GO TO   0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10

Comparing a color sketch with the finished illustration reveals characteristic choices by the illustrator.

Duvoisin eliminated a tiny landscape element between the upper and lower segments that would have suggested depth and conventional perspective. By choosing a flat design, the artist, in the modernist manner, makes the surface of the page a worthy stage for action, instead of a window into a world constructed according to the rules of perspective.

Tiny pencil marks in the upper-right corner of the sketch reveal that the artist considered and rejected the possibility that the man in brown could be shown gripping the pig by the tail. This would have moved his body upward and separated the figures. In the finished illustration, Duvoisin preserved the relative position of the figures and enhanced the relationship and the illusion of downward motion by adding tails to the coat of the man in brown.

For his finished work, Duvoisin unified his illustration by suppressing details and treating the figures, clothing, and so on in a painterly manner. Stripes, suspenders, and other elements are sacrificed so that nothing stops the eye in its movement from form to form. Typically, Duvoisin's choices all contribute to the unity and coherence of his page design

Mother Goose: A Comprehensive Collection of the Rhymes. Edited by William Rose Benét. New York: The Heritage Press, 1936

Illustration for "Dickery, dickery, dare" and "The Jolly Miller" Page 127 Gouache, ink, and collage on paper 12 5/8 x 9 ¾ inches Gift of Louise Fatio Duvoisin 1986.1191.049		Color sketch for "dickery, dickery, dare" and "The Jolly Miller" Gouache, ink, and graphite on paper 13 x 9 ¾ inches Gift of Louise Fatio Duvoisin 1986.1191.090

GO TO   0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10