The Lion, Jupiter, and the Elephant 1912

Arthur Rackham made this illustration of a lion and an elephant with pen and ink, probably sometime in the early 20th century. The way he's built up tone with delicate lines shows a real love for process. Look at the elephant’s wrinkly knees and the lion’s scraggly mane. Rackham's lines dance across the page, building form with a gentle touch. It's like he's coaxing these creatures into existence, one hair, one wrinkle at a time. The sparse use of colour gives the piece an ethereal quality. In this work the background has been muted, the contrast between light and shadow creating an almost dreamlike, surreal atmosphere. Rackham's work reminds me a little of Kay Nielsen, they both knew how to tell a story with just a few simple strokes. Art is this ongoing conversation, and Rackham was a pretty great conversationalist.