Walter Crane and Myth

Walter Crane has become a big influence through my working with children's book illustration, where he explores other cultures and includes them in his illustrations, for example: his references to Greek Mythology and his heavy involvement in the Aesthetic Movement gives away symbols through the characters and scenery. One in particular is an illustration from Beauty and the Beast, produced in 1875, where the young woman's representation of beauty comes into play through the fan which, according to an art critic, has a symbolic meaning through Venus, the Roman goddess of love, who is also known as Aphrodite from Greek Mythology. There is also the clothing on both her and the beast, where she is wearing a dress from the Ancient Greece fashion and the Beast is wearing a turkish old soldier uniform, and they are sat in front of a Victorian setting to keep Crane's influential references and involvement with Aestheticism.

Introduction

Hello, my name is Chloe Yelland. I am currently in my second year at Derby University, studying a BA (Hons) in Illustration. My favourite key parts in illustration is children's books, because I am fascinated by the fact that the writer and illustrator is not only entertaining the children through pictures, but they are also educating them through words, where they use a variety of different media such as coloured pencil being drawn over watercolour.