I saw him pass his sword through the mate's body
Date1895
Artist
Howard Pyle
(American illustrator, 1853–1911)
Illustration Citation"Kidnapped," by Robert Louis Stevenson, in The Novels and Tales of Robert Louis Stevenson (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1895)
MediumBlack-and-white oil on illustration board
Dimensions16 x 11 1/2 in. (40.6 x 29.2 cm)
frame: 18 1/4 × 13 1/2 in. (46.4 × 34.3 cm)
frame: 18 1/4 × 13 1/2 in. (46.4 × 34.3 cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, 1915
Object number1915-62
On View
On viewClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextIn this scene from Stevenson's adventure novel, the young protagonist David Balfour (kneeling) and Alan Breck, a swashbuckling Scottish hero (background), overcome abusive shipmates on the high seas. Pyle's illustration matches Stevenson's prose in its psychological force and telling details. Even though Balfour's face is turned away, his pose and iron grip on his sword convey the intensity of the struggle. The stalwart Breck deals a death blow in one motion. The cornice at the top border adds a realistic detail as well as an interruption of the flat background surface. 
