Tailpiece (page 162) from The Fables of Aesop
Thomas Bewick
British, 1753–1828
1818
A tiny wood engraving by Thomas Bewick that punctuates the Aesop fable with a pictorial coda—a weathered stone set among foliage that wryly echoes the text.
It reads like a jewel-like miniature: finely cross-hatched lines form a compact scene of a grave-marker half-hidden in bushes, its delicate detail surprising against the wide margins of the page.
Bewick's economical, highly finished tailpieces helped redefine book illustration by adding visual wit and moral commentary to mass-produced texts, shaping the modern relationship between image and narrative.
Medium
Wood engraving from an illustrated book with 323 wood engravings and one etching and engraving
Dimensions
composition (irreg.): 1 1/4 × 1 5/8" (3.1 × 4.2 cm); page (irreg.): 8 1/4 × 5 5/16" (21 × 13.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Louis E. Stern Collection
Accession
680.1964.151
Palette
Exhibitions
