History of Design Designer Paper Leyendecker

8/9/2019 History of Design Designer Paper Leyendecker

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he American Golden Age

of Illustration strived

between the years of 1890

and 1940 and brought forth some of

the most creative and inspirational

artists of the twentieth century. It

was an era of unparalleled excellence

in regards to its innovations in book,

magazine and advertising designs.

Masters of the arts during the

Golden Age of Illustration created

a visual history that both captured

audiences of the time with intense

images, styles and vividness, and left

a permanent stamp on the life of the

nation that still withstands today.

New techniques in printing were

being developed, paper productionwas becoming less costly, railways

facilitated distribution throughout

the continent and the population

was expanding and becoming

wealthier as industrialization

progressed. Magazines such as

Harpers Monthly, Colliers and

Scribners took advantage of the

technological developments in

order to expand their enormouscirculations, and likewise, the

publishers of many illustrative

childrens books took the same

advantages on the new techniques

being developed to market their

enterprises. The demand and desire

of artists and illustrators was on a

steady rise during the Golden Age

of American Illustration, and one

of the most prolic, successful and

inuential artists of the time was

J.C. Leyendecker. He captivated

his audiences and inuenced the art

of illustration with his recognizable

style and powerful and iconic images

of American culture. Leyendecker

transformed the worlds of

illustration, advertising and society

itself with each magazine page.

In 1874, two factors

transformed the art world forever.

The rst factor was an Impressionist

art exhibition that was being held for

the rst time in Paris, France. The

exhibition itself was resonant to the

art world, because Impressionists


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depicted reality in a way that was

never seen before, using elements

like the secondary eects of light and

colour to create compelling pieces ofhart and captivating compositions.

The second reason was the birth

of Joseph Christian Leyendecker.

Joseph Christian, otherwise known

as Joe to his friends and family

was born on March 23rd 1874 in

Montabaur, a small tenth-century

town in the heart of Westerwald,

Germany. He was the third

child born to Peter Leyendecker,

a brewer, and his young wife

Elizabeth Ortseifen Leyendecker.He was one of four children, having

his older brother Adolf, his older

sister Augusta Mary, and his young

brother Franz Xavier. In 1882, the

Leyendecker family left Montabaur

for Chicago, in hopes of Peter

Leyendecker joining his wifes

uncle at his brewery to help better

the lives of their four children

Elizabeths uncle, John McAvoy

had built his self-named brewing

company, the McAvoy Brewing

Company, into an immensely

popular beer business. The

Leyendecker family, as the children

were getting older, encouraged thecreative passions of each of their

young sons, often letting them

scrawl sketches and pictures on the

kitchen table clothes. Joseph and

his young brother Franz, otherwise

known as Frank, were both very

close to one another growing up

sharing in similar interests in the

arts. Leyendecker was extremely

talented for his age, wvith a

natural talent in understanding

composition and design. At the

age of eleven, he had design a

beer bottle label for the McAvoy

Brewing Company. He utilized

the concept that many consumers

particularly immigrant consumers

who were illiterate, would better

recognize and remember a labelthat was graphically interesting

and unique. When Leyendecker

was fteen, he began to pursue his

artistic aspirations. He began to

apprentice at J. Manz & Company

an engraving rm in Chicago

Leyendecker illustrated several

religious pamphlets and Bible

editions since Manz & Company

did many engravings that were

used to accompany biblical tracks

In 1894, Leyendecker created up to

sixty Bible illustrations that were

published by the Powers Brother

Company. He then began to realize

the importance of an education and

enrolled himself at the Art Institute

of Chicago as he continued to work


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with J. Manz & Company as Sta

Illustrator.

In the spring of 1896,

Leyendecker impacted the art

world when he won rst prize

in a cover design contest for

The Century magazines August

Midsummer Holiday Number.This was a major milestone for

Leyendecker, since Century was

known as the best American

magazine. The prize for winning

rst place was the publication of

the winning image as well as an

issued art print. Leyendeckers

work had become widely acclaimed

and recognized throughout the

United States and throughout

Europe. His print was recreated

into posters that plastered the city

walls of Paris and forever changed

the world of advertising, bringing it

into the dominion of high art. Over

the next ve years, Leyendecker

worked himself diligently in order

to save his earnings from his

poster and book designs to helpfund both himself and his younger

brother Frank, to attend Acadmie

Julian, an art school in Paris. The

two Leyendecker brothers nally

arrived in France on September 17th

1896. A year later, Leyendecker held

his rst exhibition at the Salon du

Champs de Mars, and in the same

year, he was commissioned to paint

an advertising poster for a Chap

Book by Stone & Kimball-Herbert

S. Stone & Company. Likewise,

he was also given a multiple

commission from The Inland

Printer, an imaginative magazine

for the printing industry, to create

twelve full magazine covers. The

Leyendecker brothers, once Josephs

exhibition nally closed, took their

newly found art knowledge from

Paris back with them to Chicago.

Around the same time, the Curtis

Publishing Company had acquired

The Saturday Evening Post, withLeyendecker being one of the

rst artists to contribute to the

new publication with a series of

illustrations. Within a few months,

he was commissioned to create a

cover for the magazine. His rst

Post cover appeared on May 20th

1899. Both Leyendecker brothers

then settled in Chicagos Center

for Creativity, with their tenth oor

suite being a bustling magnet for

aspirating artists. Unfortunately

Chicago was not the Mecca of the art

world, and in 1900, the Leyendecker

brothers as well as their older sisterMary, moved to New York City

The siblings were able to establish

a lavish and fruitful lifestyle, and

Leyendecker was able to negotiate

assignments for The Saturday

Evening Post to create publications

for the magazine on a long-term

basis. He would, throughout his

lifetime, paint Post covers for


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decades, easily completing over

more than three hundred covers

with captivating and iconic images,

becoming one of the most popular,

if not the most popular, artist for

one of Americas most popular

magazines. Leyendecker created

iconic images and characters thatare still widely recognized today,

from the portly, white-haired man

dressed in red, Santa Claus, to the

round-faced innocent Baby New

Year. He was also known for this

creation of the Arrow Collar Man, a

handsome icon for idealistic fashion

and lifestyle throughout the 1910s

and 1920s, which virtually created

the concept of branding in modern

advertisements.

Leyendecker understood

that to leave the greatest impact as

an artist meant to create images that

were easily reproduced, immediately

recognized and could be broadly

distributed for a wide audience to

appreciate. His advertisements

were the embodiment of these

concepts. They transformed from

advertisements and cover paintingsinto iconic visions that were

representational and symbolic of

the American civilization, as well as

his personal legacy as an advertiser.

Leyendecker developed a particular

style to his work that did not change

when he moved to New York, and

his work was easily identied as

being a Leyendecker because

of it. One of the most prominent

characteristics of his work was

the underlying homoerotic nature

of some of his pieces. Being a

homosexual himself, Leyendecker

did not express his sexual

orientation often, or at all, and it was

often overlooked or widely ignored

during discussion. Leyendecker

was aware that revealing his secret

would threaten his popularity and

success, so he never publically cameout of the closet. He attempted to

mask his sexual orientation in his

work, often having his worked being

characterized as the heterosexual

female adoration for good-looking

men depicted in overly-erotic poses

In order to create such captivating

illustrations, Leyendecker would

smooth oils on his models in order

to enhance the light reectivity on

the models bodies. These images

both appealed to the homosexual

and heterosexual communities


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models breasts and waist, creating

the idea of transparency around her

feminine features. Like many other

illustrations from the Art Nouveau

period, the female form was depicted

as sensual and graceful, often

having a subtle seductive quality

to it. Women were portrayed withdelicate features and were often

mixed with organic and surreal

shapes that seemed to transcend the

frame of the compositions, creating

ethereal and uncanny shapes for the

eye follow. Within this composition,

Leyendecker incorporated these

concepts subtly into his work,

giving the piece a sense of depth

and visual movement. The models

hair ows behind her in a fashion

that is typical of Art Nouveau, with

organic lines and shapes. Unlike

some other Art Nouveau prints

however, the models hair is connedwithin the frame of the piece and

does not break the compositions

boarder. However, Leyendecker

still managed to incorporate this

concept instead with the red poppy

owers that make up a majority of

the background and parts of the

foreground.

The poppies add a visual

dynamic to the composition

because they add a strong colour

to the colour palette of the piece.

The entire cover is made up of

muted earth tones like beige and

brown with hints of yellow andpastel pinks, creating a very airy

and seemingly loose composition

However, with the addition of

the red poppy owers, not only

does it give the piece an additional

colour, it also helps anchor the piece

visually and creates a sense of visual

movement within the layout. The

layout of the cover is visually very

stable, the models pose of holding

the bouquet in her gown creating

a visual triangle that leads from

both her hands to her face, which

is the central vocal point of the

composition. The poppy owers

contribute to the pieces stability by

anchoring the image towards the

top of the layout, preventing it from

visually drifting upward and beinglost. The long stems of the owers

bring the viewers eyes from the

bouquet in the models arms towards

the top of the layout, where the text

for the magazine is located outside

the frame. In order to lead the eye

to the title, some of the poppies

transcend the boarder of the frame

and actually become parts of the

foreground and cover parts of the

title itself. This adds a sense of depth

within the piece and is more visually

interesting and dynamic. The title

of the magazine itself uses a sense

of scale to create a visual hierarchy

through its placement, according to

the importance of information. The

Century, the publication title, is


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depicted as the largest amongst the

type treatment, with Midsummer

Holiday Number in smaller

text beside it. The placement of

Midsummer Holiday Number

is done in a way to visually make it

equal to the publication title, which

adds stability and balance to theoverall layout. Even the placement

and sizes of The and August

contribute to the balance of the

overall composition. The entire

magazine cover as a layout itself is

visually interesting, creating a sense

of movement that leads the viewers

eye throughout the dierent

elements of the composition,

is captivating in regards to the

imagery, and is a prime example of

the natural talent that Leyendecker

possessed in his trade. His natural

talent for design would bring him to

the forefront of the magazine design

industry, and be his strongest asset

when working with The Saturday

Evening Post.

Over the course of hislifetime, Leyendecker had created

over three hundred covers for The

Saturday Evening Post, with each

cover depicting a specic theme,

holiday or event that was signicant

to the time. Each cover of the Post

was created using stunning imagery

and incredible composition.

Leyendecker took the design of the

magazine covers to heart and created

unique illustrations for each issue,

using a subtle combination of both

theme and illustration to connection

emotionally with the American

people. He had reinvented the way

Americans celebrated their holidays

and introduced some of the most

elementary themes of advertising

in American culture today. One

of the most iconographic images

that Leyendecker coined was Baby

New Year. He had invented the

notion of a baby ringing in the New

Year in the December 1908 issue

of the Post. His depiction of Baby

New Year was both charming andfanciful, adorning the covers of the

Post for almost forty-some years.

The American people began to

incorporate Baby New Year as

a tradition and would anticipate

a new illustration every January.

Leyendeckers New Years Baby

would soon become as popular as

his depiction of Santa Claus and

would soon be accepted worldwide

as a symbol of beginning the New

Year with a fresh and revitalizing

start. Not only was Baby New

Year a symbol of a refreshing start

for the New Year, Leyendecker

also used him to depict certain

social and political topics, like his

cover for the 1931 Post, showing

an industrialized Baby New Yearworking hard to put together the

plague that adorns the page. The

piece itself displays themes of hard

work and diligence during a time

when the American economy was

suering at its worst and work

was scarce and dierent to come

by. Baby New Year served as a

reminder to the American people to

continue working hard and to not

loose faith within dicult times.

Another of Leyendeckers

most widely acclaimed iconographic

characters in his Post illustrations

is his ever-famous depiction of

Santa Claus. The images of Santa

Claus have evolved and changed

throughout the years after the time


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of the real Saint Nicolas, but it was

Leyendecker to truly uniformed

and branded what many people

know Santa Claus to be today.

Leyendecker evidently turned

Santa into a brand unto himself. He

took his description directly from

Clement Clarkes 1823 poem, Twasthe Night Before Christmas. He

portrayed Santa as a rounded fellow

with rosy cheeks and jolly belly,

adorned from head to toe in red and

white. This image of Santa Claus

soon became the standard for his

depiction and has been thereafter

used in several dierent advertising

campaigns for a plethora of dierent

brands and corporations, including

companies like Coca-Cola and

Macys. Each of Leyendeckers

depictions of Santa Claus portrays

him as a compassionate and gentle

man, with a love for children and

a charming nature and admirable

spirit and attitude. Often depicted

with a satchel of toys and goodies,

Leyendeckers Santa embodied theconcept of the Christmas spirit and

reinforced the good will of giving

and a sense of childhood fantasy.

Each of the covers created

by Leyendecker throughout his

time working with The Saturday

Evening Post incorporate several

dierent design elements that

create compelling, captivating and

memorable magazine covers. Many

of his layouts for the Post utilize the

entire layout of the cover to tell a

visual story. Rather than conning

the images into the frame beneath

the publication name, Leyendecker

utilizes a manipulation of space

to create three-dimensional

compositions that presented a

sense of depth and space within

the two-dimensional layout. Often

times, aspects of the illustration

would ow over into the title space

and come above portions of the

title in the foreground. Though the

titles were not completely show, the

placement of the illustrations overthe text was strategically conceived

in order to only show enough of

the publication name to allow the

audience to piece the title of the

publication themselves. Each cover

was unique in its illustration as wel

as the narrative that it told, all the

while still corresponding to the

issues monthly theme. Leyendecker

used specic colour palettes for each

season and reused a combination

of iconic images throughout his

various covers to create relatable

themes that would be associated

with dierent holidays. Springtime

issues of the Post, which included

Easter, and Mothers Day, often

utilized bright and vivid colour

schemes, using bright yellowspastel pinks and luscious greens

Images of owers and nature motifs

like dierent types of woodland

animals kept an ongoing theme of

femininity, freshness and beauty

throughout each of the springtime

issues. Likewise, summertime

issues often incorporated images

for Independence Day, such as

recrackers, the United States ag

and images relating back to the time

of the Revolutionary War, as well

as various summertime activities

such as going to the beach. Some of

Leyendeckers Post covers not only

told the theme of that months issue,

some also depicted narratives and

seemed to give glimpses into bits of


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American life. In his 1917 September

cover, Leyendecker depicts a young

soldier attempting to talk to a young

woman. The cover presents a subtle

narrative that is both charming

and slightly humorous. The young

man is dressed in his military

uniform and is seen attempting

to speak to the young woman

standing in the scene with him,

however the soldiers expression

seemed a bit bemused, while the

young womans expression seemedto be, at best, unimpressed but

charmed. The entire piece as well

as the interactions between both

characters is tied together by the

fact that the soldier is reading out

of a French-to-English dictionary.

This allows the viewer to tie in

each of the compositions elements

and develop a compelling and

charming narrative. Leyendecker

was not only a master at magazine

cover composition, but he was also

a master advertiser, allowing his

illustrations to create a narrative

to capture his audiences attention

and sell them a lifestyle. One of

Leyendeckers most recognized and

notable advertisements were his

advertisements for Arrow Collars

and Shirts, and his iconographic

gure, the Arrow Collar Man.

The Arrow Collar Man, the

icon for Arrow Collars and Shirts

was what Leyendecker portrayed

to be the unique symbol of Arrow

Collar products; however, the

Arrow Collar Man was Not simply

a man, but a manly man, a handsome

man an ideal American Man.

Leyendeckers concept of the Arrow

Collar Man to represent the idealAmerican Man was the rst step

into creating the brand that was

Arrow Collars. The Arrow Collar

Man was a rened, handsome, stoic

character that was often depicted

in stylish and lavish environments

or participating in high-class

activities. Arrow Collar Man was

the rst American sex symbol

and Leyendecker utilized this sex

appeal that his character portrayed

to advertise Arrow Collars as

both a product and a lifestyle. He

utilized semi-erotic poses and

risqu situations to better advertise

the products presented. Along with

the sexualized form of advertising,

Leyendecker also utilized themes

of high-end society and elegant

socialites in some of his layouts in

order to market a lifestyle along with

the product that was being sold

In this particular advertisement

for Arrow Collars and Shirts,

models Phyllis Frederic and Brian

Donlevy are portrayed as a high

society couple dancing together

The advertisement creates a sense

of moody atmosphere through its

use of line and colour within the

composition. The couple is featuredstanding in a standard ballroom

dancing pose, with the man of the

pair looking forward, while the

woman glances away, averting her

eyes from the mans gure. The

composition of the gures together

creates a balanced frame within the

piece, which stabilizes it and gives it

structure. The visual lines that make

up the frame of the couples dancing

position not only add stability to the

illustration, but also helps lead the

viewers eye to each of the elements

in the layout. Along with the lines

that the layout presents, colour also

contributes to the advertisements

moody and intimate atmosphere

A majority of the advertisement


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is in solid black, all accept for the

woman in her pale blue dress, and

for the mans white shirt, gloves

and corsage. The minimal use of

colour adds a bit of intimacy and

mystery to the layout, seemingly

depicting the couple dancing in a

dark, intimate space together. Theman in the advertisement seems to

blend into the background, adding

a sense of mystery and drama to his

stoic appearance. This concept is

reinforced with the subtle way the

woman is not looking at him and is

rather glancing away. This portrayal

of the Arrow Collar Man not only

successfully advertises the product,

but is also advertises the Arrow

Collar Man as a brand, presenting

him as an elegant, handsome and

mysterious stranger who has the

ability to sweep a woman o her

feet.

After Leyendecker stopped

creating covers for The Saturday

Evening Post and advertisements

for Arrow Collars & Shirts, heturned some of his attention to lesser

known magazines and publications,

as well as book covers, illustrations

and posters. He is known for

several of his posters advertising for

the United States Military, creating

advertising posters for the Navy as

well as the Marine Corp. Staying

alongside the concept of sex appeal

that Arrow Collar Man instilled in

much of Leyendeckers work, many

of his advertisements for the military

utilize similar advertising concepts

in order to appeal to the masses. In

this poster ad for the United States

Navy, four sailors are readying and

loading a canon on what is assumed

to be a ship towards one of their

enemy vessels. Two of the four

sailors are portrayed shirtless and

barefoot as they prepare to load the

large canon, while the two other

sailors prep and ready the machine

for ring. The advertisement

utilizes themes similar to the Arrow

Collar Man advertisements in the

concept that it showcases a lifestyle

along with its original intention.

The poster itself also depicts the

sailors in a blatantly erotic situation,

showing them bending and exing,

their muscles being highlighted

and displayed with much central

focus. The placement of the sailors,

as well as their body language also

helps reinforce the advertisement

visually. The two sailors loading

the canon create a visual triangle

starting from the top of the head

of the sailor who is cranking the

canon, leading down his gaze to

the sailor holding the bullet to load

into the canon, then, following the

trajectory of the bullets placement


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on the page, across the layouttowards the beginning of the text

of the advertisement, then back to

the initial start point. It creates a

stable and balanced advertisement

that is both interactive, leading

the viewers gaze around the entire

composition in a full circle and

visually interesting.

Leyendecker, over his

lifetime, left a lasting impression onnot only the art world, but on the

world at large. He had created some

of Americas most iconic images and

most recognizable advertisements

of his time, changing the world

of illustration and design forever.

Leyendecker was truly integral

to American society and cultural

history. He revamped and changedthe way Americans celebrated their

holidays, creating images for The

Saturday Evening Post that have

transcended the test of time and

have embedded themselves into

American culture for centuries after

their creation. Leyendecker gained

eternal life through his artwork

as Americas greatest icon-maker,

announcer of mass advertising,leader of the American Imagists,

and a master of the magazine cover.

Joseph Christian Leyendecker

was Americas golden boy of

Illustration, gracing modern society

with captivating imagery, powerful

compositions and unmistakably

iconic characters that have forever

changed the modern world of

illustration and art.

Culter, Laurence S. and Judy Goffman Culter. J.C. Leyendecker.

Abrams, New York. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2008. Print.

Edmonds, Richard. A Great American Ullustrator of his Age;

Books J.C. Leyendecker by Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman

Cutler. Abrams, pouds 25. Reviewed by Richard Edmonds.

Birminghamg Post(2008).Lexis Nexus.Web. 12 February 2011.

Genocchico, Benjamin. Lost to Time, an Illustrator is

Rediscovered. The New York Times. (2009): Section WE; Column

0; Westchester Weekly Desk; Art Review. Lexis Nexus. Web. 12

February 2011.

J.C. Leyendecker. Wikipedia.Wikimedia Foundation. 1 February

2011. Web. 3 February 2011.

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