Frontispiece, ‘In Memoriam’
Alfred Garth Jones
1901
Wood engraving
8½ inches
Alfred Tennyson, In Memoriam, pictorial frontispiece.
The poet’s lament is symbolized in this frontispiece by a grieving classical figure. The finality of death is represented by the rocky outcrops, while the regeneration of immortal life and the resurrection is connoted by the trees; the cherubim reaches out for the later, just as the poet oscillates between faith and despair. Jones works, once again, in the austere version of Art Nouveau; the sinuousness of the plants and tendrils is especially apparent, and affirms the dynamic curvilinearity of this ‘new style.’
Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke. [Click on image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]