--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was an irresistible development of…" description: "\"“It was an irresistible development of modern illustration (so largely photographic) that borders should be abandoned and the \"picture\" end only with t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/j-r-r-tolkien-204_art_it-was-an-irresistible-development-of-mo_1509425.jpg" --- # It was an irresistible development of modern illustration… ![“It was an irresistible development of modern illustration (so largely photographic) that borders should be abandoned and the "picture" end only with the paper. This method may be suitable for for photographs; but it is altogether inappropriate for the pictures that illustrate or are inspired by…” quote by J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/j-r-r-tolkien-204_art_it-was-an-irresistible-development-of-mo_1509425.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/j-r-r-tolkien-204_art_it-was-an-irresistible-development-of-mo_1509425.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/j-r-r-tolkien-204_art_it-was-an-irresistible-development-of-mo_1509425.jpg) > ““It was an irresistible development of modern illustration (so largely photographic) that borders should be abandoned and the "picture" end only with the paper. This method may be suitable for for photographs; but it is altogether inappropriate for the pictures that illustrate or are inspired by fairy-stories. An enchanted forest requires a margin, even an elaborate border. To print it coterminous with the page, like a "shot" of the Rockies in Picture Post, as if it were indeed a "snap" of fairyland or a "sketch by our artist on the spot", is a folly and an abuse.”” [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Illustrations for fantasy should retain margins to preserve imagination; full‑bleed realism suits photography but not magical scenes. **In simple terms:** Fantasy art needs space; borders protect wonder. Key Takeaway Respect the story’s mood with appropriate layout. Themes art design fantasy literature Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - book publishing - graphic design - illustration commissions Key Concepts visual storytelling aesthetic boundaries Questions to Reflect On - How does framing affect reader immersion? - When is borderless design appropriate? A Different Perspective Over‑modernizing can dilute narrative magic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Fairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy/) [Fairy tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy-tales/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ## Related quotes > [The End of a Picture is Always an End of a Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-peckinpah/the-end-of-a-picture-is-always-an-end-of-a-life/) [Sam Peckinpah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-peckinpah/) > [“The mist was very dark in here, white and wet, and the cobwebs festooning the gaunt tree trunks were weighed down with thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-gedge/the-mist-was-very-dark-in-here-white-and-wet-and-the-cobwebs/) [Pauline Gedge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-gedge/) > [“The Forest is dark, dearie, The Forest is dark; The moment you think that you’re lost in the woods, then you are. 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Nechtělo to říct, ne, milášku. Podvodníšek mrňavá. Nefér otázka. Podvádělo to první. Poruššilo to pravidla. Měli šme to žmáčknout,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/co-to-m-lo-v-kap-i-k-ch-necht-lo-to-ct-ne-mil-ku-podvodn-ek-mr-av-nef/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [“it is horrible being all alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/it-is-horrible-being-all-alone/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) [Explore all 857 J.R.R. Tolkien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was an irresistible development of modern illustration (so largely photographic) that borders should be abandoned and the \"picture\" end only with the paper. 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