Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Wanderlust



Maurice Sendak, Higgelty Piggelty Pop, 1967



Kozo Kakimoto, Helpful Mr. Bear

sorry, couldn't find the source... help welcome!


Jan Marcin Szancer, Tygrys w pociągu, 1964


Eric Beddows, Zoom away, 1982

Camilla Engman, Reisen

Franco Matticchio





WIlliam Steig, Dominic

Francheska YarbusovaHedgehog in the fog


Saturday, October 11, 2014

Cats with a View



Wherever they may be, they sure like to be on top of things.

Ronald Searle

Gahan Wilson


Andy Warhol

Wayne Thiebaud




Sempé

Wanda Gag, 1930

Michael Sowa




Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Il giornalino della Domenica


cover by Della Valle, 1906

Il giornalino della Domenica was the most beautiful and innovative children's periodical
published in Italy at the beginning of the 20th century. It was founded in Florence 
by Luigi Bertelli (1858-1920), a journalist and children's book author better known as Vamba.
The most notable of Vamba's children's books is the humorous Il giornalino di Gian Burrasca
which was first published in installments in Il giornalino della Domenica and is still in print.
(like many Italian children of the '60s, I both read the book and watched the tv series derived from it
 in which the leading role, a rebellious little boy, was played by the female pop star Rita Pavone).

cover by Baby (Roberto Bracco), 1906

cover by Umberto Brunelleschi, 1907

cover by R. Bernardi, 1908


two covers by Antonio Rubino, 1908

The contents of Il giornalino della Domenica were characterized by a strong pedagogical intent and
 markedly patriotic tone. At the time Italy had been unified for less than 50 years, and the magazine 
 carried on the Risorgimento purpose to "make Italians" by promoting a common language and cultural values. 
The contributors were among the most prominent Italian writers of the period, including Luigi Capuana, 
Edmondo De Amicis, Giovanni Pascoli, Grazia Deledda, Emilio Salgari, Matilde Serao, Sem Benelli, 
F.T. Marinetti, Scipio Slataper, Roberto Bracco Ada Negri, and Luigi Pirandello. 





three covers by Ottorino Andreini, 1909-10

Il giornalino's first issue came out June 24, 1906. Due to economical difficulties, its publication
 was interrupted between 1911 and 1913, then continued, with a series of ups and downs, until 1927.
From the beginning the magazine adopted an avant-garde style, and was characterized by the quality
 of its illustrations, created by some of the leading artists of the time. Antonio Rubino, Filiberto Scarpelli,
 Umberto Brunelleschi, Ugo Finozzi, Marcello Dudovich, Mario Pompei, Sergio Tofano, Ezio Anichini, Lorenzo Viani 
and many others, for a total of over 150 artists, were featured in Il giornalino during its sixteen years' run. 

cover by Filiberto Scarpelli, 1909


two covers by Giuseppe Biasi, 1907-10

Il giornalino was aesthetically remarkable for many reasons, including its avant-garde style, 
its pioneering use of photographs and color offset printing, the attractive clarity of its layouts, 
and the quality of its paper. Such attention to high graphic standards was rare in children's publishing,
 and makes it still one of the most beautiful children's periodicals ever published in Italy.

cover by Argo, 1919

cover by N. Borifina, 1919

The cover illustrations were modern, ironic and elegant, and closely reflected the artistic trends
 of the time, from the initial Art Nouveau influence to the Art Deco style of the 1920s.
A series of competitions organized by the magazine for its covers ushered in a season of exhibitions
 of the illustrations in various events, including the Biennale of Decorative Arts in Monza in 1923.
The competitions were part of the magazine's efforts in discovering and supporting new talents,
and many who began at Il giornalino went on on to become important illustrators and commercial artists.

cover by Alberto Alberti, 1920

cover by Armando Bandinelli, 1920

cover by Sto (Sergio Tofano), 1921

For this first selection of covers I have chosen a rather frequent subject, little girls
interacting with various domesticated animals and pets. More galleries will follow.

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