A Study On The Grotesque Beauty Of Arthur Rackham’s Fantasy Literary Illustration

Due to the progress of science and thought,the British literary and art circles flourished in the Victorian period.Many writers used words to express people’s emotions and criticize the rules and regulations of classicism.Literary creation was greatly developed in this period,and various forms of novels,essays and poems appeared,and there was no lack of fantasy literary works with unrestrained imagination.There are countless artistic creations derived from literature,among which illustration art is the most representative.Due to the publication of a large number of books,the market demand for book illustration has increased at the same time,which makes illustration art greatly developed in such an environment.Illustrator Arthur Rackham was born in this period,his art style is very personal characteristics,and the illustrator of the same period has a great difference in style,reflected in the unique "grotesque beauty".The exploration of "grotesque beauty" or "grotesque art" is not only the exploration of Arthur Rackham’s artistic style,but also the consideration of grotesque aesthetics.This paper discusses "illustration" and "grotesque".Based on the works and texts of Arthur Rackham,it summarizes the overall tendency of Rackham’s fantasy literary illustration creation in this period,so as to refine the particularity of Rackham’s illustration,and explores the artistic value of Rackham’s fantasy literary illustration through the interpretation of specific works based on the theory of grotesque aesthetics.This article mainly explains Arthur Rackham’s illustration works in three parts,with the visual elements of illustration works and the theory of grotesque aesthetics as the main starting point.The first part introduces the creation background of Arthur Rackham’s illustration,including illustration and the development of English fantasy literature,grotesque aesthetics theory overview;The second part explores how the grotesque is embodied in Rackham’s paintings;The third part is to explore the artistic value of the grotesque beauty of Rackham’s fantasy literary illustration.The case study of this special style produced in the flourishing period of illustration is not only the discussion of the illustration style of artists,but also the discussion of the special aesthetic experience of "grotesque",which stimulates everyone’s interest in illustration research and explores a broader side of illustration art.