Sunfish, from the Fish from American Waters series (N8) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1889

Editor: Here we have Allen & Ginter’s “Sunfish, from the Fish from American Waters series,” created around 1889. It’s rendered in watercolor and coloured pencil. I find the scale fascinating, how a seemingly scientific illustration is shrunk down to such a diminutive size. What catches your eye? Curator: Primarily the distribution of color across the subject’s form. The artist employs a rather delicate pointillist technique, modulating color density to suggest both shape and texture. Note how the eye is drawn not to the centre, as one might expect, but to the subtle interplay of blues and greens in the fish’s head, counterpointed by the orange hues along its lower body. Editor: So, the chromatic relationships are more significant than, say, a mimetic representation? Curator: Precisely. Observe the manner in which the horizontal strokes in the background do less to suggest 'water' and serve more to contrast against the organic form and texture of the Sunfish itself, throwing it into visual relief. It seems a very self-conscious, rather clever deployment of compositional strategy. How does the balance of form contribute? Editor: I hadn’t considered the balance. It seems asymmetrical, weighted towards the head, suggesting motion? Curator: Indeed. Consider how the artist encourages dynamism via textural gradation as well, leading to visual tension throughout the composition, which resolves in the articulation of the tail. Editor: I'm beginning to see the sophisticated manipulation of colour and form. Thank you. Curator: It's a deceptively simple piece when considering the formal and organizational elements in play.