Antoine Johannot, known commonly as Tony Johannot (9 November 1803 – 4 August 1852), was a French engraver, illustrator and painter.

Biography

He was born in

Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...

. His father, François Johannot (c. 1760–1838), owned a silk factory in Germany, where the family had fled after the revocation of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...

. He was a painter who was involved in the development of

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

in France. The two older brothers of Tony, Charles and Alfred, were engravers, and Alfred also worked as a painter and draughtsman. Tony learnt engraving from his brothers and helped Alfred produce illustrations of books by

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

and

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. Tony came to prefer

wood-engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and prints using relatively lo ...

, but resumed

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

in 1845. His historical paintings were exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

for the first time in 1831. He became an illustrator much prized for his elegance, his diversity, and the lively character of his drawings, which were converted to engravings either by himself or by such artists as Jacques Adrien Lavieille, Émile Montigneul, and Alfred Revel. He was praised by

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

: :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.Théophile Gautier, article in ''La Presse'', 16 June 1845. Reprinted in ''Portraits contemporains''. Johannot died in Paris on 4 August 1852.

Gallery

File:Poemes Vigny 1829.jpg, Title page for poems by

Alfred de Vigny Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (; 27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticism, Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare. Biography Vigny was born in Loches (a town to wh ...

File:Faust und Mephisto, Stich von Tony Johannot.jpg,

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

and Mephistopheles File:Heinrich Heine 1837.jpg, Portrait of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

Works

* Magazines: '' Revue des Deux Mondes'', ''L’Artiste'', ''

L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' (; 1843–1944) was a French language, French illustrated weekly newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in ...

'', ''Le Magasin Pittoresque''. * ''Histoire du Roi de Bohême et de ses sept châteaux'' by

Charles Nodier Jean Charles Emmanuel Nodier (; 29 April 1780 – 27 January 1844) was a French author and librarian who introduced a younger generation of Romanticists to the ''conte fantastique'', gothic literature, and vampire tales. His dream related writi ...

(1830). *''Théatre complet'' of Eugène Scribe (1834) -- 2nd edition, chez Aimé André. *''The Complete Works of Lord Byron'' (1835). *''Œuvres illustrées'' of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

(1835–1836). *''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

(1836–1837). *''Paul et Virginie'' by

Bernardin de Saint-Pierre Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (; also called Bernardin de St. Pierre) (19 January 1737, in Le Havre – 21 January 1814, in Éragny, Val-d'Oise) was a French writer and botanist. He is best known for his 1788 novel, '' Paul et Virginie ...

(1838). *''Manon Lescaut'' by

Abbé Prévost Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles ( , , ; 1 April 169725 November 1763), usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French priest, author, and novelist. Life and works He was born at Hesdin, Artois, and first appears with the full na ...

(1839). *''Les Français peints par eux-mêmes'' (1840–1842). *''L'Âne mort'' by

Jules Janin Jules Gabriel Janin (; 16 February 1804 – 19 June 1874) was a French writer and critic. Life and career Born in Saint-Étienne (Loire), Janin's father was a lawyer, and he was educated first at St. Étienne, and then at the lycée Louis-le-Gr ...

(1842). *''Voyage où il vous plaira'' by Musset and Stahl, chez Hetzel (1843). *''

La Comédie humaine (; English: ''The Human Comedy'') is Honoré de Balzac's 1829–48 multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration (1815–30) and the July Monarchy (1830–48). ''La Com� ...

'' by Balzac, edition Furne (1842–1846). * ''La Bretagne ancienne et moderne'' by Pitre-Chevalier (1845). * ''Faust'' by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

(1847). *''Raphaêl'' by

Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more w ...

(1849–1850), Perrotin edition. *''Œuvres illustrées'' of

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...

(1852–1856). *''Jérôme Paturot à la recherche de la meilleure des républiques'' by

Louis Reybaud Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

, chez Michel Lévy frères (1849).

References

Bibliography

*Aristide Marie, ''Alfred et Tony Johannot, peintres, graveurs et vignettistes'', H. Floury, coll. "La Vie et l'art romantiques", Paris, 1925.
La Grande Encyclopédie
(sous la direction d'André Berthelot) (tome 21) *Dictionnaire des illustrateurs, 1800–1914. Sous la direction de Marcus Osterwalder. Éditions Ides et Calendes, 1989. p. 538-539.

External links

Tony Johannot raconté par Alexandre Dumas dans ses ''Mémoires''Illustrations on the Gallica websiteIllustrations
for ''Fables de

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, ; ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

'' from an 1875 edition * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johannot, Tony French illustrators 19th-century French painters French male painters 1803 births 1852 deaths 19th-century French male artists