The Reeve. The Canterbury Tales. New York, 1945.

SZYK, Arthur. The Reeve [Variant]. The Canterbury Tales. Signed and Dated “Arthur Szyk, N.Y. (19)45”. Watercolor and gouache on paper. Sheet size: 7″ x 5 1/2″.   Image size: 5 3/4″ x 2 1/4″. Very Good condition.

Although Arthur Szyk is known mainly for his political cartoons and religious illuminations, he produced a rich variety of literary illustrations, costume designs, and book covers during his prolific career. The Canterbury Tales is a notable and well-loved work in Szyk’s oeuvre and encompasses some of his most compelling secular illustrations. In these drawings, the viewer can appreciate Szyk’s background in costume design, as well as his ability to create drawings that allude to a larger narrative structure.

In this particular work, Szyk presents “The Reeve,” a skinny and bad-tempered man named Oswald who manages a large estate for his master. Szyk’s brilliant ability at implying character through physiognomy comes through in this illustration. The Reeve’s ill-humored disposition is evident in his sallow skin, drooping eyes and slightly downturned mouth. His hair is a dull and unhealthy looking yellow, further heightening the monochromatic coloration of his face and cementing his appearance as vaguely unsavory. His clothes, however, bespeak a position of relative authority. The richly colored and well-made garb he wears contrasts with the Student’s scruffy attire and indicates he is a man of some means. Dangling from his belt are two keys, cluing the reader in to his position as an estate manager. He stands with his hands loosely clasped in front of him in a straightforward but not overly powerful stance, befitting of his station.

Overall, this drawing is a lushly imagined character sketch, rendered with Szyk’s customary attention to detail. His many illustrations for The Canterbury Tales provide fertile ground for the reader’s imagination and serve to further enhance the richness of Chaucer’s text. This is a variant illustration of The Reeve, and was not published in Szyk’s Canterbury Tales.

Exhibition History: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Palace of the Legion of Honor, December 4, 2010–March 27, 2011.