J. C. Leyendecker

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Name: J. C. Leyendecker
Also Known As:
Occupation: Artist
Medium:
Works:
Official Website(s):
Fan Website(s): jcleyendecker on Tumblr
On Fanlore: Related pages

Joseph Christian Leyendecker was a 20th century freelance commercial artist. His art and painting style are frequently subject to pastiche in fanart.

Influence on Source Text

The Great Gatsby

Advertisements feature heavily in The Great Gatsby, most infamously in the eyes of T. J. Eckleburg, but also in chapter 7, when Daisy tells Gatsby that he looks just like "the advertisement of the man" to express her attraction to him.

A 2009 paper by Thomas Dilworth argues that this "advertisement of the man" is in reference to the Arrow Collar Man. To make this point, he cites Daisy's phrasing of the ad as advertising a man rather than a product, Fitzgerald referencing the ads in previous works, peers of Fitzgerald's describing the Arrow Collar ads similarly, and thematic resonance with the Arrow Collar Man representing the American Dream that The Great Gatsby seeks to hollow out. [1]

Some have drawn connections between Leyendecker's sexuality and queer readings of Nick Carraway, but Fitzgerald's awareness of the former is unclear.

Interview with the Vampire (TV series)

In an interview, costume designer Carol Cushing describes Louis and Lestat's suiting in the first season as "a love letter to Leyendecker," discussing the Arrow Collar Man's status as a male standard of beauty at the time, as well as being moved by Leyendecker falling in love with the model behind the Arrow Collar Man.[2] Fans have noticed many references in Lestat's wardrobe, particularly his gold robe being pulled from a 1916 advertisement.[3]

Team Fortress 2

The artstyle of Team Fortress 2 was heavily inspired by Leyendecker[4]. His art is regarded highly by many fanartists in the fandom and pastiches of his works are common.

Fan Comments

One nonny on Fail-FandomAnon suggested Leyendecker's popularity on Dark Academia Tumblr as a source for his popularity in fandom:

In general, he was suuuuuper popular on gay history tumblr of the sort that now gets referred to as “dark academia” circa 2016 (those were the circles I ran in at the time, and there was often Leyendecker on my dash), and I think bled into fandom popularity from places like that.

Anonymous, Fail-Fandomanon [5]

Some of Leyendecker's Saturday Evening Post covers depict mammy caricatures of Black women. Though some Black fans enjoy his other illustrations of Black people and how he renders darker skin generally,[6] the same fans are bewildered by other fans' lack of awareness of common antiblack caricatures and, knowing he can portray Black people accurately and compassionately, how many of his works do not.

i understand the impulse to marvel at these — leyendecker's work shows a level of comprehension of how to illustrate dark skin that would put 95% of white illustrators today to shame.

but why are ppl failing to ask why his black figures are depicted as img 1 + never like 2 or 3?[7]

ive seen many recreations of leyendeckers work + much discussion of how his queer identity informed his work — but very little about how, as a magazine illustrator, his body of work is deeply entrenched in normative and revisionist depictions of american culture + history[8]

this lack of reflection is why we have people gushing over that post's rendering, not being able to identify the world's most copy-paste mammy caricature, and not thinking "why is THIS the only depiction of a black woman ive seen from this artist"[9]

fwiw, leyendecker did illustrate black people outside racial caricatures. he had agency in his creative decisions, and that is evident in the way he juxtaposes subjects of color with white subjects in some of his work, highlighting the absurdity of racial + class difference.[10]

still, the majority of his illustrations of black adults depict them in slave, servant, or laborer roles, w/ nowhere near as much variety as his white subjects. and i have YET to find a single leyendecker illustration of a black woman that wasn't a mammy 😐[11]

all that to say, stop sharing this like it's amazing art + not a damning historical artifact of antiblackness in the history of american illustration. this should NOT be going over so many people's heads.[12]

bikenesmith on Twitter, Nov 3, 2024

Examples of Fanart Pastiche

A State of Mind (1905)

A woman in a dragon costume and a man holding her hand
A State of Mind by J. C. Leyendecker

This piece depicts a woman in a dragon costume and a man holding her hand. A 2021 Tumblr post connects it to Robert W. Chambers's The Adventures of a Modest Man.[13]

Use may correlate to characters with monstrous interests (as in Pacific Rim pastiches) or supernatural trueforms (as in Good Omens pastiches).

Good Omens

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Pacific Rim

Westworld

Boy Graduate (1920)

An illustration of a recent college graduate by J. C. Leyendecker. A blonde white man in a graduation robe and cap, holding a scroll in his right hand and placing his left hand atop a globe.
Boy Graduate by J. C. Leyendecker

Sometimes also called The Graduate or June Graduate, this illustration was a magazine cover for The Saturday Morning Post, celebrating that year's graduating college students.[14] This piece is often comically compared to Norman Rockwell's 1959 cover for the same magazine.[15][16]

Baldur's Gate III

Dishonored

Hazbin Hotel

Kingdom Hearts

Knives Out

Lord of the Rings

The Magnus Archives

Octopath Traveler

The Raven Cycle

The Sandman

The Butterfly Couple (1923)

A man and a woman kneeling on a white block, about to kiss. Butterfly wings are outstretched behind them.
The Butterfly Couple or perhaps Study for Butterfly Couple by J. C. Leyendecker.

See also: Magnet, another butterfly-themed couples redraw trend.

Baldur's Gate III

Bayonetta

Boku no Hero Academia

Borderlands

Children of the Whales

DC

Doctor Who/Torchwood

Dragon Age

Final Fantasy

Genshin Impact

Golden Kamuy

Glee

Good Omens

Hannibal

Heaven Official's Blessing

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart

The Magnus Archives

Miraculous Ladybug

Pathologic

Pokémon

Precure

The Sandman

Supernatural

This Is How You Lose The Time War

Couple Descending a Staircase (1932)

A man and a woman on a spiral staircase. The woman is wearing a pink silk dress and a white fur coat, and the man's black suit blends into the background.
Couple Descending A Staircase by J. C. Leyendecker.

Critical Role

Diabolik

Dimension 20

Fortnite

Good Omens

Historical RPF

The Legend of Zelda

Lore Olympus

Marvel

The Old Guard

The Raven Cycle

Shaperaverse

Six of Crows

Stranger Things

Couple in Boat (1922)

A man and a woman in a boat. The background is all white brush strokes. The man is standing and leaning against a rudder. The woman is sitting down with her back to the camera, turning her head to the left to look out onto the waters.
Couple in Boat by J. C. Leyendecker

This painting was a 1922 Arrow Collar ad.[17] Pastiche illustrations of this piece may focus on one or both figures pictured.

Baldur's Gate III

Critical Role

Lord of the Rings

The X-Files

The Courtship (1905)

A woman in a white wig seated in a chair and a man also in a white wig standing to her right and leaning over the back of chair with interest.
The Courtship by J. C. Leyendecker

This painting was the December 1905 cover of Success Magazine.[18]

Critical Role

Glee

Good Omens

Heaven Official's Blessing

The Magnus Archives

Star Trek

The Donchester – the Cluett Dress Shirt (1911)

An Leyendecker illustration of two white men in suits sitting down. The blonde one on the left is leaning his chin on his left hand, his left elbow on the armrest of a chair, and the brunette on the right is holding a pair of white gloves. They are both looking at each other.
The Donchester – the Cluett Dress Shirt by J. C. Leyendecker

Arcane

Baldur's Gate III

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Dracula Daily

Hades

Harry Potter

The Magnus Archives

Mob Psycho 100

Red Dead Redemption

X-Men

Man and Woman Dancing (1923)

A man and a woman dancing. The woman is in the foreground, a white redhead with a curly updo and a green silk dress. The man is in the background, white and light-haired, and his suit blends into the black background.
Man and Woman Dancing by J. C. Leyendecker

This piece was another Arrow Collar advertisement.[19]

Baldur's Gate III

Good Omens

Infinity Train

Sailor Moon

The X-Files

Yuri On Ice

Men Reading (1914)

Arcane

Good Omens

Pathologic

Pokémon

Romeo and Juliet (1929)

Critical Role

Good Omens

Interview with the Vampire

The Legend of Zelda

X-Men

Vacation (1907)

A J. C. Leyendecker illustration of two women with tennis and golf equipment.
Vacation by J. C. Leyendecker

Arcane

Hades

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Sailor Moon

Weapons for Liberty (1918)

Depicted is a Boy Scout kneeling while handing a sword to Liberty who holds a shield.
Weapons for Liberty by J. C. Leyendecker.

This piece advertised USA bonds to fund the first World War.[20]

DC Comics

Fire Emblem

Star Wars

Other Paintings

A Different Dancing Couple

The Band Ghost

Bridgerton

Multi

The Magnus Archives

Resources

References

  1. ^ DILWORTH, THOMAS. “‘The Great Gatsby’ and the Arrow Collar Man.” The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review, vol. 7, 2009, pp. 80–93. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41583011. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024.
  2. ^ https://www.amc.com/blogs/interview-with-the-vampire-q-and-a-costume-designer-carol-cutshall-on-suiting-and-silhouettes-in-storyville--1060598
  3. ^ https://www.tumblr.com/inkyswampbones/730984246649454592/the-costume-designer-carol-cutshall-talks-in
  4. ^ "a cartoon-like visual style based on the art of Dean Cornwell, J. C Leyendecker, and Norman Rockwell," from the Team Fortress 2 Wiki Entry, Archived version on the Official Team Fortress Wiki, circa. 2024
  5. ^ Anonymous. Re: When did men's underwear ads become super gay. Fail-FandomAnon, 28 May 2021. (Accessed 24 Oct. 2024).
  6. ^ https://x.com/ajthedonut/status/1853198245876605242, Archived
  7. ^ https://x.com/bikenesmith/status/1853217780356583527
  8. ^ https://x.com/bikenesmith/status/1853219759468200256
  9. ^ https://x.com/bikenesmith/status/1853223067985817975
  10. ^ https://x.com/bikenesmith/status/1853227621728874548
  11. ^ https://x.com/bikenesmith/status/1853229176850948543
  12. ^ https://x.com/bikenesmith/status/1853232272880631922
  13. ^ https://www.tumblr.com/mewbusi/676278173715103744/ok-so-after-taking-a-look-into-this-i-was-able
  14. ^ https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/sep-keyword/j-c-leyendecker-cover/
  15. ^ https://x.com/saj_who/status/1355595574347751424, Archived
  16. ^ https://x.com/shoomlah/status/1355795420216090627, Archived
  17. ^ https://peoplehiddeninhistory.com/j-c-leyendecker-iconic-illustrator-of-the-early-20th-century/
  18. ^ https://www.illustratedgallery.com/artwork/original/687/by-joseph-christian-leyendecker/
  19. ^ https://costumesociety.org.uk/blog/post/review-j.c-leyendecker-exhibition-at-the-new-york-historical-society
  20. ^ https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p16007coll33/id/108975%7Cdpla_id=5a61a02b33c3c4d616753686a4c70ac5%7Clocal_id=/
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