniel Vierge, with his well-placed blacks, are typical exponents of this method. Sambourne, a great master of the pen, had the peculiar, unique gift of being able to draw clear lines at varying angles and yet produce a flat and even tone. In the other process the line is used quite frankly as an outline for shapes, for indicating the contours and texture of surfaces or for suggesting by elimination the simplified essentials of the subject. The artist glories in the display of the strength, beauty and decoration of the line itself. Albrecht Dürer, Frederick Sandys, Phil May and Aubrey Beardsley are examples.

Sullivan successfully combined both methods. 'Blumine' is a masterpiece of pen work in design, draughtsmanship, colour and decoration, although one wonders why the editor had to introduce two lines of text below it. It should have had a page to itself without even a heading, and a larger edition should have been printed with the drawings in facsimile between wide margins. The book created a great sensation by reason of its originality and vigour and was an enormous success. — James Thorpe, 26-27

Contemporary Contexts

Illustrations on this site