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A Brief History of the Illustrated Book in the West

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At the current point in history, the relationship between text and illustrations - or illustrative images - is nigh on ubiquitous. Within the Western tradition at least, illustrations adorn all manner of publications including scriptures, fairy tales, fiction, historical works and newspapers. There was a time, however, where the words in books went without adornment or illustrative interpretation. In considering the incorporation of illustrations in books, too, it behoves us to be mindful of the thoughtful words of Edmund Dulac in his introduction to "Gods and Mortals in Love" (1935):

"A book with coloured pictures and an illustrated book are not quite the same thing. One might say that each has its own function and its own appeal".

In homage to Edmund Dulac's contribution(through the aforementioned quote), this image is one of his illustrations included in "Gods and Mortal in Love" (1935) - 'Perseus and Andromeda'.
The development of illustrated books in the West is built upon a tradition extending into the past beyond the illuminated manuscripts of the Medieval Period and the codices of the 1st Century AD Greco-Roman civilizations to at least the illustrated papyrus scrolls of Ancient Egypt.

From Ancient Egypt, the work known as "The Book of the Dead" (also known as "Going Forth by Day") - a collection of spells, incantations and rituals believed to aid a soul's transition from the physical to the spirit world - is known to have often been illustrated prior to the script being
buried with the deceased.

This image shows an example of an illustrated variant of "The Book of the Dead" from the scrolls buried with Henefer - a scribe and high official to Seti I (a Pharaoh of the XIXth Dynasty). The section shown depicts Anubis overseeing the weighing of Henefer's heart against a feather - the symbol of Maat (the established order of things) - which is part of the judgment of the righteousness of the deceased.
A major development relevant to the history of illustrated books occurred in the late Greco-Roman Period (between the 1st and 5th Centuries AD) with widespread adoption of parchment-based codices for book production.

One example of an illustrated Codex from that period is a variant of Vergil's "Aeneid" known as "Vergilius Vaticanus" - a document that is held in the Vatican Library. The "Vergilius Vaticanus" dates from the 5th Century AD. Other major works have survived from the same period, including "Vergilius Romanus" (also held in the Vatican Library) and an example of Homer's "Iliad" held in Milan's Ambrosiana Library.

This image shows an illustration from "Vergilius Vaticanus" depicting the death of Dido.
Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, substantial developments in illustrated codices continued in the East. Numerous examples of such codices are known to have survived, with the great majority being devoted to illustrating scriptures. Such scriptural illustrations were, stylistically, predecessors of the illuminated manuscripts of the Medieval period. There are, however, a few examples of early Byzantine codices that continue the stylistic and thematic developments of the earlier Greco-Roman period on non-religious subjects, including the Vienna "Dioscorides" and the "Cynegetica" of Oppian of Apamea.

This image shows an illustration from the Vienna "Dioscorides" - a 6th Century AD Byzantine codex held in Össterreichische Nationalbibilothek (Vienna) - depicting coral growth out of the sea
The transition to illustrating scriptures that occurred first in the Byzantine tradition had a number of significant influences on book production in
realms that had formerly been part of the Western Roman Empire, including: religious iconography pertinent to biblical and theological narrative cycles; an hierartic approach to figural presentation; a diverse colour palette; and the extensive use of precious metals and stones.

Two examples of early Medieval works displaying influences of that Byzantine tradition include the German "Godescalc Gospels" from the 8th Century AD (held in Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris) and the "Book of Kells" from the early 9th Century AD (held in Dublin's Trinity College Library).

This image shows 'Christ Enthroned' from the "Godescalc Gospels".
For much of the following 6 centuries, religious themes dominated developments in book illustration, but even during that time, the winds of change were blowing towards the radical shifts that would occur within the Renaissance. From the 13th Century AD, books - and particularly illustrated books - became increasingly accessible beyond the clergy and ruling classes as a consequence of the rise of universities. So too, the subject matter of books was enlarged and included the works of authors such as Froissart and Chaucer, in addition to histories, poems and romances (such as those related to the Trojan War, Arthurian legends or Charlemagne and his Paladins).

Despite those influences, religious illustrated books continued significant developments - arising from increasingly wealthy patronage - to include works such as the 15th Century "Très Riches Heures" of John, Duke of Berry (held in Musée Condé, Chantilly). This image is a depiction of the Garden of Eden from "Très Riches Heures" of John, Duke of Berry.
Technical developments - including the refinement of printing presses - and social and artistic developments combined in the Renaissance to irrevocably change the landscape of illustrate books through the late 15th Century and the early 16th Century.

Whilst significant illustrated books were produced during the period, royal patrons and entrepreneurs alike took advantage of prevailing circumstances to expand the themes explored in illustrated books. It was during this period that books as varied as Hartmann Schedel's "Liber Chronicarum" ("The Nuremberg Chronicle"), Albrecht Dürer's "Apocalipsis cum Figuris" ("The Revelations of St John"), the epic work of Emperor Maximilian I ("Theuerdank") and "The Dance of Death" by Hans Holbein the Younger were published.

This image shows a hand-coloured woodblock from "Theuerdank".
The influence of the Renaissance and Humanism, in addition to religious movements including the Reformation and Counter-Reformation continued to be major factors in the development of illustrated books in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Similarly, the rise of Empires and social revolution were further factors of relevance through the 18th Century and the early 19th Century.

Illustrated books became available to many levels of society and as may be expected to occur as a consequence of market forces, the content of those books were focused on the aesthetic interests of the targeted demographic. One particular example of this significant change was the development of illustrated books on the matter of fairy tales - and that development occurred at a time that illustrated books were beginning to incorporate colour illustrations that were printed, rather than hand-painted.
An advanced example of that printing technique is "In Fairyland: A Series of Pictures from the Elf World" (1870), as illustrated by Richard Doyle. The colour plates for that publication were engraved by Edmund Evans and the entire publication is considered to be a landmark in the art of colour printing from woodblocks.

This image shows 'A Rehearsal in Fairyland' by Richard Doyle from "In Fairyland: A Series of Pictures from the Elf World" (1870).
Further significant developments occurred in respect of incorporating colour illustrations in books in the early decades of the 20th Century - the most significant of which was the perfection of the colour separation process to facilitate high quality photographic reproduction of colour plates for incorporation in the publications. Those initial developments provided for a 3-colour process, but later developments allowed for 4-colour processes also.

Despite those significant developments, existing techniques continued to be utilised in relatively low-volume publications, including the stencilling technique known as "pochoir" that was particularly popular in France.

This image shows "Scheherazadè" by George Barbier - an illustration finished in colour using the "pochoir" stencilling technique.

Prior to the outbreak of World War I, colour illustrated books were produced by major publishers in sumptuous 'Gift Books', in addition to those from low volume 'boutique' publishers. This was in the period that has become known as the 'Golden Age of Illustration'.

Significant Medieval and Renaissance Printed Illustrations

Artists of the Medieval and Renaissance periods associated with the production of significant printed illustrations include: Dürer; Holbein; Burgkmair; Beck; Scharffenberg; the Master of the Grüninger workshop; and others.

Illustrations from seminal works produced during those periods include those for: "The Nuremberg Chronicle" ("Liber Chronicarum"); "The Praise of Folly" ("Moriae Encomium"); "The Dance of Death" ("Der Todten-Tantz"); "Apocalipsis cum Figuris" ("The Apocalypse"); "The Large Passion"; "The Life of the Virgin"; "The Small Passion"; "The Engraved Passion"; Sebastian Münter's "Cosmographia"; Girolamo Ruscelli's "Geographia"; "Der Weiß Kunig"; and "Theuerdank".

That list goes on, of course - to learn more, you may like to read some of my other featured lenses.
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Artists of the Golden Age of Illustration

Artists associated with the Golden Age of Illustration include: Doré; Erté; Rackham; Nielsen; Dulac; Pogány; Parrish; Wülfing; Clarke; Sterrett; King; Mackenzie; Goble; Walker; Brunton; the Knowles brothers; Papé; Rentoul Outhwaite; Bull; Woodroffe; Paul; Burne-Jones; Russell Flint; Lefler; Urban; Meteyard; Bakst; Fortescue-Brickdale; Bauer; Ségur; Carse; Allen; Sime; Anderson; Lathrop; Hill; Detmold; Fish; Tenggren; Bates; de Morgan; Shaw; Bilibin; Wyeth; Bosschère; Czeschka; Doyle; and Moreau.

They produced wonderful images to illustrate fairy tales, myths and legends, including: "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens"; "A Midsummer Night's Dream"; "The Tempest"; "The Arabian Nights"; "Arthur and His Knights"; "Tales from Hans Anderson"; "Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám"; "The Dreamer of Dreams"; "East of the Sun and West of the Moon"; "Alice in Wonderland"; Dante's "La Vita Nuova"; Wagner's "The Ring of Niblung"; Poe's "The Bells and Other Poems"; and Goethe's "Faust". That list goes on, of course - to learn more, you may like to read some of our other featured lenses.
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