Magazine of Art Illustrated (page 3/4)

Grotesque Head

By M. Legrain. From the Cascade Basin. [at the Paris Exhibition of 1878]

A good gargoyle picture for All-Souls Night or Halloween!

“These masks, modelled by M. Legrain, were among the most amusing examples of the sculptor’s art in the exhibition, and the one we have selected for our present illustration was perhaps the best of the series.

“The idea of a jet of water issuing from the human mouth has, even when treated by the most refined artists, something of a repugnant character, and in the case of drinking water it is difficult to escape this feeling. In his numerous adaptations of masks for this purpose, some others of which we hope in time to illustrate, M. Legrain has, however, succeeded remarkably well in avoiding suggestions other than those of the most comic and ludicrous nature.

“There is something intensely laughable in the head which forms the subject of our present observations. The eager earnestness with which our friend is engaged in contributing his quotum to fill the grand basin, the inflated cheeks, the [more...] [$]

Grotesque Head [detail]

A good picture for All-Souls Night or Halloween!

A detail from Grotesque Head [$]

Decorative initial E with angel, woman and cherub

This decorative initial featuers a miniature picture of a naked angel (we see his bottom!) listening patiently to a naked women on his left, with a little winged cherub boy on the right. There are also flowers and fronds. The capital letter was used as a drop cap in the book, 12.5 lines—generally considered bad practice, as a drpo cap should align with [...] [more...] [$]

Mirror-Frame (A Wood Carving by Panciera Besarel, of Venice)

[A] mirror-frame by a Venetian wood-carver named Panciera Besarel, whose work exhibits more character and plasticity than perhaps any other Italian that could be named. (p. 265) [more...] [$]

Initial letter “I” with fairy cupid and butterflies

This decorative initial letter “I” was used as a drop cap in the book. It features a naked cupid or winged cherub surrounded by butterflies; his wings are delicate, and his bare feet tread on soft grass through the night. It would be a nice capital to [...] [more...] [$]

Letter I with fairy, coloured

I took this decorative capital “I” and coloured it. You could easily change the colours of course, in an image editing program. [more...] [$]

Lord John Russell

By J. E. Boehm, A.R.A. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1880. [more...] [$]

St. George and the Dragon

An engraving showing a statue of St. George slaying the dragon, by J. E. Boehm, A.R.A. St. George is here depicted as an almost-naked man riding a horse, a Roman centurian wearing only sandals and a helmet, with a cape flowing about his shoulders and a spear [...] [more...] [$]

St. George and the Dragon [detail]

A detail from St. George and the Dragon showing the dragon’s head. [$]

For Ever. By Herbert Schmalz.

To the genre of sentiment, not history, belong Mr. Herbert Schmalz’s “For Ever” (page 352) and Mr. Arthur Stocks’ “Her Sweetest Flower” (page 349); the one is romantic, the other realistic, but both are very tender and sincere in feeling. Mr. Schmalz’s group is posed in lamplight, moonlight shining outside, and consists of a very lovely golden-haired lady and her dark lover, a troubadour, who sits at her feet pausing [...] [more...] [$]

Initial Capital Letter “D” with Bacchus

Decorative initial letter capital “D” featuring vine-leaves, and a modestly-clad almost-naked seated Bacchus [more...] [$]

Heraldic Dragon.

The dragon is, perhaps, the most venerable symbol employed in ornamental art. (p. 375) [more...] [$]