Arthur Rackham’s Fantastic Illustrations for The Tempest, 1926

Full fathom five thy father lies
Of his bones are coral made:
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.

– William Shakespeare, The Tempest, illustrated by Arthur Rackham 1926

 

 

 

Arthur Rackham (September 19, 1867–September 6, 1939) illustrated more than 50 books, many of which were aimed at children for whom the pleasures and terrors of life are yet not masked by routine, authority and conformity. He created these fantastical illustrations for an edition of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1610–1611) in 1926, at the peak of his career.

Of the book’s 520 copies, all were numbered and signed by the artist. Numbers 1-260 were sold in Great Britain and Ireland; numbers 261 to 520 were for sale in the USA.

 

 

Having made a name through his dream-like watercolour paintings and illustrations for books of fairy tales and fantasy stories, it’s perhaps not surprising to see that Rackham focused his art on passages in the play that mention the sprites and fantastical creatures.

The “airy spirit” Ariel is Rackham’s main subject and is pictured repeatedly, while the mortal heroine Miranda is shown just twice. Prospero, so quintessentially human, is notable only by his absence.

The result is a tad unusual as the illustrations show us some of the play’s less memorable characters, scenes and lines.