7 best artists who illustrated "Alice in Wonderland"

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

On July 4, 1862, during a trip to nature, Charles Dodgson, better known to us as Lewis Carroll, began to tell 10-year-old Alice Liddell the story of a girl who ended up in Wonderland. Soon the book "Alice in Wonderland" was born. Many famous artists considered it an honor to illustrate this tale. We have collected the most outstanding illustrations.

Lewis Carroll

After hearing the tale on a boat trip, Alice Liddell asked Dodgson to write it down. He gave the girl a Christmas notebook with a piece entitled "Alice's Adventures Underground."

The writer decorated his work with 38 drawings, and on them the main character appeared as a dark-haired girl, very similar to the young Liddell.

John Tenniel

In 1865, the first edition of the book was published with illustrations by Sir John Tenniel, an English painter and cartoonist. Today his drawings are considered canonical. But at that time, the writer did not like the painter's ideas. Carroll insisted that the images fully correspond to his author's intention. Tenniel initially agreed with this requirement, but later changed his mind … So, his Alice is a blonde with long hair. After its release, the book gained instant popularity. The artist's work was also noted by critics. In particular, they appreciated the "truthfulness in depicting the shapes of animals."

Arthur Rackham

In 1907, the book was illustrated by the Englishman Arthur Rackham. In terms of popularity, this edition is second only to the original "Alice", designed with the participation of John Tenniel. Interestingly, Rackham has departed very far from the ideas of the author of the book. The influence of the Art Nouveau style is clearly traced in his drawings: the images are full of wavy lines, the smallest details, there is clearly an interest in all kinds of horrors.

The Rackham Griffin seems to be the most terrifying beast ever created in the Alice illustrations.

Tove Jansson

A version of Alice by Tove Jansson, author and illustrator of the Moomin story, appeared in a 1963 edition in Finland. Her drawings are lovely and poetic. All the heroes of "Alice" here are touchingly similar to the moomins.

Salvador Dali

The great Dali made illustrations for the 1969 edition of Press-Random House. This version of the design is one of the most unusual. Each chapter of the tale is decorated with light drawings that seem to elude the viewer's attention.

Alice with a skipping rope jumps from page to page, from one image to another, being carried away into the depths of her fantasies.

Greg Hildebrandt

In 1990, famed illustrator Greg Hildebrandt, too, could not resist the charm of a surreal story from Lewis Carroll. He created bright, juicy, memorable images.

Gennady Kalinovsky

In Russia, illustrations by Gennady Kalinovsky are best known. The artist completed 71 black and white drawings for a book published in 1974. Kalinovsky saw the essence of the work in his own way. In the drawings, he tried to embody the entry of the little man into the mysterious and bizarre world of adult life.

One would like to look at these works endlessly, discovering new facets and meanings in them. They are recognized as some of the best illustrations for Carroll's books.