Courtney Doyle BA Hons Photography Blog Level 5: The Golden Age of Illustration 1880-1920

The Golden Age of Illustration is seen to of lasted from 1880 to the 1920s, but from the start of civilisation people have used it to show how they lived their daily life and beliefs in religion and have always considered it an art form, however there was no such job or being that would be classed as an illustrator. Such as in the Medieval period in the 1500's people sketched simple illustration's that showed biblical stories and events which happened, for instance the burning of protestants at the stake during Mary I's reign. Also the Egyptians illustrated massively, even on everyday items like vases. The 19th century saw more publications become further available due to new printing technologies that were being invented. Artists then were commissioned a lot more due to the printing companies that were expanding, so that they could create more narratives to stories that were a lot more visual, but being an illustrator was still not classed as being a proper profession still at this time. Up until the 1920's, this period of time saw a lot of new publications and new technology allowed a lot more cheap products in which the illustrations were published and a mass production of how many books or newspapers would be formed because of the high demand the market was at this time. One of the reasons that provoked the high demand in the Golden Age was the attractions with the Medieval period of the 1500's. It presented more of a gothic appearance to the covers of books and more sinter stories. It also saw artists such as William Morris, who had an eye for beautiful patterns and hand printing. Morris created the Kelmscott Press company in 1890, that showed his admiration of illustration and how it could associated with the text and its meaning. Another factor of the importance of the Golden Age was the Aesthetic Movement, that presented the appearance to be beautiful, so that it matched it narrative. Walter Crane was one of the Aesthetic Movements most celebrated illustrators of this time, which showed more of an interest in the surroundings rather than just a character or main subject, that have the audience a guide of what their homes should and could look like. It also presented a style called romanticism that was seen suitable for the middle class and was more of a style for children's books. Famous Golden Age children's book writer, Kate Greenaway used the romanticism style in her books that gave off a feel and perfect image what children should look and act like such as in one of her most popular books Under The Window. The illustration of children's books by women introduced a role women could be in the creative arts in society of this time that also saw the importance of language and literacy that supported the artists. By the 1920's illustration was finally seen as a trading business and industries would focus on it as a real profession. It developed into a much more modern style that saw fashionable women living their glamorous lives, which represented a higher society. This also influenced the production of fashion, that saw the beginning of Vogue magazine and other fashion bibles. However this was quickly short lived and the new popular art form, Photography, soon took over with fashion shoots instead by the 1930's. Overall the Golden Age of Illustration saw the creation of new technology that help production in printing and a more visual narrative that supported its text making it much more interesting and helped it move away from illustrations that were there to explain something that was in print form. New art was established that explored previous centuries and future generations that meant different possibilities were available and was enjoyed as a creative skill that was adaptable in the printing industry whatever its media may be.