Alice in Wonderland: The Changing Appearance of the Protagonist

September 4, 2024

Lewis Carroll's Alice

It's still hot, how are you doing? Temperatures are expected to be higher than average until around October , so we recommend spending time in a cool museum during these times.

When art museums hold special exhibitions and borrow works from other places, the contract sometimes includes the temperature and humidity settings for the exhibition space, so if you enter the venue and it feels very cool, that may be the reason.

I once had the same feeling at an art museum, and when I asked about it, someone explained to me, "Oh, I see, that's what it means!" It was a bit of trivia.

The "Alice in Wonderland" exhibition is being held at the Matsuzakaya Museum of Art until Saturday, September 21st , which is the first day of a three-day weekend.

So far, I have written two blog posts related to the "Alice in Wonderland" exhibition. This is the third.

This is a study of illustrations of the main character, Alice. In addition, I will introduce some of the more diverse illustrations of Alice that were produced in the 20th century.

First up is Alice by Lewis Carroll, who we have already introduced.

This illustration is from "Alice's Adventures Underground," based on a story that Lewis and a friend improvised when they went boating on July 4 , 1862 , with Alice Liddell (then 10 years old), the real person and model for the story.

This Alice by Lewis is thought to have been influenced by a certain artistic group.

Lewis Carroll and the Pre-Raphaelites

Lewis was a man of wide-ranging knowledge and great interest in art.

This is a bit of a nerdy, complicated discussion of art. I think it's quite important to the original Alice's appearance, so I'd appreciate it if you could read it without skipping it.

Lewis Carroll was a fan of the Pre-Raphaelites, a group of artists who lived during his time.

Many of you may be wondering what that is.

For example, have you ever heard of the "Impressionists" such as Monet and Renoir?

In the world of art, there are many instances of "schools" (or factions, I guess).

I think it's best to think of a certain school as a group of painters who share the same ideas and techniques regarding painting and have a similar direction.

The leading figures in the British art world during the Victorian era were reluctant to accept any painting other than that of Raphael Santi , one of the three great masters of the Renaissance (around the 15th to 16th centuries), who they modeled their work after (the other two of the three great masters were Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti).

But then, surely, some young artists will become dissatisfied, right? Because they create art based on their own beliefs.

And so, the three painters Dante Gabriel Rossetti , John Everett Millais, and William Holman Hunt decided to create their own art, and began their activities by calling themselves the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood .

The idea is to return to the styles of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance.

By the way, one of the members , John Everett Millais's Ophelia , is said to be the most wonderful work in Victorian England. Please search for it when you have time. (Note: This is not Millais' work on The Sower.)

Lewis Carroll, who was also active as a photographer , was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and is said to have taken photographs of its members .

So we can speculate that this has something to do with Alice's appearance.

The Pre-Raphaelites, especially Dante Gabriel Rossetti (a big name), painted both women on numerous occasions - you can imagine how they related to each other - and they were also their muses.

This is a work by Rossetti from 1863. This is the woman who would later marry Rossetti. She is dressed simply, and her hair appears to be slightly wavy. It feels a bit religious. Another one.

This is also by Rossetti. The female model is different from the previous work, and she had a long relationship with Rossetti from around 1859. (This work was created after the publication of Alice in Wonderland.)

The fruit she is holding is a pomegranate, which means eternal love.

The woman in question had a similar relationship with Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Lewis Carroll, who was a friend of the Pre-Raphaelites, would have been aware of this.

Lewis Carroll felt personal sympathy for the Pre-Raphaelites, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti continued to paint his muse.

Similarly, Alice Liddell, who was the protagonist of Alice in Wonderland, was like a muse to Lewis (as revealed in a later letter).

And above all, this book (Alice Under Ground) was a very personal gift to Alice Liddell. I think he wanted to convey his own aesthetics and what he wanted things to be.

Considering that, it is possible that he was heavily influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and drew Alice himself. However, his drawing skills are a bit... I can't really comment on that.

The main character in his " Alice in Wonderland " doesn't wear an apron, his clothes are simple, and he doesn't feel cute or anything. His hair is wavy. He has a simple feel.

Alice Liddell, the real-life model for "Alice in Wonderland," and Lewis's Alice... they don't look alike at all. Below is a picture of Alice Liddell.

This is a photograph of Alice Liddell taken by Lewis Carroll. You can sense his enthusiasm in trying to bring out Alice's charm.

Sorry. I got carried away and this became a bit complicated, but when I went to the "Alice in Wonderland" exhibition and thought about it, I wondered where the original Alice's appearance came from. I searched for and read a lot of materials, and I felt that I wanted to touch on this topic.

Artists who depicted the multiplying Alice

The "Alice in Wonderland" exhibition celebrating the 160th anniversary of the publication features illustrations by four artists: John Tenniel, Harry Seeker, John MacFarlane, and Diz Wallis, so in this section we will also introduce other artists.

First, after the publishing rights expired, many Alice in Wonderland versions were released by various publishers.

A typical example is Arthur Rackham.

Alice is depicted in a diagonal line from the bottom right to the top left, surrounded by playing cards. The lines are soft and the clothes have a natural movement. However, the colors somehow give off a sense of unease.

This Alice has long limbs and looks a little more mature, giving the impression of a calm young girl. I love this Alice because of the sepia color scheme and the sense of movement in the picture. What about you?

When it was first released in 1907 , it was met with praise for how far it had changed the original image, but also heavy criticism for being far removed from Alice's image.

He was also asked to do new illustrations for "Through the Looking Glass," but there is an anecdote that he turned down the offer, saying, "I don't want to do any more!", after receiving so much criticism and backlash, which would be considered modern-day equivalents.

That happens a lot in music too, because old fans don't approve of change.

Charles Robinson

It was published in the same year as Arthur Rackham's work, which we introduced earlier. This is the very image of Alice that is best described as cute.

Alice's hairstyle is similar to that of Alice Liddell (the model for Alice) around the time she went boating with Lewis Carroll. This was the first time Alice was published with a bob haircut.

However, I get the impression that the children in this version are a little younger than those in the original "Alice in Wonderland."

Also, when you look at the original Alice, words like "tomboy, strong-willed, curious, and grown-up" come to mind, but Charles Robinson's Alice doesn't feel that way. She's modern, if you want to call it that.

An interesting one is Salvador Dali.

Have you ever seen a painting of a melted clock? It's called "The Persistence of Memory." It's by that artist. He was at the center of the art movement known as Surrealism.

(I would like to write about the affinity between Alice and Surrealism in the near future. This year marks the 120th anniversary of Dali's birth, and the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Surrealist movement.)

This is an image taken by Dali, with copyright waived. A bronze statue of just the clock part of "The Persistence of Memory." (Apparently in Poland.)

This person also actually drew illustrations for "Alice in Wonderland." Unfortunately, I cannot post the image because I believe the copyright has not yet expired.

This was released in 1969 as a limited edition print collection of only 2,500 copies, and of course it features illustrations from "Alice in Wonderland." The illustrations are a mix of Dali's worldview and Lewis Carroll's worldview.

Each copy was printed using intricate techniques, and they still sell for high prices today.

The twelve illustrations are like dream images, and correspond to the twelve stories of Alice in Wonderland. Alice appears in the twelve illustrations not as a clearly identifiable protagonist, but as a woman skipping rope , rather than as a child.

I felt that the main character, Alice, was depicted as a small bystander, often positioned in the corner of the illustration.

It's very colorful, but it gives a completely different impression from any Alice story I've seen so far.

This is the end of this blog.

We also introduced where the original image of Alice came from and how the image of Alice has changed over time.

When I start researching Alice, I come across a lot of things, like finding out that this person is also an illustrator or a translator.

I'd love to write about Alice and Japan. There are lots of cute illustrations.

There are other musical influences as well.

I also hope to touch on those aspects as well.

References

Edited "Dali Exhibition 2016 Catalogue" National Art Center, Tokyo, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, published by Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Headquarters, 2016.

"Alice in Wonderland" by Katherine Nichols, Yumani Shobo, 2016.

"Alice of Representation" by Mikiko Chimori, Hosei University Press, 2015.

"Lewis Carroll Handbook", edited by Yasui Izumi, Nanatsumorishokan, 2013.

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