Discover historical illustrations by subject, artist and book.
Creation and rebellion in Blake’s illuminated plates.
Norwegian fairy tales illustrated by Kay Nielsen.
Four colour drawings from a 1908 Gnostic text.
From the dark wood to Paradise with Gustave Doré.
Ethelwynne Quail’s visions of the spirit world.
Art Deco studies of fear by John Vassos.
96 illustrations
A narrow stair coils upward through a black field scattered with tiny stars.
A richly armoured rider reaches upward towards a princess leaning from a window.
An orange-robed figure stands above a dragon coiling through mountain clouds.
A winding dragon is lifted above a company of men holding long poles.
A winged figure pours water between two cups while placing one foot upon land and one in a pool.
A knight wearing a winged helmet holds a cup while riding a pale horse beside a winding stream.
An armoured rider charges left with a raised sword, a wind-blown plume and a decorated horse.
The two figures are separated by posture: one stands with arms raised towards his head, while the other leans back beside the roots.
A foreground figure gathers swords while two other figures turn away across a windswept field.
Two figures walk through falling snow beneath a lighted window containing five pentacles.
A large crouching figure with a coiling tail dominates the space above a smaller company of souls gathered at his feet.
A stream of pale bodies sweeps through a vast dark space while the two travellers watch from a rough ledge.
Two richly dressed readers sit close together beside a tall window, a book resting near them as one leans toward the other.
A bearded man bends over several motionless younger bodies on the floor of a dark room lit through a barred window.
A seated man and several younger figures huddle in a dim chamber beneath a narrow barred window.
A colossal winged figure rises behind the two small travellers, with exposed bodies embedded in the foreground ice.
A vast wind-blown figure strides through a landscape with a small human form visible within his body.
A powerful pale figure strides above an immense curling wave.
An armoured knight drives a long weapon towards a coiled dragon beneath trees.
An old man sits inside a small round pavilion beneath a fruit-bearing tree.
A capped scholar raises one hand beside a window filled with round panes.
A crowned figure reclines within a dark heated chamber beside a vessel of water.
A low dark solar disc rests above a pale face at the horizon.
A large bright sun with a human face sends long rays over a quiet landscape.
A bearded monk in a red robe sits beneath a rocky opening edged with leaves.
A coiling dark path winds around a straight central staff beneath spread wings.
Coloured centres, planetary signs and inscriptions cover a standing human figure within a rectangular border.
A pale woman kneels in a dark chamber with cords gathered around her body.
Small figures and wild animals appear at different points along a steep, winding rocky path.
Figures carrying large pale vessels gather near a tall arched doorway behind a low courtyard fountain.
Dark branches frame a layered valley of steep mountains, low cloud and winding water.
Grotesque diners sit around a table that seems to float above a dark field of winding lines.
Two low thatched cottages stand beneath heavy clouds.
Separate Egyptian figures are arranged above a reclining mummy visited by a bird-like soul.
A young priest kneels beside a decorated window with his hands joined in prayer.
Two small children stand on a broad pink bridge above winding blue water.
Elongated birds and animal-headed figures clash around a winding stretch of water.
A young man sits on a low bench beneath a small window.
A black sailing ship leans above a dark sea while fine rays rise through an almost empty sky.
A seated young figure lowers his head beneath a tall stone-framed window with an oval lock.
A bearded figure crouches within a great golden circle and extends one arm towards the darkness below.
A richly dressed youth stands beside a thin bearded worker and a crowded loom.
A small dark figure walks between rows of columns under an immense glazed roof.
Two figures embrace beside an ornate seat while a great pattern of illuminated windows rises behind them.
A dark-clothed man bends towards an open book beside tall curtained windows.
A pale-robed woman stands beneath a pointed arch with one arm raised towards a small lamp.
A turbulent pale sky presses between a high rock face and a mass of dark trees.
A long-haired figure runs beside a winding path towards a high city of narrow towers.
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