#paul thiriat

[aurevoirmonty]

Paul Thiriat French Counter-Attack at Village of Vaux Near Verdun, 1916

[educatedinyellow]

A potpourri of Holmesian illustrators: Flanagan, Nelson, and Thiriat

Okay, we’ve got a lot of fun illustrations to get through, my friends, so I’m going to start throwing together some of my faves. Here we go...

JOHN R FLANAGAN

Mr. Flanagan was an Australian illustrator. In 1924 he did sketches for two Holmes stories, “The Illustrious Client” and “The Three Garridebs.” But wow, I wish he’d done more -- his portraits are striking!

Shinwell Johnson has lived a hard life, and I love him.

Violet de Merville looks appropriately aloof and immovable here -- or “demure and remote,” according to Doyle.

Holmes, Watson, and Chinese pottery. I like the cosy mess of Baker Street, and how exhausted but determined they both look.

I love how chaotic and kinetic this climactic Garridebs shooting scene is!

I raise a lighter and wave it in the empty stadium for you, John R Flanagan. I wish the Holmesian fandom had gotten to enjoy more of your art!

GEORGE PATRICK NELSON

An American who only illustrated one Holmes story, “Thor Bridge,” in 1922. The magazine he was working for clearly liked to insert art into the margins of its printed columns so that the images flowed around the words, and it must have created a lovely dramatic effect. Look at Nelson’s interesting parallel images of the police finding a false clue (the pistol planted in Grace Dunbar’s wardrobe) versus Holmes finding a real clue (the telltale crack on the bridge railing):

I love how the intensely vertical compositions make it feel like the whole world is narrowing down to spotlight these clues and their deadly significance! Well done, Mr. Nelson. <333

PAUL THIRIAT

Out of the many hundreds of early Holmesian illustrations, one type of image that I have found to be sorely lacking is the Watson Hero Shot. In fact, I must admit I’ve found very few good drawings of Watson at all, and that’s a crying shame. I’m very grateful, therefore, to the French artist Mr. Thiriat for giving Watson his due in The Hound of the Baskervilles. If ever a man deserved to pose atop the Tor, lost in contemplation with the moody backdrop of the moors at his feet, it is *Watson*!

Also, look at how cleverly and beautifully he incorporated a huge clue into his cover design for “The Lion’s Mane,” without being so obvious as to give the game away!

I adore those creepy, thready tentacles! 

[books0977]

Engraving by Eugene Dete from drawing by Paul Thiriat. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, first illustrated edition, 1910.

“When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was.”

[educatedinyellow]

Early Holmesian art links

Here are all my chatty art commentary posts in one place, woot!:

Frederic Dorr Steele

Spotlight: William H. Hyde

Spotlights: John R. Flanagan, George Patrick Nelson & Paul Thiriat

Spotlights: Richard Wallace & Martin van Maële

Sidney Paget

Even more (Harry C. Edwards, George Hutchinson, Josef Friedrich & oneshots)

One last installment (Sidney Paget’s successors & just for the LOLZ)

And here’s the full Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia illustrators’ list, if you’d like to go browsing for yourself :)