Defining 'illustration' is not easy; it is always caught between the pillars of applied and fine art, between serving and claiming autonomy. With new possibilities of technical reproducibility, illustrations in the 19th century became omnipresent on the one hand and partially 'inferior' on the other. Today, they are experiencing a similar reevaluation in the context of digital reproducibility and production. The publication illuminates cultural-historical developments as well as perspectives from art, media, and visual studies and begins to clarify the position of illustration in image history and visual studies.