Golden Age of Illustration

The Golden Age of Illustration, which took place between 1880 and 1920 was the rise in the appreciation and understanding of what this movement consisted of. Illustration has been around for thousands of years, from the first cave paintings to the later religious manuscripts, although for the majority of this time it was simply considered 'art' rather than illustration as we know it to be now.
The time period in which this artistic revolution came about was one of growing national and international conciousness which was spurred on by the making of education comulsory in the 1800's. With the ever rising presence of The Press alongside new and faster printing techniques, Illustration seemed to find its first true and recognised home in the satirical pieces found in the newspapers and on various political pamphlets found throughout the 1800's leading up to the 'Golden Age'.
During the time period considered to be to uprising in this style of art and due to the growing interest in literature, there was cause for more and more artists to consider illustration as an option. This movement also came to end up appearing at the same time as a few other movements most noticeable being the Japonisme movement that later led into Art Nouveau ( a style that also influenced illustrators at the time, especially in terms of works of literature.

The Female Reformers of Blackburn, 1819

George Cruikshank was a  pre golden age artist but his style heavily influenced the traits of many political satirical illustrators in the latter part of the century, closer to the gold age. I feel as though he is an important name to mention as it extremely clear to see that he encapsulates the sketchy, detailed qualities of the political illustrators to come later on in the century.
Unlike some of the later illustrators, Cruikshank held no real sturdy political beliefs and tended to take the work that came his way, with no worry about the party. As with the peace above, it was created to be a warning to women to avoid involving themselves in politics, quite a controversial topic at this time in British history.
(http://spartacus-educational.com/PRcruikshank.htm
http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/parliamentary-collections/collections-19thc-and-suffragists/cruickshank/)

Golden Age illustrator Walter Crane on the other hand, under the influence of one of his early collaborators William Morris, was a strong believer in the Socialist movement and in his political illustrations this comes through quite heavily.

Vive La Commune, 1887

Although Crane's work lacks the colour and liveliness of Cruishank's caricatures, there is still a strong connection between the form of the two artists' mark making. The piece is also a lot more to the point with very little text, I understand the ideas of solidarity in this piece of semi marxist ideals, even with the growth of compulsory education and a rising social awareness a large majority of the public still remained unschooled and this is where Crane's work really comes into its own in terms of a clear visual communication for the masses. His later work was also influenced later in the century by the emerging prints coming in from the recently opened Japanese trade routes, Crane appreciated all new art and styles and the colours from these new pieces obviously appealed. His newer, softer works are poles apart from his political pieces and it just shows off the extent of what can be considered to be Golden Age illustration. 

At Home: A Portrait 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/walter-crane

   

Blade Runner

The film Blade Runner is the 1982 film by ex CCAD student Ridley Scott. The film portrays a dystopian world that has been heavily inspired by the industrial background to the area in which Scott lived and studied in his early career. There is also a lot of influence from East Asian neon billboards of consumerism.
In addition to, and to follow on from these points to the main interest of this post is the influence of  the Japonism style of the 1800's found in various aspects of the production and set up for this film.

Japonism came about through the treaties that were forged whilst industry and trade were becoming a huge money maker in the 1800's, alongside this was the fact that a treaty was formed in the first twenty two years of the 1900's that consisted of an alliance being formed between Japan and England and the growing conscious realisation that Japan was a powerful ally to have.
  It was a style that appeared to be, at first, picked up by mainly Central European artists who began to incorporate Japanese motifs in their work through the exposure of Eastern prints that came alongside the wares that were being brought in by the military and merchants.
It was this period in time that was a major influence on one of the most notable art nouveau/ Japonisme designers: Charles Renee Mackintosh.
Born in 1868 and dying in 1928 he was present for the entirety of this art movement. He studied, worked and lived in the growing industrial port town of Glasgow, which held a strong connection with Japanese traders. As he was an apprentice for a large architectural firm,  he enrolled in night classes at the school of art which further fuelled his interest in the growing prominence of Japanese prints and culture.
The draw for a lot of the people and artists who gravitated towards this emerging sty;e was that it was new way of seeing the space around you. Instead of furniture being solely created as decoration with little use, this breath of fresh air from the East began to influence and promote the idea of tranquillity rather than the dated ideas of over decoration and 'clutter' in the home.
Many of Mackintosh's ideals came from the Art Nouveau representation of art as beauty and soft, delicate works. Alongside this romantic notion he also understood the importance of utility. Although he is often deemed a designer, Mackintosh saw himself as an artist and the furniture and other products he created were art.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/j/japonisme.aspx