The oldest umbrellas, as we know them today, were used not to keep off the rain but to avoid the sun.
The basic umbrella was invented more than 4,000 years ago. There is evidence of umbrellas in the ancient art and artifacts of Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and China.
These ancient umbrellas or parasols were first designed to provide shade from the sun.
Parasols by Rea Irvin (1881-1972)Luisa Polo, 1926. This umbrella is reminiscent of the Japanese flag.WILL HICOK LOW, (Albany, Nueva York. Estados Unidos, 1853 – Bronxville, Nueva York. Estados Unidos, 1932)from Japanese publication Shukan Shinchofrom Japanese publication Shukan Shincho
Umbrellas feature heavily in East Asian art (and life), partly because of the heavy rainy season which, unlike my hometown in the South Island of New Zealand, falls hard without the accompanying wind. Umbrellas are a good choice.
Parasols feature large in 19th and 20th century art featuring white women, too, back when being ‘fair’ meant being very white. Parasols were a fashion accessory.
William John Hennessy – The Japanese Parasol 1890Gustave Caillebotte (French painter) ‘The Painter under His Parasol’, 1878Cover of the April 1923 issue of Modern Priscilla magazinePoster by Domenico Natoli, a.k.a. Scapin, circa 1925 Rapallo: Riviera Ligure ItaliaUmberto Brunelleschi, 1879-1949George Wolfe Plank (1883–1965) December 1913 illustration for Vogue magazineIllustration for the French magazine ′La Vie Parisienne′ by Chéri Hérouard (1881-1961)Marie-Madeleine FRANC-NOHAIN [1878-1942] Alphabet In Pictures 1933My ABC Book written & illustrated by Art Seiden (1953)Country Gentleman Magazine April 1948 cover art by Austin Briggs
1948 illustration from Pitschi written & illustrated by Hans FischerPixie Market illustration by Lorna SteeleJosef Paleček, 1980Garden in Grez 1883 by Carl Larsson
A Hula-Hooping moose, a badger with a bumblebee umbrella, a rabbit in a cashmere sweater, and a very wet bear star in this unpredictable and laugh-out-loud picture book in which having fun gets the best of a grumpy bear.
It looks like a wet and dreary day for Bear and his trio of friends. How could he possibly have fun when he is soaked? But Badger, Rabbit, and Moose don’t seem to mind. In fact, Moose can still hula hoop! And it looks like so much fun. Might Bear like to try?
Here is a story that shows that fun is not dependent on sunshine and blue skies. In fact, it might be more fun to be soaked!
Mushrooms and toadstools have such a strange shape that in the golden age of fairies, they featured large in children’s illustration, used variously as houses, seats, tables, and sometimes umbrellas.
Illustration by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite from CHIMNEY TOWN – 1934The Large Kathe Kruse Picture Book 1940s. A German picture book made with photographs of dolls.Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, also known as Ida Sherbourne Rentoul and Ida Sherbourne Outhwaite Molly Brett (1902- 1990) ‘Rabbits sheltering from the snow under an umbrella’Shirley Hughes Lucy & Tom’s a.b.c.‘The Umbrella.’ (1883) Marie Bashkirtseff Ukranian painterFrederick Carl Frieseke 1920s
The connection between mushrooms and umbrellas is clear. Grandville’s image below goes further.
Grandville A walk in the sky A Stroll in the Sky, The Picturesque Store, 1847
There is a strong connection between the umbrella and the circus, and the circus often indicates the carnivalesque. Umbrellas ostensibly help a tightrope walker to maintain balance. (Is that actually true?) I suspect it simply provides the tightrope walker a little false reassurance, that the umbrella would function as a mini parachute should they fall.
From Do you know Pippi Longstocking (1947) by Astrid Lindgren illustrated by Ingrid Vang Nyman (1916-1959) Rockwell Kent Vanity Fair magazine May 1923
A cursed girl escapes death and finds herself in a magical world – but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination
Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks–and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.
But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.
It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart – an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests – or she’ll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.
The umbrella allows a young child freedom, to go outside and play, even in the rain. They are also associated with beach scenes, all good fun. An umbrella in the bath is comically ridiculous.
Gyo FujikawaErnest Shepherd Winnie the PoohLe parasol a la terrasse de Morgat, Henri Lebasque, 1924from John Goodall’s ‘Edwardian’ illustrated books seriesJean-Jacques Sempe 1957Mr Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham London Travel posterNorman Rockwell’s Gone Fishing 1930 Evening Post coverArthur William Brown (1881-1966)James Tissot by Victoria Anopolska for the ‘Underground Unites’ series of paintingsfor the London Underground, this by Ashling Lindsey ‘And it Poured’1957 My Own Little House Merriman Kaune Follett Begin to Read 1959American illustrator Maginal Wright Enright (1881-1966) for Woman’s Home Companion 1927Vladimir LyubarovMary Blair, 1953Beatrix PotterDavid MartiashviliLe Courrier Français, illustration by Henri Pille, 1888Albrecht Samuel Anker (April 1, 1831 – July 16, 1910) was a Swiss painter and illustrator who has been called the “national painter” of SwitzerlandYoshio Markino (Japanese, 1874-1956) – Autumn, c.1904Pierre Edouard Frère (French, 1819–1886) Going To SchoolWalter Trier Lilliput magazine cover 19461913 Hulp voor Onbehuisden, Help for the Homeless, Secessionist style posterGramophone advertisement Illustrated by John Hassall (1868-1948) JUFFROUW SPITS OP REIS [c. 1948] Piet BrooseA Morning Walk umbrella pre 1925 illustration from book called Queer Pet by Mollie Brown, art by Jacques BrowneEugen Hartung Illustration from the cover of La Vie Parisienne Magazine by George Pavis 1920sCarlos Marchiori Illustrations for Edith Fowke – Sally Go Round The Sun 300 Songs, Rhymes and Games of Canadian Children (1969)John Burningham London travel poster for London Transport MuseumInge Look1985Janusz Stanny – The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen1955Frederick Schneider Manner for London underground, 1929BIG GREEN UMBRELLA 1944Russian illustrationThere’s Going To Be A Baby written by John Burningham illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
Symbolically, like the child characters using an umbrella in the bath, they can be used to visually convey the idea that small measures make no difference in a deluge of problems. In English we use ‘Band-aid’ in a similar way, as in ‘Band-aid over a gaping wound’. The umbrella is less gory.
CHARLES DANA GIBSON New CartoonsHercules Against The ElementsGerhard Glück (German, b.1944) – Cats & Dogs.Swedish illustrator Oskar Andersson (1877-1906) Mannen som gör hvad som faller honom in (the man who does whatever comes into his head)GREAT DAY IN NORWAY THE SEVENTEENTH OF MAY (1962) Malvin NesetDE DIERKUNDIGE DICHTOEFENINGEN VAN TRIJNTJE FOP (1955) Bertram. Honestly, I don’t even know what this is.“The April Umbrella” by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin, Oliver and Boyd 1965The Field Fourth Reader by Walter Taylor Field, published by Ginn and Co., 1925. Illustrated by Marguerite Davis and Rodney ThomsonBoris KalaushinUmbrella by Taro YashimaUmbrella by Taro YashimaUmbrella by Taro YashimaUmbrella by Taro YashimaUmbrella by Taro Yashima
If anyone’s ever tried jumping from a high space holding an umbrella you’ll already be aware that the umbrella won’t make you float softly onto the earth. It cowardly turns itself inside out, leaving you to crash land. Perhaps these boy had been to the circus and seen the tightrope walker use one.
Kids Practising Parachuting in Hay Loft by Steven Dohanos
When an umbrella works it’s pretty impressive. But there are few things more pathetic looking than a broken umbrella. They can look almost batlike.
Saturday Evening Post cover by Ellen Pyle umbrella‘Under the Umbrella’ Cover and illustrations by Morelli, Testatine and Finalini, 1941Émile Munier (French, 1840-1895)
Umbrellas have other practical uses, especially for the hook at the end. As storytellers, the options are endless.
Garth Williams for Do You Know What I’ll Do by Charlotte Zolotow 1958 umbrellaHeath RobinsonGeorges Pavis (1924)Jeanna Bauck (Swedish painter) 1840 – 1926. By giving the owl shelter beneath an umbrella, he now seems anthropomorphised.Harrison Cady (1877-1970, American) mousea postcard with a postmark from Baltimore in 1914Il giornalino della Domenica cover by Della Valle, 1906
UMBRELLAS AT A FUNERAL
UMBRELLAS WHERE YOU DON’T EXPECT THEM
The umbrella-mouth gulper eel can unhinge its jaw to swallow animals larger than itself. pic.twitter.com/a59YWLb5No
Jean Helion ‘Mannequinerie en solde’ 1978Italian Landscape with Umbrella Pines, Hendrik Voogd (the Dutch Claude), 1807My Happy Life Rose Lagercrantz and Eva Eriksson
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