Imaging The Europeans: Illustrations to the Polish Translation of James's Text

The article compares the linguistic and the non-linguistic translation of James's The Europeans: Zofia Zinserling's Polish text and Wieslsaw Walkuski's four accompanying pictures in pen and ink. Walkuski's project is discussed in the following contexts: the changing tradition of cover design for James translations into Polish, Jim Dine's artistic commentary on "The Madonna of the Future," Alvin Langdon Coburn's photogravures for the New York Edition, and James's own views on the art of illustration. Working with the hypothesis that the artist and the translator impersonate the two Europeans of the title, the article praises Waÿkuski's reading of James's ambiguity.