Illustrated Tennyson Editions
Gustave Doré, illustrator. Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King (a reprint of the Moxon folio edition).
"“Vivien and Merlin Repose". Interior plate by Gustave Doré, illustrator. Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King (a reprint of the Moxon folio edition).
Because they were so popular (and so commercially successful), Tennyson’s Arthurian poems were frequently illustrated. The Romantic drawings of Gustave Doré (1832-1883), which illustrated the first four idylls, depict imposing scenes in which the characters are dwarfed by the grandeur and sublimity of nature. Gothic touches abound, as in “Vivien and Merlin Repose,” in which the oak tree has roots like tentacles that seem about to ensnare the magician.
Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, illustrator. The Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson (1911).
Florence Harrison, illustrator. Guinevere and Other Poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1912).
Interior plate by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale.
Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale (1872-1945), an artist influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, produced charming and perceptive illustrations of the Idylls. Her Guinevere, for example, is not confined to a dark cloister but appears out of doors, in the courtyard of the nunnery. From the rough stones of the low wall behind Guinevere to the tiles on the roof above, the image is replete with texture. These simple details combine with the beautiful flowers and the loaves of bread in the basket that she carries, creating the sense that life goes on even after the tragedy she has endured, the sadness of which can be seen in her face. (See the two original Brickdale watercolors in the “Women Illustrators” section of this exhibition.)
Frances Brundage and M. Bowley, illustrators. Tales from Tennyson: Told by Nora Chesson (n.d.).
The illustrations executed by George Woolliscroft Rhead (1854-1920) and Louis Rhead (1857-1926) for an American edition of the Idylls published in 1898 often capture high drama, such as the moment when Guinevere is about to throw into the river the necklace made of the diamonds that Lancelot won for her in tournaments. The barge bearing Elaine is just coming into view; on the floor of Guinevere’s chamber are leaves torn in jealous anger from the vine growing outside the window.
Elaine of Astolat/the Lady of Shalott (variations of the same character) was among the most frequently illustrated of Tennyson’s characters. According to art historian Muriel Whitaker, excluding the many depictions of her in book illustrations and the numerous artworks in private collections, at least eighty recorded versions of the Lady of Shalott/Elaine were produced before World War I. (See also the representations of Elaine of Astolat/the Lady of Shalott in the "Iconic Images" section of this exhibition.)
George Woolliscroft Rhead and Louis Rhead, illustrators. Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King (1898).
Interior image from Idylls of the King. George Woolliscroft Rhead and Louis Rhead, illustrators.
Howard Pyle, illustrator. Alfred Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott (1881).