Beautiful watercolour illustrations from the late Yan Nascimbene

Date
7 February 2013

We’ve only just discovered the beautiful watercolours of Yan Nascimbene. The late French/Italian artist and writer produced over 60 illustrated books and over 300 book covers. His details are exquisite and his smooth, rich washes are gorgeous. But it is the space in Nascimbene’s work that really makes the viewer draw breath.

Huge skies, clear seas and snowy mountains make up Nascimbene’s terrain. There may be a tiny figure housed somewhere in the expanse; a baron swinging through the lush leaves, a horseman riding under enormous trees or a bright figure traipsing across a desert. He appears able to convey every conceivable kind of natural light. The influence of Japanese woodcuts is clear, but so too is classic children’s book illustrations. Fittingly for an illustrator of so many stories, each drawing of Nascimbene’s seems to hold its own narrative within.

Above

Yan Nascimbene – Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers

Above

Yan Nascimbene – Ocean Deep

Above

Yan Nascimbene: Italo Calvino – The Baron in the Trees

Above

Yan Nascimbene: Italo Calvino – The Baron in the Trees

Above

Yan Nascimbene: Italo Calvino – Difficult Loves

Above

Yan Nascimbene: Italo Calvino – The Baron in the Trees

Above

Yan Nascimbene: Italo Calvino – The Baron in the Trees

Above

Yan Nascimbene

Share Article

About the Author

Anna Trench

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.