When he heard Peter's voice he popped in alarm behind a tulip 

Arthur Rackham made this illustration, titled 'When he heard Peter's voice he popped in alarm behind a tulip', sometime in the early 20th century, using pen, ink and watercolor on paper. Rackham demonstrates his mastery of the drawn line, using it to create a sense of depth and texture. The ink-work, with its fine cross-hatching, and the delicate watercolor washes create a rich, atmospheric effect. He was a master of color gradation. Look, for instance, at the careful blending in the tulip petals. The overall effect is both whimsical and detailed, drawing the viewer into a magical world. Rackham was not simply using these techniques to create an image. He was engaged in a larger social project, of bringing imaginative illustration to a wider audience through mass reproduction. The techniques he used allowed for that. Rackham's illustration reminds us that art is not just about individual expression, but is always entangled with the social and material conditions of its making.