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Dienstag, 31. Oktober 2017

Franz Stassen: Die sieben Raben



Franz Stassen (* 12. Februar 1869 in Hanau; † 18. April 1949 in Berlin) war ein deutscher Maler, Zeichner und Illustrator.
Von 1886 bis 1892 besuchte Stassen die Berliner Hochschule für Bildende Künste. Nach dem Abschied von der Akademie ließ er sich zunächst in Hanau nieder, kehrte jedoch einige Zeit darauf erneut nach Berlin zurück. Anfangs noch naturalistisch orientiert, wandte sich Stassen nun dem Jugendstil zu, orientierte sich an Sascha Schneider, Fidus, Koloman Moser und Gustav Klimt.
Bis 1908 trat Stassen vor allem als Buchillustrator in Erscheinung. Ebenso gestaltete er Bucheinbände. Neben den über 100 Büchern, die er illustriert hat, schuf er etwa 50 Exlibris und 25 Postkartenmotive. Im Jahr 1908 lieferte er im Auftrag des Kölner Schokoladeproduzenten Ludwig Stollwerck Entwürfe für Stollwerck-Sammelbilder, u.a. für das Stollwerck-Sammelalbum No. 10.
Ebenfalls 1908 suchte Stassen Kontakte zum Bayreuther Wagner-Kreis und wurde bald ein enges Mitglied des Kreises um Siegfried Wagner. Er schuf Mappen zu Wagner-Werken, unter anderem für „Parsifal“ und „Der Ring des Nibelungen“. Sein im Geist des Jugendstils entwickeltes Illustrationsverfahren war auch der realistischen Formgebung des 19. Jahrhunderts verhaftet und zeigte sich durch die pathetische Gestik schon von neuen populären Medien wie der Fotografie beeinflusst. Zeitgenössische Kritiker werteten Stassens Werk auch als Folge der Lebensreformbewegung der Jahrhundertwende und verstanden sie zugleich als eine Huldigung an die germanischen Religionsmythen. Stassen verband diese Vorstellungen allerdings mit einem esoterisch und spiritistisch aufgefassten Christentum.(Wikipedia)

















Samstag, 28. Oktober 2017

English Fairy Tales illustrated by John D. Batten

 John Dickson Batten (8 October 1860 – 5 August 1932), born in Plymouth, Devon, was an English painter of figures in oils, tempera and fresco and a book illustrator and printmaker.


 Frontispiece



Tom Tit Tot


Well, she backed a step or two, and she looked at
it, and then she laughed out, and says she, pointing
ilier finger at it:
" Nimmy nimmy not
Your name 's Tom Tit Tot."
Well, when that heard her, that gave an awful shriek
and away that flew into the dark, and she never saw
it any.


The Three Sillies

But the woman thought it was easier to get the cow up the ladder than to get
the grass down,...








Mr. Vinegar
Now, one day, when Mr. Vinegar was from home, Mrs. Vinegar, who was a very good
housewife, was busily sweeping her house, when an unlucky thump of the broom brought the whole house clitter-clatter, clitter-clatter, about her ears.



Nix Nought Nothing
...but the giant's daughter called on all the fish in the sea to come and drink the
water, and very soon they drank it dry.


Jack Hannaford 

Sure enough he did so, for Jack leaped on the horse, and rode away with it. The farmer walked
home without his horse.



Binnorie 


Then they all wondered, and the harper told them how he had seen the princess lying drowned on the bank near the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie, and how he had afterwards made this harp out of her hair and  breast-bone. Just then the harp began singing again, and this is what it sang out loud and clear:
" And there sits my sister who drowned me
By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie."
And the harp snapped and broke, and never sang more.














Jack and his Golden Snuff-Box
And when he opened it, out there hopped three little
red men, and asked Jack: "What is your will with us?"









In the morning Jack arose and put on his invisible coat and magic cap and shoes, and prepared himself for the fray. Now, when he had reached the top of the mountain he soon discovered the two fiery griffins, but passed them without fear, because of his invisible coat.








Mollie Whuppie
Molly crept out and reached over the bed, and got hold of the giant'shand, and she pulled and she pulled until she got off the ring ; but just as she got it off the giant got up, and gripped her by the hand…



The Red Ettin
So the young man went on, and by-and-by he saw a multitude of very dreadful beasts, with two heads, and on every head four horns.





The History of Tom Thumb
As Tom's clothes had suffered much in the batterpudding, and the inside of the fish, his majesty ordered him a new suit of clothes, and to be mounted as a knight on a mouse.







' But it is so, and it was so. Here 's hand and ring I have to show," and pulled out the lady's hand from her dress, and pointed it straight at Mr. Fox. At once her brothers and her friends drew their swords and cut Mr. Fox into a thousand pieces.







Before long the bear was left so far behind that he saw he might as well give up the hunt
first as last, so he stretched himself out by the roadside to rest.


Johnny-cake came up close, and leaning towards the fox screamed out : I 've outrun an old man, AND AN OLD WOMAN, AND A LITTLE BOY, AND TWO WELL-DIGGERS, AND TWO DITCH-DIGGERS, AND A BEAR, AND A WOLF, AND I CAN OUTRUN YOU TOO-O-O !"
"You can, can you?" yelped the fox, and he snapped up the Johnny-cake in his sharp teeth in the twinkling of an eye.




...the herons were down among them scattering the men-at-arms








The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh.









The Fish and the Ring
Now that very night a band of robbers broke into the inn, and searched the girl, who had no money, and only the letter. So they opened this and read it, and thought it a shame. The captain of the robbers took a pen and paper and wrote this letter:
' Dear Brother,—Take the bearer and marry her to my son immediately.

" Yours affectionately,
" Humphrey.“










So she presented him with an ass out of the stable, and he had but to pull
Neddy's ears to make him begin at once to ee—aw !
And when he brayed there dropped from his mouth silver sixpences, and halfcrowns, and golden guineas.





The Well of the World's End
Suddenly she heard a croaking voice, and she looked up and saw a great frog with goggle eyes looking at her and speaking to her.
" What 's the matter, dearie ? " it said.




Master of all Masters


A girl once went to the fair to hire herself for servant. At last a funny-looking old gentleman
engaged her, and took her home to his house. When she got there, he told her that he had
something to teach her, for that in his house he had his own names for things. He said to her : " What will you call me ?" " Master or mister, or whatever you please sir," says she.
He said : " You must call me ‘master of all masters’



The Three Heads of the Well
…then, coming to the well, she had no sooner sat down than a golden head came up singing :
" Wash me and comb me,
And lay me down softly.
And lay me on a bank to dry,
That I may look pretty,
When somebody passes by."





Endpapers