Robin Jacques
Encyclopedia
Robin Jacques was an illustrator
whose work was published in more than 100 novels and children's books in the 20th century. He is notable for his long collaboration with Ruth Manning-Sanders
, serving as the illustrator for many of her collections of fairy tales from all over the world. In much of his work, Jacques employed the stippling
technique. He was the brother of the actress Hattie Jacques
.
He was quoted once as saying: "My preference is for children's books of the more imaginative and fanciful kind, since these leave greater scope for illustrative invention, where I feel most at home. Thus, my work with Ruth Manning-Sanders has proved most satisfying, and the twenty-five books we have done together contain much of the work that I feel personally happiest with."
Art director, educator and illustrator Robin Jacques, was born in London, England to World War One pilot Robin Jacques and his wife Mary. Orphaned as a child, he taught himself to be an artist and began working in an advertising agency in his teens. Although he had no formal art training, he enjoyed drawing and used anatomy books, objects in the Victoria-Albert Museum, and his surroundings for his instruction.
Jacques ( rhymes with 'cakes' ) served as art editor for Strand magazine and was art director for the Central Office of Information. He began teaching at the Harrow College of Art in 1973 and at the Canterbury Art College and Wimbledon Art College in 1975.
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Jacques was a prolific illustrator, and his beautiful line art graced the pages of over one-hundred novels and children's books from the 1940s through the 1980s, most notably the fairy tale compilations of Ruth Manning-Sanders.
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His expressive characters and breath-taking stippling are the pinnacle of illustration. Few artists have been able to equal his grace, restraint and near-perfection of line and detail.
"Illustration is something other than superlative drawing or a display of technical know-how. Unlike painting and sculpture, an illustration has a direct function... Illustration can never be a private exercise in graphic experiment unrelated to a specific purpose. Where it becomes this, it may be in itself enormously interesting but it will, by definition, no longer be illustration."
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
whose work was published in more than 100 novels and children's books in the 20th century. He is notable for his long collaboration with Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
, serving as the illustrator for many of her collections of fairy tales from all over the world. In much of his work, Jacques employed the stippling
Stippling
Stippling is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots. Such a pattern may occur in nature and these effects are frequently emulated by artists.-Art:...
technique. He was the brother of the actress Hattie Jacques
Hattie Jacques
Josephine Edwina Jaques was an English comedy actress, known as Hattie Jacques.Starting her career in the 1940s, Jacques first gained attention through her radio appearances with Tommy Handley on ITMA and later with Tony Hancock on Hancock's Half Hour...
.
He was quoted once as saying: "My preference is for children's books of the more imaginative and fanciful kind, since these leave greater scope for illustrative invention, where I feel most at home. Thus, my work with Ruth Manning-Sanders has proved most satisfying, and the twenty-five books we have done together contain much of the work that I feel personally happiest with."
Art director, educator and illustrator Robin Jacques, was born in London, England to World War One pilot Robin Jacques and his wife Mary. Orphaned as a child, he taught himself to be an artist and began working in an advertising agency in his teens. Although he had no formal art training, he enjoyed drawing and used anatomy books, objects in the Victoria-Albert Museum, and his surroundings for his instruction.
Jacques ( rhymes with 'cakes' ) served as art editor for Strand magazine and was art director for the Central Office of Information. He began teaching at the Harrow College of Art in 1973 and at the Canterbury Art College and Wimbledon Art College in 1975.
----
Jacques was a prolific illustrator, and his beautiful line art graced the pages of over one-hundred novels and children's books from the 1940s through the 1980s, most notably the fairy tale compilations of Ruth Manning-Sanders.
----
His expressive characters and breath-taking stippling are the pinnacle of illustration. Few artists have been able to equal his grace, restraint and near-perfection of line and detail.
"Illustration is something other than superlative drawing or a display of technical know-how. Unlike painting and sculpture, an illustration has a direct function... Illustration can never be a private exercise in graphic experiment unrelated to a specific purpose. Where it becomes this, it may be in itself enormously interesting but it will, by definition, no longer be illustration."