The Trojan Horse

Hutton's interpretation of the Greek ruse that concluded the 10-year Trojan War is both elegant and dramatic. His pen-and-ink drawings, at once delicate and forceful, adroitly capture the scale of the conflict. Lines of warriors and ships, vivid in the foreground, recede hazily in the distance; the stunning and tragically irresistible wooden behemoth is shown dwarfing Troy's inhabitants and the Trojan fortress itself. Hutton's is narrative is, characteristically, scrupulously accurate and detailed, and seamless except for a too-abrupt transition when the horse's contents are revealed--a moment that fails to capture the situation's inherent theatricality. But this is a small quibble in light of the whole, for visually the horse is one of Hutton's finest creations: the closing image of its presiding over Troy's smoking ruins--its painted wide-eyed gaze and calm smile having become an ironic rebuke--is especially memorable. Ages 7-up. (Mar.)