Raphael and the Mob. Illustration from a 1914 Edition of Charles Kingsley's 1853 Novel Hypatia 1914

Byam Shaw made this illustration for Charles Kingsley's novel, Hypatia, in 1914, and it's rendered in black ink, a medium that encourages detail and precision, but also allows for dynamic mark-making. Look at the way Shaw uses lines to create texture, from the rippling water at the base, to the folds and patterns in the clothing. Notice the figure on the right, the man holding what looks like a hammer. There is real menace in the way Shaw has rendered his grim expression with a minimum of strokes. It’s like he’s using the tool of his trade – mark-making – to conjure a sense of brewing unrest. It reminds me a little of some of the illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley, who like Shaw was working at the turn of the century, and who used similarly bold lines to illustrate controversial texts. These artists understood that a picture can be worth a thousand words.