In his History of the Illustrated Book (1981), John Harthan notes:
It can be argued that illustration disturbs the dialogue between author and reader by imposing a third person’s visualization of a text which should be regarded as autonomous and sacrosanct.
Harthan 8
Harthan appears to make this statement not to present an original argument against illustration but rather in reference to a longstanding tradition skeptical of illustrations because they interfere with the dialogue between author and reader. Harthan, however, provides no examples for this position.
Works Cited
Harthan, John. The History of the Illustrated Book: The Western Tradition. Thames and Hudson, 1981.
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