Headpiece (page 277) from The Fables of Aesop
Thomas Bewick
British, 1753–1828
1818
A small wood engraving headpiece by Thomas Bewick that illustrates Aesop’s fable “The Fatal Marriage,” using finely carved lines to introduce the story’s animal characters in the printed book.
Set in an oval frame above the title, the tiny scene immediately draws the eye with a lively trio of feline figures depicted in crisp hatching and stippling against a carefully rendered landscape, the intimate vignette contrasting with the blank space of the page.
Bewick’s economical, naturalistic wood engravings helped redefine book illustration around 1800, showing how finely carved, reproducible images could carry narrative, character, and moral meaning to a wide reading public.
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
680.1964.239
Palette
Exhibitions
