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About Annie Vallotton, Don and Pat Griggs, and how the illustrations found a home at Rotation.org

View and Download the Illustrations

Become a Supporting Member to browse and download the large size, higher resolution illustrations (and more) at Rotation.org.

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Usage and Copyright

copyright symbolThe color and grayscale versions of Annie's work are being shared with Supporting Members of Rotation.org for their local congregational use in worship, teaching, and communicating within the congregation. All other usage and rights are reserved.

All images in the Griggs-Vallotton Collection here at Rotation.org are the copyrighted property of Don and Pat Griggs who originally commissioned them from Annie Vallotton for a published teaching resource.

The images may not be shared on the internet or otherwise be digitally transmitted or published without the express written consent of Don and Pat Griggs. Contact webmaster.rotation@gmail.com for more information.

The smaller and lower-resolution versions of the illustrations published in our public lesson forums may be freely shared.

Help Saving/Copying the Images

To Save:

  1. Click the image you want to save so that it opens full size in your browser. (Supporting Members will see the larger version of the image when they do this in the Collection.)
  2. Then RIGHT click the image and select "Save As" to download it to your computer.

About the Background colors and Grayscale versions

The original illustrations with their colored backgrounds were commissioned to be part of a multi-media presentation created by Don and Pat Griggs. With their permission, in addition to posting the originals, we have created "grayscale" versions of the originals (i.e. with white backgrounds instead of color) so that our members have the option of using the illustrations without draining their printer's ink or copier toner.  thumbs up symbol

We have also downsized the original scanned color versions of each illustration from 5 MB to below 1 MB each, which is still quite suitable for local congregational use.

original white outline on Vallotton image vs a grayscale imageIn some cases, we have repaired something in the scan of the original illustrations such as removing an artifact of the scanning process. In a few cases where the artist used white as an outline to characters in a "nighttime" scene, we converted the white outlines to black so that we could create a printer-friendly white background version of the image to post alongside the original.

When the word "color" appears in the filename, it is the original Vallotton image.

In some cases, we have also created a "tinted" version of the original to provide a color choice or to use a liturgical color. Those are marked as such in the collection here at Rotation.org and are posted alongside her original. For example, in addition to offering Annie's original "blue background" for Pentecost, we created both a grayscale version AND a yellow background version to fit with the Pentecost theme of "fire." However, as you can sort of see in the small version below (and in more detail in the larger version), the tinting still preserved the texture of Annie's color wash in the background.

Pentecost-AnnieVallotton-Rotation.org

One interesting "side effect" of removing the color from the illustrations (to make them printer-friendly) is that it also made the artist's brush strokes stand out.

showing artist's brush strokes

watercolor wash is apparent in artist's original

About Jesus' Face in the Vallotton Illustrations

Vallotton's Bible illustrations were famously published on the pages of the Good News Bible. Their dramatic postures and lack of minute detail made them perfect for the page sizes of that Bible. But her reason for not including details of Jesus' face goes deeper than that.

Jesus calms the storm

Don Griggs, a friend of Annie Vallotton and patron, shared this explanation with us:

Annie wrote us saying, “By using few lines the readers fill in the outlines with their imagination and freedom. That is when the drawings begin to communicate.”

"She wanted the viewer to imagine Jesus in their own way."

John Fea, the author of a history of the American Bible Society which published Vallotton's work in the Good News Bible, wrote this explanation:

The American Bible Society believes these drawings transcended nationality, language, and race. By omitting facial details, skin color, and other cultural indicators on her figures, Valloton hopes that every reader will see their own Jesus; one that was particularly right for him or her.

The illustrations in the Griggs collection featured here at Rotation.org are similar but more detailed and textured than those in the Good News Bible (GNB). See a comparison in the next post on this page.

Attachments

Images (8)
  • copyright symbol
  • showing brush strokes
  • shows watercolor wash
  • original with white outline vs. the greyscale version
  • Jesus and Peter (John 13:2-9)
  • VallottonComparison
  • Vallotton-FacialFeatures
  • Pentecost-AnnieVallotton-Rotation.org
Last edited by Neil MacQueen
Original Post

Comparing Vallotton's Illustrations
in the Good News Bible
and the Griggs-Vallotton Gospel Collection

Annie Vallotton made thousands of Bible illustrations in her lifetime, including drawing them for audiences as she led Bible studies.

Vallotton-drawingforaudience

In the 1970s, 80's and 90's, the American Bible Society's Good News Bible was one of the most popular in the world -- and its pages were illustrated by Vallotton's images.

The illustrations in the Griggs Collection are originals and in most cases, they are more detailed and textured than the images she drew for the Good News Bible. Why? Because the images in the GNB needed to be smaller and less detailed for page sizes of the GNB. Providentially, those commissioned by the Griggs were drawn to be projected, and thus, could be much more detailed.

Here's a comparison of her illustration style in the Good News Bible to those in the Griggs Vallotton Collection,

Vallotton-GNBVallotton-Griggs

Attachments

Images (3)
  • Vallotton-drawingforaudience
  • Vallotton-Griggs
  • Vallotton-GNB
Last edited by Neil MacQueen

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