My Favorite Illustrators of the Past: Ludwig Bemelmans

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article on How to Pull Inspiration from Fellow Artists (the Right Way). In that article, I talked about how I like pulling inspiration from artists of the past more than the present, because it ensures that my work is timeless. Also, the body of work is so much larger, it’s easier to find original ideas. As a supplement to that article, I’d like to start talking about my favorite illustrators from the past - the ones whose work I’ve always admired. These are my heros, the people I just can’t get enough of.

Bemelmans sketching roughs for Madeline and the Gypsies, 1959. © 2019 Estate of Ludwig Bemelmans. Courtesy of the Estate of Ludwig Bemelmans.

Ludwig’s mural at Bemelman’s Bar in NYC. Photo Copyright of Quintessance Blog.

Of all the artists I love, my all-time favorite is writer & illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans, so that seemed like a great place to start.

Ludwig is best known for writing and illustrating the Madeline books, but I would argue that the well-loved children’s books aren’t even his best work. They don’t even scratch the surface. He has a gorgeous portfolio of other work most people don’t know about - my favorite being the mural he painted on the walls of Bemelman’s Bar at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City. I had the pleasure of visiting the bar on my last trip to New York, and it was a life highlight.

His illustrations can be found on the cover of many issues of The New Yorker and Town & Country. He primarily worked in gouache, which is the medium I use. That’s another reason I find his work so inspiring. Towards the end of his life, he began working in oils, and that’s when things got really interesting.

Illustration by Ludwig Bemelmans. © The New Yorker March 25, 1944. Condé Nast Store.

Illustration by Ludwig Bemelmans. © The New Yorker June 9 1951. Condé Nast Store.

Illustration by Ludwig Bemelmans. © The New Yorker October 09 1954. Condé Nast Store.

© 2019 Estate of Ludwig Bemelmans. Courtesy of the Estate of Ludwig Bemelmans.

Ludwig was born in 1898. He led the most interesting life, growing up in Austria and moving to America at 16 years old to work in the hotel business. He eventually wound up working at the Ritz-Carlton in NYC, where he worked for 15 years. I love how the high brow elements of the hotel industry are reflected in his work. He was a huge traveler, and loved the finer things in life. I think that may be my favorite thing about him - that his lifestyle came through so much in his work.

His wife was named Madeleine (different spelling than the book), and they had a daughter named Barbara. It is said that the character Madeline is a combination of his wife, daughter, and mother.

Ludwig died in 1962, leaving behind a large body of work - including many children’s books, nine books for adults, movie scripts, ad campaigns, and several murals - including one painted on Aristotle Onassis’s yacht.

I’ve tried to show my favorite illustrations of his throughout this post, but I don’t feel I can do his work justice with just a few images. He truly was an incredible artist.

Photo © Sotheby’s. These Birds Have Seen All This Before by Ludwig Bemelmans, 1961 Gouache from Madeline in London.

Photo © Invaluable. Le Vert Galant by Ludwig Bemelmans, August 1957 Oil on canvas.

Photo © Christie’s. The Palm Court at the Plaza by Ludwig Bemelmans, 1943 Mixed Media and Collage on Paper Board.