Professional Documents
Culture Documents
of Illustration strived
between the years of 1890
and 1940 and brought forth some of
the most creative and inspirational
artists of the twentieth century. It
was an era of unparalleled excellence
in regards to its innovations in book,
magazine and advertising designs.
Masters of the arts during the
Golden Age of Illustration created
a visual history that both captured
audiences of the time with intense
images, styles and vividness, and left
a permanent stamp on the life of the
nation that still withstands today.
New techniques in printing were
being developed, paper production
was becoming less costly, railways
facilitated distribution throughout
the continent and the population
was expanding and becoming
wealthier
as
industrialization
progressed. Magazines such as
Harpers Monthly, Colliers and
Scribners took advantage of the
technological developments in
order to expand their enormous
circulations, and likewise, the
publishers of many illustrative
childrens books took the same
advantages on the new techniques
being developed to market their
enterprises. The demand and desire
of artists and illustrators was on a
steady rise during the Golden Age
foreground.
The poppies add a visual
dynamic to the composition
because they add a strong colour
to the colour palette of the piece.
The entire cover is made up of
muted earth tones like beige and
brown with hints of yellow and
pastel pinks, creating a very airy
and seemingly loose composition.
However, with the addition of
the red poppy flowers, not only
does it give the piece an additional
colour, it also helps anchor the piece
visually and creates a sense of visual
movement within the layout. The
layout of the cover is visually very
stable, the models pose of holding
the bouquet in her gown creating
a visual triangle that leads from
both her hands to her face, which
is the central vocal point of the
composition. The poppy flowers
contribute to the pieces stability by
anchoring the image towards the
top of the layout, preventing it from
visually drifting upward and being
lost. The long stems of the flowers
bring the viewers eyes from the
bouquet in the models arms towards
the top of the layout, where the text
for the magazine is located outside
the frame. In order to lead the eye
to the title, some of the poppies
transcend the boarder of the frame
and actually become parts of the
foreground and cover parts of the
title itself. This adds a sense of depth
within the piece and is more visually
interesting and dynamic. The title
of the magazine itself uses a sense
of scale to create a visual hierarchy
through its placement, according to
the importance of information. The
Century, the publication title, is
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