Tony Johannot
Encyclopedia
Antoine Johannot, usually called Tony Johannot, (1803—1852) was a French engraver, illustrator and painter.
. He was a painter who was involved in the development of lithography
in France. The two older brothers of Tony, Charles and Alfred, were engravers, and Alfred also worked as a painter and drawer. Tony learnt engraving from his brothers and helped Alfred produce illustrations to books by James Fenimore Cooper
and Walter Scott
. Tony came to prefer wood engraving
, but returned to etching
in 1845.
His historical paintings were exhibited at the Salon for the first time in 1831.
He became an illustrator much sought after for his elegance, his diversity, and the lively character of his drawings, which were turned into engravings either by himself or by such artists as Jacques Adrien Lavieille, Émile Montigneul and Alfred Revel. He was lavishly praised by Théophile Gautier
:
He died in Paris on 4 August 1852.
Biography
He was born in Offenbach am Main on 9 November 1803. His father, François Johannot (1760?-1838), owned a silk factory in Germany, where the family had fled after the revocation of the Edict of NantesEdict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
. He was a painter who was involved in the development of lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
in France. The two older brothers of Tony, Charles and Alfred, were engravers, and Alfred also worked as a painter and drawer. Tony learnt engraving from his brothers and helped Alfred produce illustrations to books by James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
and Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
. Tony came to prefer wood engraving
Wood engraving
Wood engraving is a technique in printmaking where the "matrix" worked by the artist is a block of wood. It is a variety of woodcut and so a relief printing technique, where ink is applied to the face of the block and printed by using relatively low pressure. A normal engraving, like an etching,...
, but returned to etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
in 1845.
His historical paintings were exhibited at the Salon for the first time in 1831.
He became an illustrator much sought after for his elegance, his diversity, and the lively character of his drawings, which were turned into engravings either by himself or by such artists as Jacques Adrien Lavieille, Émile Montigneul and Alfred Revel. He was lavishly praised by Théophile Gautier
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, art critic and literary critic....
:
- Tony Johannot can be called, without fear of contradiction, the king of illustration. Only a few years ago, no novel, no poem could appear in print without an engraving in wood bearing his signature: such heroines of delicate frame, with the necks of swans, flowing hair, imperceptible foot, he has confided to the rice-paper! How many vagabonds in rags, knights armoured from head to foot, tarasques scaled and clawed, he has tossed upon the butter-coloured and canary-yellow covers of novels of the Middle Ages; all the poetry and all the literature, of both ancient and modern times, has passed through his hands: the Bible, Molière, Cervantes, Rousseau, Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Goethe, Chateaubriand, Lamartine, Hugo: he has comprehended all. His drawings appear in all these admirable volumes, and not one seems out of place. By the sides of these sublime pages, of these harmonious verses, they are an ornament and no stain; whatever these diverse geniuses have dreamt, he has been able to recreate and pull bodily into his art.
He died in Paris on 4 August 1852.
Works
- Magazines: Revue des Deux MondesRevue des deux mondesThe Revue des deux Mondes is a French language monthly literary and cultural affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829....
, L’Artiste, L'IllustrationL'IllustrationL'Illustration was a weekly French newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Edouard Charton; the first issue was published on March 4, 1843....
, Le Magasin Pittoresque - Histoire du Roi de Bohême et de ses sept châteaux by Charles NodierCharles NodierJean Charles Emmanuel Nodier , was a French author who introduced a younger generation of Romanticists to the conte fantastique, gothic literature, vampire tales, and the importance of dreams as part of literary creation, and whose career as a librarian is often underestimated by literary...
(1830) - Théatre complet of Eugène Scribe (1834) -- 2nd edition, chez Aimé André
- The Complete Works of Lord Byron (1835)
- Œuvres illustrées of MolièreMolièreJean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
(1835–1836) - Don Quichotte by CervantesMiguel de CervantesMiguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
(1836–1837) - Paul et Virginie by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1838)
- Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost (1839)
- Les Français peints par eux-mêmes (1840–1842)
- L'Âne mort by Jules JaninJules JaninJules Gabriel Janin was a French writer and critic.-Biography:Born in Saint-Étienne , Janin's father was a lawyer, and he was educated first at St. Étienne, and then at the lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris...
(1842) - Voyage où il vous plaira by Musset and Stahl, chez Hetzel (1843)
- La Comédie humaineLa Comédie humaineLa Comédie humaine is the title of Honoré de Balzac's multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy .-Overview:...
by BalzacHonoré de BalzacHonoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
, edition Furne (1842–1846) - La Bretagne ancienne et moderne by Pitre-Chevalier (1845)
- Faust by Goethe (1847)
- Raphaêl by LamartineAlphonse de LamartineAlphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine was a French writer, poet and politician who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic.-Career:...
(1849–1850), Perrotin ed - Œuvres illustrées of George SandGeorge SandAmantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
(1852–1856) - Jérôme Paturot à la recherche de la meilleure des républiques by Louis Reybaud, chez Michel Lévy frères (1849)
External links
- Notice biographique
- Tony Johannot raconté par Alexandre Dumas dans ses Mémoires
- Illustrations on the Gallica website
- Illustrations for Fables de La Fontaine from an 1875 edition