This illustration titled “Hish, Lord of Silence” was published in Lord Dunsany’s book titled The Gods of Pegāna in 1905. Sidney Sime’s work depicts a human figure at the foreground, surrounded by a dark forest. The use of negative space in this illustration helps to compliment the title of the work, creating a silent yet unsettling atmosphere by highlighting the human figure and three trees as the forest fades into the background. Nicola Gordon Bowe’s article on Lord Dunsany’s work and collaboration with Sime quote a remark by the former, stating Sime could “bring such scenes of wonder down upon paper with lamp-black and Indian ink” (Bowe 129), commending his ability to illustrate unfathomable terrors using common artistic strategies.
Works Cited
Bowe, Nicola Gordon. “Lord Dunsany 1878-1957: Portrait of a Collector.” The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society 1850 - the Present, no. 28, 2004, pp. 126–47. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41809353. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.
Sime, Sidney H. “Hish, Lord of Silence.” The Gods of Pegāna, Lord Dunsany, Elkin Mathews, 1905. The Victorian Web, May 2008, https://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/sime/1.html