The Hart and the Vine 1908

Walter Crane made “The Hart and the Vine,” with ink and a touch of color, probably as an illustration for a book. I’m interested in the way Crane lets the lines do so much of the work; the rhythm of each leaf and tendril makes the whole composition vibrate. The hunter in the upper left is pulled back, about to release his arrow, while the hart, or deer, is down in the lower right, already struck by arrows. What gets me is how both figures are enmeshed in the curling, twisting vines. Those lines are so insistent, a real tour-de-force of mark-making. You can almost feel the scratch of the pen and the way the ink must have pooled in places. Look how the color is just brushed in; it’s economical but effective. Crane’s work reminds me of Aubrey Beardsley's, both in its graphic intensity and its interest in the way forms can become almost abstract through repetition. I like the way Crane uses that technique here, to show the way nature can be both a refuge and a trap.