As anyone who has even set foot in a bookshop lately will know, new editions of the Harry Potter book series are coming out left, right and centre! Among the new editions are the yearly celebratory house editions of the books, each year providing us with a new book clad in house colours and some extra special house related information in the book. This year, we were treated to the Goblet of Fire! Because we are massive nerds, we thought no better way to enjoy something than to analyse it thoroughly, so here’s out run down of what you will find in each different edition!
When looking at all four editions together, one might notice that each house is associated with an element. Gryffindor is fire, Ravenclaw is air, Slytherin water and Hufflepuff earth. Additionally, for the GoF collection, each house displays a different Triwizard champion. Very cool! Another feature that can be seen on all four covers is the addition of our little insect friend, Rita Skeeter, in her animagus form of a beetle. As we know, Rita manages to worm her way into a lot of different places in the books, so it’s not surprising to find her on all of the covers!
As such, the Gryffindor cover shows a little silhouette of Harry on a broom at the bottom; a champion reaching for the golden egg he must take from a dragon. This is, of course, a depiction of the first task of the tournament. As Gryffindor is associated with fire, everything on this cover is too! That is why the dragon can be found amongst some Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes fireworks. At the very top centre of the image is a rather mysterious looking face; this is an illustration of Sirius poking his head through the fire to speak to Harry in the Gryffindor common room! I love how even these rather small moments of the books are immortalised here!
The new portrait at the back of the book is of everyone's favourite gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. For each of these portraits, Pinfold placed the focus within a stone arch, however due to Hagrid’s massive size, he blocks the view of this completely! See if you can spot a cowering Fang and a baby Norbert in there too! The portrait explored in the Gryffindor edition is that of the foolhardy knight, Sir Cadogan. For this illustration, Pinfold took great influence from Velázquez’s ‘Principe Balthasar’, due to their similar energies and same squat little horse. Cute!
The Ravenclaw cover is decorated in Abraxan winged horses, inspired, of course, by Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. In the top left is the carriage in which Madame Maxime and her students stayed while the Triwizard Tournament was being held at Hogwarts. An image of Fleur Delacour can be found at the bottom, mirroring Ollivander at the top, who is holding out a wand. Hidden amongst the horses is Rita Skeeter in her Animagus form.
There's a new portrait of Garrick Ollivander in the back. He's stood staring straight out with his "wide, pale eyes," stroking his chin as if thinking deeply. The Hogwarts portrait is of 'The Drunk Monks,' a painting often frequented by the Fat Lady and her best friend Violet. It's a jovial image; the foreground littered with bottles and tankards, two of the monks are looking rather cheery while the third seems to have passed out!
The water-based Slytherin cover depicts the second Triwizard task, in which the champions had to swim through the Black Lake to find something they had lost. Most of the cover illustration is taken up by one of the lakes most famous inhabitants; the Giant Squid. However, amongst the tentacles we can also see the hulking figure of Viktor Krum, no doubt placed with Slytherin due to their links with dark magic, as well as the Durmstrang ship as it would look emerging from the lake, and the tombstone of none other than Tom Riddle himself. This cover is undoubtedly the darkest in tone, yet is intriguing and gorgeous.
At the back of the book, a portrait of Lord Voldemort is shown. Riddle is draped in his snake, Nagini, whose tail is blocking part of the name ‘Voldemort’ from view, a choice that Levi assures is no accident. Voldemort looks skeletal and inhuman, just as he would after being reborn into his body towards the end of the book. The portrait explored here is that of Sirius’ ancestor and former Hogwarts headmaster, Phineas Nigellus Black. The illustration makes Black look every bit as conniving and calculating as he appears throughout the books, capturing his personality perfectly.
The Third Task is the theme for the Hufflepuff cover, showing Cedric 'Delicious' Diggory entering the sprawling maze, as well as all the obstacles found within. There's the Sphinx, the Acromantula, one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts, a Boggart/Dementor. There's even what looks to be the feet of a burrowing Niffle on the outside! As with the other covers, Rita Skeeter in her Animagus form can be spotted here too.
The new portrait for the Hufflepuff edition is of Cedric. He's looking especially cool; one hand casually in his pocket, the sleeves of his robes pushed up slightly, with his Prefect badge clear for all to see. As you can see, Pinfold’s original illustration of Cedric looked quite different, yet was changed due to the fact he didn’t look ‘cool’ enough. Levi thought ‘What do cool people do? They lean!’ And so decided to age Diggory down, and make him slouch slightly. Now he exudes coolness!
The Hogwarts painting for Hufflepuff house is of the 'The Giggling Pear' – no surprises there. This painting is of course found near to the Hufflepuff Common Room, and leads directly into the Hogwarts kitchens. The painting is a typical still life, though the titular Giggling Pear has a face and can be found lounging on top of the grapes.
Hopefully that by reading this, you may have learnt some additional facts about the illustrations, or spotted something within then them you may not have before! We absolutely adore Pinfold's work and cannot wait to see what he comes up with for the remaining three books in the series.
When looking at all four editions together, one might notice that each house is associated with an element. Gryffindor is fire, Ravenclaw is air, Slytherin water and Hufflepuff earth. Additionally, for the GoF collection, each house displays a different Triwizard champion. Very cool! Another feature that can be seen on all four covers is the addition of our little insect friend, Rita Skeeter, in her animagus form of a beetle. As we know, Rita manages to worm her way into a lot of different places in the books, so it’s not surprising to find her on all of the covers!
 |
| Gryffindor |
As such, the Gryffindor cover shows a little silhouette of Harry on a broom at the bottom; a champion reaching for the golden egg he must take from a dragon. This is, of course, a depiction of the first task of the tournament. As Gryffindor is associated with fire, everything on this cover is too! That is why the dragon can be found amongst some Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes fireworks. At the very top centre of the image is a rather mysterious looking face; this is an illustration of Sirius poking his head through the fire to speak to Harry in the Gryffindor common room! I love how even these rather small moments of the books are immortalised here!
 |
| The Equestrian Portrait of Prince Balthasar Charles |
The new portrait at the back of the book is of everyone's favourite gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. For each of these portraits, Pinfold placed the focus within a stone arch, however due to Hagrid’s massive size, he blocks the view of this completely! See if you can spot a cowering Fang and a baby Norbert in there too! The portrait explored in the Gryffindor edition is that of the foolhardy knight, Sir Cadogan. For this illustration, Pinfold took great influence from Velázquez’s ‘Principe Balthasar’, due to their similar energies and same squat little horse. Cute!
 |
| Ravenclaw |
The Ravenclaw cover is decorated in Abraxan winged horses, inspired, of course, by Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. In the top left is the carriage in which Madame Maxime and her students stayed while the Triwizard Tournament was being held at Hogwarts. An image of Fleur Delacour can be found at the bottom, mirroring Ollivander at the top, who is holding out a wand. Hidden amongst the horses is Rita Skeeter in her Animagus form.
There's a new portrait of Garrick Ollivander in the back. He's stood staring straight out with his "wide, pale eyes," stroking his chin as if thinking deeply. The Hogwarts portrait is of 'The Drunk Monks,' a painting often frequented by the Fat Lady and her best friend Violet. It's a jovial image; the foreground littered with bottles and tankards, two of the monks are looking rather cheery while the third seems to have passed out!
 |
| Slytherin |
The water-based Slytherin cover depicts the second Triwizard task, in which the champions had to swim through the Black Lake to find something they had lost. Most of the cover illustration is taken up by one of the lakes most famous inhabitants; the Giant Squid. However, amongst the tentacles we can also see the hulking figure of Viktor Krum, no doubt placed with Slytherin due to their links with dark magic, as well as the Durmstrang ship as it would look emerging from the lake, and the tombstone of none other than Tom Riddle himself. This cover is undoubtedly the darkest in tone, yet is intriguing and gorgeous.
At the back of the book, a portrait of Lord Voldemort is shown. Riddle is draped in his snake, Nagini, whose tail is blocking part of the name ‘Voldemort’ from view, a choice that Levi assures is no accident. Voldemort looks skeletal and inhuman, just as he would after being reborn into his body towards the end of the book. The portrait explored here is that of Sirius’ ancestor and former Hogwarts headmaster, Phineas Nigellus Black. The illustration makes Black look every bit as conniving and calculating as he appears throughout the books, capturing his personality perfectly.
 |
| Hufflepuff |
The Third Task is the theme for the Hufflepuff cover, showing Cedric 'Delicious' Diggory entering the sprawling maze, as well as all the obstacles found within. There's the Sphinx, the Acromantula, one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts, a Boggart/Dementor. There's even what looks to be the feet of a burrowing Niffle on the outside! As with the other covers, Rita Skeeter in her Animagus form can be spotted here too.
 |
| The evolution of Cedric Diggory |
The new portrait for the Hufflepuff edition is of Cedric. He's looking especially cool; one hand casually in his pocket, the sleeves of his robes pushed up slightly, with his Prefect badge clear for all to see. As you can see, Pinfold’s original illustration of Cedric looked quite different, yet was changed due to the fact he didn’t look ‘cool’ enough. Levi thought ‘What do cool people do? They lean!’ And so decided to age Diggory down, and make him slouch slightly. Now he exudes coolness!
The Hogwarts painting for Hufflepuff house is of the 'The Giggling Pear' – no surprises there. This painting is of course found near to the Hufflepuff Common Room, and leads directly into the Hogwarts kitchens. The painting is a typical still life, though the titular Giggling Pear has a face and can be found lounging on top of the grapes.
Hopefully that by reading this, you may have learnt some additional facts about the illustrations, or spotted something within then them you may not have before! We absolutely adore Pinfold's work and cannot wait to see what he comes up with for the remaining three books in the series.
Comments
Post a Comment