Existing comment:
The Ring
Although reviewers had already noticed a Germanic influence behind Arthur Rackham's illustrations, his German inspiration became more explicit with his illustrations for Richard Wagner's operatic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Nibelung's Ring). Rackham's illustrations appeared in two volumes, both published by Heinemann: The Rhinegold & The Valkyrie, issued in 1910, and Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods, in 1911. Since the first performances of "The Ring" opera in 1876, an unusual sense of importance had been attached to the cycle, as luminaries flocked to the quiet Bavarian town of Bayreuth, where Wagner had built the Festspielhaus, a theatre specifically designed for the performance of the cycle.
Although Rackham was not impressed with the performance he saw in Bayreuth in 1897, due to its poor set design, he was very drawn to the cycle and saw an opportunity to create illustrations on a grander scale than he had done previously. He was aware of the seriousness and "grimness" of much of his Ring series, and although he intended his work to be strictly for adults, one particularly sensitive and receptive child, the young C.S. Lewis, was captivated by Rackham's pictures. Lewis commented that "the sky turned round" when he first set his eyes on Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods. |