Headpiece (page 267) from The Fables of Aesop
Thomas Bewick
British, 1753–1828
1818
A small wood engraving by Thomas Bewick that illustrates and introduces the fable “The Harper,” condensing the story into a single evocative scene to accompany the text.
In a compact oval vignette Bewick crowds a smoky tavern around a central harper—figures, furniture, and a dog rendered with astonishingly fine hatching and tonal variation so that faces and textures read clearly at thumb‑size.
Bewick’s headpieces helped turn wood engraving into a narrative, expressive tool for illustrated books, raising the technical and storytelling standards for mass‑market illustration and influencing generations of book artists.
Medium
Wood engraving from an illustrated book with 323 wood engravings and one etching and engraving
Dimensions
composition: 2 5/16 × 3 3/16" (5.8 × 8.1 cm); page (irreg.): 8 1/4 × 5 5/16" (21 × 13.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Louis E. Stern Collection
Accession
680.1964.233
Palette
Exhibitions
