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Frederick Sandys, 'The Valkyrie and the Raven', 1862

 


Despite its lack of colour, this woodcut overloads the eye with detail. The art of woodcuts has long been dismissed as a 'primitive' technique yielding limited results, but the work of Sandys and his fellow Victorian artists suggests otherwise. This was a cheap method of reproducing art compared to engraving and etching, that produced very similar results. This particular version of the woodcut by Sandys (now in the RA collection) shows his woodcut reproduced by the engraver Joseph Swain. These delicate, emotive and sensory works were available to the general public, connecting them to this versatile medium for the first time. 

The importance of the print culture cannot be underestimated in disseminating works like the one by Sandys. Victorian illustration was a booming method of mass production. The years 1855-75 have been referred to as the 'golden decades' of illustration by key critics in this field, from Harold Hartley to Sarah Phelps. Sandys himself is known to have made about thirty illustrations, and it is entirely likely that this could have been one. The range of these Victorian artists, engaging with painting but also with print culture, preparatory drawings and sculpture, shows how they traversed the boundaries of media and created instability. 

Most obviously, the handling of the medium here by Sandys recalls Albrecht Durer. The hair of the female figure flows out like the mane of a lion, billowing in a ferocious wind. Her features reflect her strength as a chosen warrior of Odin, her chin, brow and nose well defined by the skill of the woodcutter, almost masculine. Sandys has even included a townscape in the background, alluding to Northern Renaissance architecture that is revealed under the billowing, dark draperies of the Valkyrie. Sandys has used a combination of horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines spaced apart at varying distances to achieve convincing light and shade. The scene itself is based loosely on a ninth century Norse poem, where a Valkyrie and raven have a conversation about the life and deeds of the first king of Norway, Harald Fairhair. The wide eye of the raven and its open beak implies conversation, but also as if it is warning the figure - ravens in Norse mythology symbolised prophecy and protection. Overall the piece is ambiguous. Though the clouds are clearing in the distance and the town below seems sleeping and peaceful, the pensive expression of the Valkyrie and wide eye of the raven suggests otherwise, and suggest danger approaching.

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