Jump to content

Alastair (artist): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Removing from Category:German artists - already diffused into subcategory - using Cat-a-lot
No edit summary
 
(13 intermediate revisions by 10 users not shown)
Line 3: Line 3:


==Biography==
==Biography==
Mysterious, flamboyant, enigmatic and attractive to many people, Baron Hans Henning Voight was born of German nobility in [[Karlsruhe]].<ref name=arwas>{{cite book|last=Arwas |first=Victor| year=1979|title= Alastair: Illustrator of Decadence |location=London |publisher=Thames and Hudson}}</ref>{{rp|5}} In his youth he joined the circus and learned mime.<ref name=arwas/> Shortly after leaving school he studied philosophy at [[Marburg University]] where he met the writer [[Boris Pasternak]].<ref name=arwas/> He was self-taught as an artist, and he was also a proficient dancer and pianist.<ref name="Souter" />
Hans Henning Baron von Voight was born of German nobility in [[Karlsruhe]].<ref name=arwas>{{cite book|last=Arwas |first=Victor| year=1979|title= Alastair: Illustrator of Decadence |location=London |publisher=Thames and Hudson |isbn=9780500271520}}</ref>{{rp|5}} In his youth he joined a circus and learned mime.<ref name=arwas/> Shortly after leaving school he studied philosophy at [[Marburg University]] where he met the writer [[Boris Pasternak]].<ref name=arwas/> He was self-taught as an artist, and he was also a proficient dancer and pianist.<ref name="Souter" />


He died in [[Munich]] in 1969.
He died in [[Munich]] in 1969.


==Art==
==Art==
He is best known as an illustrator, under the ''[[nom de plume]]'' "Alastair". His career as an artist was launched in 1914, when [[John Lane (publisher)|John Lane]] published ''Forty-Three Drawings by Alastair''.<ref name="Souter">{{cite book|last=Souter, Nick and Tessa|title=The Illustration Handbook: A guide to the world's greatest illustrators|year=2012|publisher=Oceana|isbn=9781845734732|page=101}}</ref>
He is best known as an illustrator, under the [[pen name]] "Alastair". His career as an artist was begun in 1914, when [[John Lane (publisher)|John Lane]] published ''Forty-Three Drawings by Alastair''.<ref name="Souter">{{cite book|last=Souter, Nick and Tessa|title=The Illustration Handbook: A guide to the world's greatest illustrators|year=2012|publisher=Oceana|isbn=9781845734732|page=101}}</ref>


His drawings, which are often decadent in spirit and have the look of [[Art Deco]], are influenced somewhat by the drawings of the English artist [[Aubrey Beardsley]], who illustrated works by [[Oscar Wilde]], as Alastair would later do. His ‘serpentine line’ often depicts characters whose outlines are lightly drawn with the main areas filled in with ‘broken dotted lines’.<ref name=arwas/>{{rp|6}} His drawings were in black and white ink, sometimes with one colour added. Alastair's illustrations show a strong influence from the [[Decadent movement]] in art and poetry that had begun decades earlier, with the "perverse and sinister"<ref name="Souter" /> a recurring theme. Intricate decorative elements and fine detail are apparent in his works.
His drawings, which are often decadent in spirit and have the look of [[Art Nouveau]], are influenced somewhat by the drawings of the English artist [[Aubrey Beardsley]], who illustrated works by [[Oscar Wilde]], as Alastair would later do. His ‘serpentine line’ often depicts characters whose outlines are lightly drawn with the main areas filled in with ‘broken dotted lines’.<ref name=arwas/>{{rp|6}} His drawings were in black and white ink, sometimes with one colour added. Alastair's illustrations show a strong influence from the [[Decadent movement]] in art and poetry that had begun decades earlier, with the "perverse and sinister"<ref name="Souter" /> a recurring theme. Intricate decorative elements and fine detail are apparent in his works.


Alastair’s fame spread in 1920 with the publication of Wilde's ''The Sphinx'', which contained ten full-page illustrations by him, ‘printed in black and turquoise’.<ref name=arwas/>{{rp|12}} Many of his drawings were inspired by the poems of Wilde, and in 1922 Alastair would illustrate a book of Wilde’s play ''Salome''.<ref name=arwas/>{{rp|13}}
Alastair’s fame spread in 1920 with the publication of Wilde's ''[[The Sphinx (poem)|The Sphinx]]'', which contained ten full-page illustrations by him, ‘printed in black and turquoise’.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilde |first=Oscar |url=https://archive.org/details/TheSphinxDecoratedByAlastaiOscarWilde/mode/2up |title=The Sphinx |publisher=John Lane Company |others=Illustrated by Alastair |year=1920 |language=EN}}</ref><ref name=arwas/>{{rp|12}} Many of his drawings were inspired by the poems of Wilde, and in 1922 Alastair would illustrate a book of Wilde’s play ''Salome''.<ref name=arwas/>{{rp|13}}


Other books containing Alastair's illustrations include:
Other books containing Alastair's illustrations include:
Line 19: Line 19:
* ''Red Skeletons'' by [[Harry Crosby]] (1928) (published by the [[Black Sun Press]]) <ref name=arwas/>
* ''Red Skeletons'' by [[Harry Crosby]] (1928) (published by the [[Black Sun Press]]) <ref name=arwas/>
* "[[The Fall of the House of Usher]]" by [[Edgar Allan Poe]] (1928 edition, published by the [[Black Sun Press]])<ref name=arwas/>{{rp|19}}
* "[[The Fall of the House of Usher]]" by [[Edgar Allan Poe]] (1928 edition, published by the [[Black Sun Press]])<ref name=arwas/>{{rp|19}}
* ''[[Les Liaisons Dangereuses]]'' by [[Choderlos de Laclos]] (1929)
* ''[[Les Liaisons dangereuses]]'' by [[Choderlos de Laclos]] (1929)
* ''Manon Lescaut Translated From The French Of Abbé Prevost By D. C. Moylan With Eleven Illustrations By Alastair And An Introduction By [[Arthur Symons]]'' (1928) (John Lane / Dodd, Mead : London & New York, 1928.)
* ''Manon Lescaut Translated from the French of Abbé Prevost by D. C. Moylan with Eleven Illustrations by Alastair and an Introduction by [[Arthur Symons]]'' (1928) (John Lane / Dodd, Mead : London & New York, 1928.)
* ''The Birthday of the Infanta'' by [[Oscar Wilde]] (1928 published by the [[Black Sun Press]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digital.wolfsonian.org/l/WOLF046819/00001/pageturner#page/11|title=The birthday of the Infanta|website=digital.wolfsonian.org|language=en|access-date=2017-02-28}}</ref>
* ''The Birthday of the Infanta'' by [[Oscar Wilde]] (1928 published by the [[Black Sun Press]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digital.wolfsonian.org/l/WOLF046819/00001/pageturner#page/11|title=The birthday of the Infanta|website=digital.wolfsonian.org|language=en|access-date=2017-02-28}}</ref>


In ''The Blind Bow-Boy'' Alastair depicted the ‘androgynous male’.
In ''The Blind Bow-Boy'' Alastair depicted the ‘androgynous male’.


Alastair had at least one public exhibition of his works during his lifetime, at the [[Weyhe Gallery]] in New York in 1925.<ref name="Souter" />
Alastair had at least two public exhibitions of his works during his lifetime, at the Leicester Galleries in 1914 and at the [[Weyhe Gallery]] in New York in 1925.<ref name="Souter" />


During the 1930s, he stopped drawing, only to resume in 1964.<ref name=arwas/>{{rp|pp. 24–29}}
During the 1930s, he stopped drawing, only to resume in 1964.<ref name=arwas/>{{rp|pp. 24–29}}

Latest revision as of 05:34, 31 October 2024

Illustration from Harry Crosby's book Red Skeletons published in 1927

Hans Henning Otto Harry Baron von Voigt (20 October 1887 – 30 October 1969), best known by his nickname Alastair, was a German artist, composer, dancer, mime, poet, singer and translator.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Hans Henning Baron von Voight was born of German nobility in Karlsruhe.[2]: 5  In his youth he joined a circus and learned mime.[2] Shortly after leaving school he studied philosophy at Marburg University where he met the writer Boris Pasternak.[2] He was self-taught as an artist, and he was also a proficient dancer and pianist.[3]

He died in Munich in 1969.

Art

[edit]

He is best known as an illustrator, under the pen name "Alastair". His career as an artist was begun in 1914, when John Lane published Forty-Three Drawings by Alastair.[3]

His drawings, which are often decadent in spirit and have the look of Art Nouveau, are influenced somewhat by the drawings of the English artist Aubrey Beardsley, who illustrated works by Oscar Wilde, as Alastair would later do. His ‘serpentine line’ often depicts characters whose outlines are lightly drawn with the main areas filled in with ‘broken dotted lines’.[2]: 6  His drawings were in black and white ink, sometimes with one colour added. Alastair's illustrations show a strong influence from the Decadent movement in art and poetry that had begun decades earlier, with the "perverse and sinister"[3] a recurring theme. Intricate decorative elements and fine detail are apparent in his works.

Alastair’s fame spread in 1920 with the publication of Wilde's The Sphinx, which contained ten full-page illustrations by him, ‘printed in black and turquoise’.[4][2]: 12  Many of his drawings were inspired by the poems of Wilde, and in 1922 Alastair would illustrate a book of Wilde’s play Salome.[2]: 13 

Other books containing Alastair's illustrations include:

In The Blind Bow-Boy Alastair depicted the ‘androgynous male’.

Alastair had at least two public exhibitions of his works during his lifetime, at the Leicester Galleries in 1914 and at the Weyhe Gallery in New York in 1925.[3]

During the 1930s, he stopped drawing, only to resume in 1964.[2]: pp. 24–29 

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hans-Gert Roloff: Die Deutsche Literatur: Die Deutsche literatur von 1890 bis 1990. P. Lang 2003, p. 528
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Arwas, Victor (1979). Alastair: Illustrator of Decadence. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 9780500271520.
  3. ^ a b c d Souter, Nick and Tessa (2012). The Illustration Handbook: A guide to the world's greatest illustrators. Oceana. p. 101. ISBN 9781845734732.
  4. ^ Wilde, Oscar (1920). The Sphinx. Illustrated by Alastair. John Lane Company.
  5. ^ "The birthday of the Infanta". digital.wolfsonian.org. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Alastair_(artist)&oldid=1254484531"