Faithful John 1922

Walter Crane made this illustration, Faithful John, with ink and a graphic sensibility. It’s so interesting how he orchestrates the different elements in the composition to build a sense of narrative tension and mystery. I am really drawn to the line work, which seems both meticulous and intuitive. Look at how the lines vary in thickness and direction, creating a sense of depth and movement. You get this wonderful sense of a world being built up through the accumulation of marks. See the hatching on the sails, and the little waves in the sea. Crane plays with visual storytelling here, and it puts me in mind of someone like Aubrey Beardsley, a fellow illustrator who also used line in such a powerful and graphic way. These artists suggest the ways that art is always a conversation across time, and across images.