Beatrix Potter grew up in Victorian London in bourgeois culture during the late 19th century. She was encouraged by her father, who was an active artist in the community, to pursue painting and drawing to which she showed great promise. Throughout the years, Potter was mostly self-taught, as her education as an artist was fairly neglected due to her being a woman. However, she continued to find inspiration from painters like Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable (both of which one can clearly see reflected in her illustration style) and also from nature, which would end up launching her career as an illustrator.

Potter is best known for her children’s book illustrations, especially those of Peter Rabbit (fig. 1). I am definitely fond of those depictions myself, reading those stories when I was little. There is something whimsical about her illustrations, and I think she is a genius with characterization. One can experience the characters emotions, without changing the animals too much in terms of facial expression or accuracy. I adore how she is able to personify animals through, sometimes, clothing alone (fig. 2).

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Works Cited

“Beatrix Potter.” Illustration History, www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/beatrix-potter.

Kutzer, M.Daphne. Beatrix Potter : Writing in Code. New York : Routledge, 2003., 2003. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat02755a&AN=cul.b1118329&site=eds-live&scope=site.