{"id":337,"date":"2020-04-29T19:12:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T19:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbansketchingworld.com\/?p=337"},"modified":"2023-06-16T19:08:38","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T19:08:38","slug":"what-is-reportage-illustration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbansketchingworld.com\/what-is-reportage-illustration\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Reportage Illustration?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reportage illustration is a type of visual journalism. Reportage illustrators sketch on location to tell a specific story.  The illustrator conveys a narrative and reports a specific moment in time to the audience, much like a journalist.  The central premise of reportage illustration is storytelling. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReportage illustration is the art of recording real events and situations by hand on paper, just as a photo journalist would use a camera to record them for a magazine or newspaper feature.\u201d – University of Arts London (UAL)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Did Reportage Illustration Start?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A publication called The Illustrated London News was first published in 1842.  The founder, Herbert Ingram, discovered that sales significantly increased if newspapers featured pictures. Photography wasn\u2019t good enough back then to capture movement and so artists were used instead.  However, there is a rich history prior to this of voyages, adventures and scientific observations documented in the form of illustrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, reportage illustration became vital to document war as photography was not reliable or portable enough for the frontlines but an artist with a sketchbook and pen was easier to manoeuvre and less invasive to what was going on.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reportage illustrators can access and record situations that photographers may not be able to, for example in situations where cameras are not permitted such as courtroom or parliament proceedings.  As Mario Minichiello states in the video interview below, \u201cit\u2019s difficult to be offended by a large gentleman with a crayon\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/youtu.be\/z-UVq-30YPU<\/a>