EXTRACTS: Drawing from History: The Forgotten Art of Fortunino Matania © The Book Palace (340 PAGES in Full edition)

the sinking of the Titanic on the 15th April 1912. Here was an event which gripped the world, and which created a hunger for the kind of coverage that newsprint editors alone could appease. As in all such disasters, the need for analysis and explanation made huge demands on editors and reporters to source information, and make it easily assimilated by the readers. The first and most vivid point of contact in such an exercise would be the reportage artist, and no one was better suited to fulfill such a brief as Fortunino Matania. Interviewing survivors of the sinking and studying models of the ship, Matania created two illustrations that captured the last moments of the Titanic and most of its passengers, in a way which no other contemporary artist could hope to equal. The first of the illustrations, entitled ‘Titanic Sinking’ appeared in The Sphere on the 27th April 1912. Depicting, with the aid of Matania’s annotations painted directly on to the artwork, the last moments of the Titanic as it slipped beneath the freezing waters, its lights still illuming the ghastly tableaux. The illustration, despite its relative detachment, administered an atavistic shudder to its Edwardian 19 the sinking of the Titanic on the 15th April 1912. Here was an event which gripped the world, and which created a hunger for the kind of coverage that newsprint editors alone could appease. As in all such disasters, the need for analysis and explanation made huge demands on editors and reporters to source information, and make it easily assimilated by the readers. The first and most vivid point of contact in such an exercise would be the reportage artist, and no one was better suited to fulfill such a brief as Fortunino Matania. Interviewing survivors of the sinking and studying models of the ship, Matania created two illustrations that captured the last moments of the Titanic and most of its passengers, in a way which no other contemporary artist could hope to equal. The first of the illustrations, entitled ‘Titanic Sinking’ appeared in The Sphere on the 27th April 1912. Depicting, with the aid of Matania’s annotations painted directly on to the artwork, the last moments of the Titanic as it slipped beneath the freezing waters, its lights still illuming the ghastly tableaux. The illustration, despite its relative detachment, administered an atavistic shudder to its Edwardian audience. However, it was the second illustration that appeared a week later that really hit the public nerve. Entitled ‘Women and Children First’, the illustration lifted the viewers on to the deck of the stricken ship, and confronted themwith the sight of the tearful and final farewells, as women and children climb onto the last of the lifeboats, with their attendant men folk standing on deck, awaiting their fate with a mixture of stoicism and grim resolve. These images have been reproduced countless times, and to a certain extent their searing impact at the time of publication has been somewhat softened by familiarity, but in the spring TOP: ‘Women and Children First’, the image that seared its way into the consciousness of a readership transfixed by the news of the Titanic’s sinking in April 1912. John Jacob Astor is depicted blowing a kiss to his wife. ABOVE: Matania (standing) earnestly interviews a survivor of the Titanic sinking prior to creating the painting above, which includes the solitary shoe as described by one of his sources. Text continues on page 24 Illustrators3 Final 23.01.13.indd 19 6/2/13 08:58:45 The sinking of the Titanic on the 15th April 1912 was an event which gripped the world, and hich created a hunger for the kind of c verage that newsprint editors alone could appease. As in all such disasters, the need for analysis and explanation made huge demands on editors and reporters to source information, and make it easily assimilated by the readers. The first and most vivid point of contact in such an exercise would be the reportage artist, and no one was better suited to fulfill such a brief as Matania. Interviewing survivors of the sinking and studying models of the ship, Matania created two illustrations that captured the last mome ts of the Titanic and most of i s passengers, in a way which no o er contemporary artist could hope to equal. The first of the illu trations, entitled ‘Tita ic Sinking’ appeared in The Sphere on the 27th April 1912. D picting, wit the aid of Matania’s annotations painted directly on to the artwork, the last moments of the Titanic as it slipped beneath the freezing waters, its lights still illuming the ghastly tableaux. The illustration, despite its relative detachment, administered an atavistic shudder to its Edwardian audience. However, it was the second illustration that appeared a week later that really hit the public nerve. Entitled ‘Women and Children First’ (above), the illustration lifted the viewers on to the deck of the stricken ship, and confronted them with the sight of the tearful and final farewells, as women and children climb onto the last of the lifeboats, with their attendant men folk standing on deck, awaiting their fate with a mixture of stoicism and grim resolve. Left: Titanic Sinking. Above: Matania (standing) interviews a survivor of the Titanic i in prior to creating t e painting below, which includes the solitary shoe as described by one of his sources. Below: Women and Children First. © Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans