The New International Encyclopædia/Tenniel, John

TENNIEL, tĕn-nēl′, Sir John (1820—). An English painter and illustrator, born in London. He was practically self-taught. In 1845 he won a prize in the competition for the decoration of Westminster Palace, with a cartoon, “Allegory of Justice,” the success of which also secured for him the commission to paint a fresco, Dryden's “Saint Cecelia,” in the House of Lords. His most successful work, however, has been in black-and-white. From 1852 to 1901 he was cartoonist for Punch, executing over 2000 cartoons. His reputation rests chiefly upon his book illustrations. Among the principal are his drawings for Æsop's Fables (1848); Moore's Lalla Rookh (1861); Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1866), and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass (1870); the Ingoldsby Legends; and his classical illustrations to the Legendary Ballads. In the statuesque and ideal character of the figures, his work recalls the German influence prevalent at the middle of the nineteenth century.