Picturebooks
Ways of the Illustrator
On 20, Dec 2015 | In Picturebooks | By Chris Vitale
Schwarcz, Joseph. H. Ways of the Illustrator: Visual Communication in Children’s Literature. Chicago: American Library Association, 1982. Print.
Referrer: Chris Vitale
Categories: picture theory, visual language, definitions, image/text, illustrated books, visual storytelling, genre
Annotation:
Schwarcz does a deep dive into the visual language found in picture books and more broadly children’s literature. This early exploration of the relationship between text and illustration takes color, representation, shape, and emotional experience into consideration. Maurice Sendak, Ezra Jack Keats, and Virginia Burton are areas of inquiry for the author as the picture books they created are of particular interest. Each one represents a mastery of interplay between the two commanding elements. Schwarcz looks at the mood and psychological impact of words and pictures as well.
