The Witch climbed up 1920

Arthur Rackham's illustration, "The Witch climbed up," feels so familiar; it’s like entering a dream I once had. I can almost smell the ink and the paper, and imagine Rackham hunched over his drawing board. The scene is set with a vertiginous upward climb. I wonder if Rackham thought about the strain on the witch's arms, the texture of the rope against her hands. It’s all in those delicate lines, the way he suggests weight and effort with just a few strokes of the pen. Look at that tower; each stone is rendered with such care. The watercolor washes give it a sense of age, of stories etched into its very surface. It reminds me that artists are in an ongoing conversation, each adding their voice to a collective narrative. Rackham’s work echoes illustrators like Aubrey Beardsley, but his vision is uniquely his own. It’s this kind of exchange that keeps art alive, vibrant, and always evolving.