Illustration: Tenggren's Small Fry and the Winged Horse

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 6 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about golden age illustration.


Gustaf Tenggren was a fascinating artist. He was already established as an illustrator in the Rackham style before he left his native Sweden for America in 1920. This book, Small Fry and the Winged Horse was first published in 1927. Notice how confident and swift his brushstrokes are... how well he conveys the texture of foliage, fabric, fur and the sea... and how clear and interesing his compositions are. His expressions and body poses are always full of life, particularly when he is depicting children.













A couple of weeks ago, we featured one of Tenggren's early Golden Books titled "The Little Trapper". If you didn't see that posting, take a look at it and compare Tenggren's technique in these illustrations to those in The Little Trapper. Even though the style is from a completely different universe, the aspects of Tenggren's work that set it apart are still there... the confident watercolor brushstrokes, the clear designs, the beautiful textures and the lifelike poses of the characters. I'm always interested in artists who are able to reinvent themselves. The contrast reveals things about them that I didn't know before. I hope you find this example of that interesting.

For more incredible illustration by Gustaf Tenggren, see... Tenggren's Tell It Again Book Part One and Part Two, D'Aulnoy Fairy Tales and The Good Dog Book, Tenggren's Grimms Fairy Tales Part One and Part Two, Heidi, Wonderbook and Juan & Juanita, and Sing For Christmas.

See also... Einar Norelius' Bland Tomtar Och Troll 1929 and 1934, John Bauer's Bland Tomtar Och Troll 1917, More Norelius and Bauer, Arthur Rackham's Grimm's Fairy Tales Part One and Part Two, Kay Nielsen's East of the Sun and West of the Moon and Hansel & Gretel, Dulac's H.C. Andersen Part One and Part Two.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

5.20.08
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