Taking the keys of the castle, Jack unlocked all the doors 1927

Arthur Rackham made this illustration, "Taking the keys of the castle, Jack unlocked all the doors," sometime in the early 20th century, using ink and watercolor. I love the looseness of his lines and the almost muted quality of the colors. You can feel the speed and freedom of his hand at work. He creates this eerie scene using a limited palette, mostly browns and grays, punctuated by pinks and reds. If you look closely at the ogre, you can see the texture that Rackham achieves with cross-hatching. The lines are so free and yet so precise, defining the contours of his grotesque face. His use of layering and transparency in the watercolor gives the scene a ghostly, ethereal quality. The ogre's exaggerated features, the flowing lines of the women's dresses, and Jack’s movement all combine to create this sense of unease. It reminds me of Paula Rego, who also uses fairytale imagery to explore darker, more complex emotions. Ultimately, the power of Rackham's work lies in its ability to evoke a sense of magic and dread.