illustration analysis stevee

Madeline

Story and pictures by Ludwig Bemelmans

Published by Puffin Books in 1998

1940 Caldecott Honor Book

Style & Media Bemelmans illustrations are mostly expressionism with some naïve and naïve cartoon art.

Expressionism: includes bright colors and figures that are disproportionate. Here, Miss Clavel and and the twelve girls look disproportionate, yet friendly. The yellow background also feels bright and cheery.

Style & Media Continued Naïve style is also

relevant in the illustrations. Naïve

gives the appearance of being childlike and

unsophisticated, yet ingenious. The artwork

also has no straight technique.

Style & Media Continued Naïve Cartoon Art is

also present in the pictures. Here, the picture shows childlike illustrations with lacking proportions. The style is naïve and playful, which contributes to a child like personality that Bemelmans was trying to pursue.

Line Here, diagonal lines

represent movement. The lines are reinforcing the

girls playing with the hospital toys. With the

balloon floating straight up, it is as if the playful scene was captured on

camera. The lines around Madeline’s bed also cause

the eye to focus on her while her friends are

playing.

Shape In this photo, the shape of the

door and carpet represent simple and rigid shapes, which are man-made. The complex and supple shapes are the things that are natural, which are the girls and Miss Clavel.

This picture is also showing action, since all of the girls have their hands up in a wave, and they are also drawn diagonally. The shapes allowing the scene to be light and cheery, which contribute to the theme of the book. Also, with Miss Clavel as the largest shape in the illustration, it shows how important she is in the stories.

Color The hue of the illustrations are mostly all yellow, which means that the illustrations are also monochromatic. The hue yellow is also categorized as a warm color, which is bright and fun and provides the illustrations with a festive atmosphere, just as the saturation does.

Color Continued

Bemelmans vibrant color scheme allow children to focus on the characters of the story.

Yellow symbolizes sunshine,

joy, happiness, cheerfulnes

s, and energy.

Energy

Cheerfulness

Color Continued

Bemelmans uses dark colors also to represent unhappy, sad, and scared situations; however, in each illustration there is still a little bit of yellow to represent that “happiness can be found even in the darkest places.” –Albus Dumbledore

Scared

Sad

Scared

Texture Texture is created here by the overlapping of colors and shapes. The car lights and shadows from the buildings create three dimensional qualities in the illustrations. Here, paint layers and brush strokes are visible to create almost an eerie night.

Here, the carpet has texture from the shading and cross-hatching in the illustrations. Also, the chandelier gives the illustration some depth since there are no lines to represent the walls of the room.

Composition In the illustrations, most of the photos are symmetrical with

the balance of objects evenly.

Symmetrical

All of the illustrations in the book contain a white

border.

Composition Continued

Asymmetrically Balanced

Almost every illustration has a small white border, and a yellow background. This is meant to keep the reader

engaged and wanting to turn the page to learn more. Also, the yellow background

allows the reader to focus on the main characters instead of the background, which is important

for beginner readers.