This illustration is a part of Walter Crane’s book Baby's Own Aesop, Crane’s retelling of the ancient Greek slave Aesop’s famous Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica.
This illustration depicts women laughing at an old man and his son on the bottom left, who is on a donkey. In front of them are the same man and son, on the top left, but this time, the son is walking next to his father, who is on the donkey, while two other men appear to be speaking to the father and son. In front of them, at the top centre, are the same man and son, both on the donkey, with another man speaking to them. In front of them, at the top right, the man and son are walking with their donkey, only to be chastised by strangers again, with one pointing fingers at the father and son. Below the bridge are the donkey’s legs, with nearby people in panic.
The text on the bottom right provides the title, “The Man that Pleased None.” Below the title, the text reads, “Through the town, this good man and his son strove to ride as to please everyone: self, son or both tried, then the ass had a ride; while the world, at their efforts, poked fun.” Another text, below the brief summary of the plot, reads, “You cannot hope to please all…don’t try” - the moral of the fable.
Walter Crane's The Man That Pleased None, a master of the Neo-Romantic movement, approaches this ancient subject with the sharp clarity of a printmaker and the wit of a social satirist. Completed in 1887 for The Baby's Own Aesop, the illustration presents a rigid, almost medieval frieze-like composition that chronicles the follies of a man and his son attempting to satisfy a chorus of public opinions. The narrative unfolds across a narrow stage: the man, the boy, and their donkey are paraded before a gallery of the townsfolk, each spectator whose performance is as exaggerated as a pantomime villain. This visual device of flattering a crowd, each person occupying his own little prison of a panel, is the hidden key to understanding the artist as a pioneer of the modern comic strip. The crisp, firm lines and the patterns in the textiles showcase a disciplined artistry of the decorative, a true child of the English Arts and Crafts movement who fiercely believed that the moral lesson should be delivered with elegance.
