Beauty and the Beast - How Different Artists Saw the Beast Differently

As the name already suggests the Beast is scary and many illustrators used that as a starting point. But each one of us has different fears, so this is a bit tricky. From the story we learn about the Beast's human characteristics, so he should be at least slightly similar to humans. Octopuses and scorpions are definitely out of the question. All illustrators decided to give the beast a head, four limbs, and clothes or fur or fashion accessories. Typical scary details are tusks, horns, claws, sharp teeth, and so on.

This is an 1874 edition for Edmund Evans, published by George Routledge & Sons. The Beast is essentially a boar. Tipycaly for Walter Crane's style there are a lot of details, like a monocle and a pocket watch. They not only add to the Beast's humanoid look, but they also show that he is rich and classy.

This Irish painter who lived and worked in London depicted the Beast as a huge monster resembling an enranged bear with an open muzzle and heavy pawns. It's not clear on what occasion this illustration was made but it' undoubtedly looks the most dangerous of all in this article.

A lot of strange things happen in the story with the action at the Beast's castle being the most strange of all. Fantastic scenes in the story inspired artists to make the title character more strange than dangerous. They achieved that with different approaches but it seems the mixture of characteristics of different animals was the most popular solution.

Anne Anderson compiled the Beast from a giant lizard with a beak and protruding ears. A necklace is a sign of his noble origin. She painted him in a classic Art Nouveau style using his scales as a sort of decoration matching the checkered pattern on the floor.

Browne illustrated Beauty and the Beast when he was already an established artist. This picture is from Gordon Browne's Series of Old Fairy Tales. The Beast looks like a horse with several strange details like paws, ears, a cap, and even a feather, not to mention the robe decorated with classy details suggesting his royal origin.

The setting of the story has several exotic elements. The merchant's family changes location, the merchant travels to the coast, and the Beast's castle is full of surprises. Some illustrators used that while drawing the title character, and some even created a specific dialogue between the characters and their environment.

Beauty and the Beast is by far her best-known book with numerous additions to the original story which she compiled from Villeneuve's and Leprince Beaumont's versions. She decided to portray the beast as a kind of giant hairy walrus which makes him the least anthropomorphized of all in this article.

Edmund Dulac was an Orientalist and he used a chance to put the story into an exotic environment which would be good for 1001 Nights (he also illustrated numerous stories from this collection). Dulac's Beast is a humanoid with several characteristics of animals but the most obvious detail is probably his headscarf or turban. The Beauty got one as well.

There are many sad moments in the story of Beauty and the Beast. The merchant loses his fortune, gets false hope, and trades his life for his daughter's. Beauty learns that her sisters are more dangerous than the Beast and almost loses him. More than enough chances to instill some sadness into the Beast's appearance.

As the younger sister of the so-called Father of American illustration Katharine Pyle never lacked originality or technical skills. Her presentation of the Beast is not scary at all. While he is obviously huge and very strong he immediately makes an impression of a victim (what he really is), not a predator.

Warwick Goble's Beast is another hairy animal with some characteristics of a horse. The artist caught the feeling of sadness by depicting the moment when Beauty returns to the Beast's castle and finds him lying still on the ground not knowing if he is dead or alive.

A few illustrators tried to lighten up the story by showing the Beast more comically. While this fairy tale became a classic thanks to dramatic situations and dark tones, it's also a positive tale about the rewards earned through renunciation and sacrifice. When it became a moral tale aimed at young girls, positivity was one of the ways to make it more memorable, and the funny appearance of the Beast was one of the options.

Thomas Edward Donnison was an illustrator and especially a very successful cartoonist. He created a full collection of fairy tales (Old Fairy Tales Told Anew) where he condensed the essence of a dozen classic fairy tales in a few lines and one or two illustrations for each. His Beast is small, funny, and looks more like a friendly dog than a monster.

Jessie Wilcox Smith as one of the most successful illustrators of all time was an extremely prolific creator who was accustomed to working fast and making variations on the same theme due to her work for numerous magazines. Books were more of a side job for her. This illustration comes from Now-A-Days Fairy Book published by Dodd, Mead & Company in 1911. It's a book where Grandmother tells various classic stories to children and they stage some of the scenes with their toys in their environment. In this case, the Beast is just a nice guest at the tea party.

If you enjoyed this presentation, you can also check many other illustrations from Beauty and the Beast:

https://topillustrations.wordpress.com/2014/01/12/beauty-and-the-beast-in-pictures/

https://vintagefairytalepics.blogspot.com/2024/02/beauty-and-beast-pictures.html

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