Polly Allen on Mervyn Peake’s Centenary

Snow White (detail) Illustration for Grimm's Household Tales / Fairy Tales, 1946 Mervyn Peake

In the suitably grandiose setting of Pallant House’s older townhouse section, the intricate artwork of Mervyn Peake seemed quite at home. This exhibition, which marks the centenary of his birth, proves why Peake deserves to be recognised as one of the most talented pen wielders that Britain has ever known.

Dr Jekyl frontispiece, Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde ©Mervyn Peake Estate

For some critics it can be all too easy to dismiss Peake’s style as too gloomy and Gothic, but there is acute observation in every drawing and you are instantly immersed in his world with its precise details of a sailor’s numerous tattoos in the world of Captain Slaughterboard, or in the withered profile of an old crone (Household Tales of the Brothers Grimm). This collection of illustrations also displays the variety of approaches that Peake uses with readers, sometimes peppering the page with dense cross-hatching or making marks sparingly and then adding a wash of mustard yellow that unashamedly jumps out at you. He is by no means a one-trick-pony, with the ability to inject humour and fear into his images depending on the intended audience, as he delighted both the young and old alike. Peake’s natural talent for bringing out the personality of these figures is understandable considering he was also an author and poet, and he faithfully interpreted the prose of other novelists such as Charles Dickens with the same accuracy that he paid to his own books.

Fuchsia, The Titus Books ©Mervyn Peake Estate

There is also a fantastic sense of adventure and escapism in these pieces, notably in the dizzying scales and use of perspective in the Treasure Island series, where you almost feel as though you could be up in the crow’s nest, roving the high seas or falling downwards with the character Israel Hands (if you use your imagination and try to ignore the gallery’s dry land location). Atmosphere is certainly provided by the bucket-load.

The most minimalist Peake pieces contain thicker lines and more expressive movements akin to sketches, but still feel very absorbing. With bursts of colour and acute spacing of the figures in the frame, such as the gaudy frontispiece to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1948), these feel like more daringly artistic images but they manage to retain the tension of his earlier works. He can produce truly intricate or gently restrained pictures by varying his pen strokes, with a command that was present from an early age and undoubtedly aided by the calligraphy tuition he received as a child.

This exhibition takes the pen as its focal point, which is fascinating and very impressive, but it does not expose the viewer to the full range of his artwork. Unfortunately the Pallant House display does not showcase any Peake drawings which are wholly created using other media, such as coloured chalk or paint. In fact, before seeing the Centenary Celebration I had only witnessed the pencil and charcoal talents of Mervyn Peake, so this ink-filled collection was a real eye-opener. There is also the additional benefit of recognising his local links when visiting this exhibition, as the Sussex Downs gave the artist years of inspiration right on his doorstep; the famous Gormenghast trilogy illustrations used the ‘flints, paths and skies’ of Wepham during the war years, according to his son Sebastian, who regularly blogs and speaks about Mervyn’s life and has written an insightful article for the current edition of the gallery’s in-house magazine. Even today, there is so much to be learned from Mervyn Peake’s body of work, and such great artistic value in what has been left behind. Whether you want to be moved by fine art or tickled by character-based drawings, there will be something to satisfy your interests in this modest but important exhibition.

Pallant House Gallery
9 North Pallant
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1TJ
Tel: +44 (0)1243 774557

info@pallant.org.uk