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Gustave Doré

Gustave Doré

Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré (/dɔːˈreɪ/; French: [ɡys.tav dɔ.ʁe]; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883[1]) was a French artist, printmaker, illustrator, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor who worked primarily with wood-engraving.

Paul Gustave Doré
Born(1832-01-06)6 January 1832
Strasbourg, France
Died23 January 1883(1883-01-23)(aged 51)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Known forPainting, etching, illustrations
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Biography

Doré by Carolus-Duran (1877)

Doré by Carolus-Duran (1877)

Doré was born in Strasbourg on 6 January 1832. By age 5 he was a prodigy artist, creating drawings that were mature beyond his years. Seven years later, he began carving in stone. At the age of 15, Doré began his career working as a caricaturist for the French paper Le journal pour rire.[2] Wood-engraving was his primary method at this time.[3] In the late 1840s and early 1850s, he made several text comics, like Les Travaux d'Hercule (1847), Trois artistes incompris et mécontents (1851), Les Dés-agréments d'un voyage d'agrément (1851) and L'Histoire de la Sainte Russie (1854). Doré subsequently went on to win commissions to depict scenes from books by Cervantes, Rabelais, Balzac, Milton, and Dante. He also illustrated "Gargantua et Pantagruel" in 1854.

In 1853 Doré was asked to illustrate the works of Lord Byron.[4] This commission was followed by additional work for British publishers, including a new illustrated Bible. In 1856 he produced 12 folio-size illustrations of The Legend of The Wandering Jew, which propagated longstanding antisemitic views of the time,[5] for a short poem which Pierre-Jean de Béranger had derived from a novel of Eugène Sue of 1845.[6][7][8]

In the 1860s he illustrated a French edition of Cervantes's Don Quixote, and his depictions of the knight and his squire, Sancho Panza, have become so famous that they have influenced subsequent readers, artists, and stage and film directors' ideas of the physical "look" of the two characters.[9] Doré also illustrated an oversized edition of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", an endeavor that earned him 30,000 francs from publisher Harper & Brothers in 1883.[10]

Doré's illustrations for the Bible (1866) were a great success, and in 1867 Doré had a major exhibition of his work in London. This exhibition led to the foundation of the Doré Gallery in Bond Street, London.[11] In 1869, Blanchard Jerrold, the son of Douglas William Jerrold, suggested that they work together to produce a comprehensive portrait of London. Jerrold had obtained the idea from The Microcosm of London produced by Rudolph Ackermann, William Pyne, and Thomas Rowlandson (published in three volumes from 1808 to 1810).[12] Doré signed a five-year contract with the publishers Grant & Co that involved his staying in London for three months a year, and he received the vast sum of £10,000 a year for the project. Doré was mainly celebrated for his paintings in his day. His paintings remain world-renowned, but his woodcuts and engravings, like those he did for Jerrold, are where he excelled as an artist with an individual vision.

The completed book London: A Pilgrimage, with 180 wood-engravings, was published in 1872. It enjoyed commercial and popular success, but the work was disliked by many contemporary critics. Some of these critics were concerned by the fact that Doré appeared to focus on the poverty that existed in parts of London. Doré was accused by The Art Journal of "inventing rather than copying".[13] The Westminster Review claimed that "Doré gives us sketches in which the commonest, the vulgarest external features are set down".[14] The book was a financial success, however, and Doré received commissions from other British publishers.

Doré's later work included illustrations for new editions of Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Milton's Paradise Lost, Tennyson's Idylls of the King, The Works of Thomas Hood, and The Divine Comedy. Doré's work also appeared in the weekly newspaper The Illustrated London News.

Doré never married and, following the death of his father in 1849, he continued to live with his mother, illustrating books until his death in Paris following a short illness. The city's Père Lachaise Cemetery contains his grave.[15] At the time of his death in 1883, he was working on illustrations for an edition of Shakespeare's plays.[16] The government of France made him a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1861.

Works

Doré was a prolific artist; thus the following list of works, though extensive, is by no means comprehensive (e.g., it does not include his paintings, sculptures, or many of his journal illustrations):

DateAuthorWorkVolumes / FormatIllustrationsPublisherRef
1854Gustave DoréHistoire pittoresque dramatique et caricaturale de la Sainte Russie, d'après les chroniqueurs et historiens Nestor Nikan Sylvestre Karamsin Ségur etc.1 vol.500Paris: de Bry[17][18]
1854RabelaisOeuvres contenant la vie de Gargantua et celle de Pantagruel ...1 vol. 4to.Frontis. & 15J.Bry Ainé, Paris[19]
1855Honoré de BalzacLes Contes Drôlatiques425Société Générale de la Libraire, and in Le Journal pour Tous[20]
1855Jules GérardLa Chasse au Lion1 vol. 12mo.11Librairie Nouvelle[21]
1856Fierabras d'Alexandrie, Légende Nationale traduite par Mary Lafon1 vol in 8vo123Librairie Nouvelle[22]
1856Mémoires d'un Jeune Cadet, par Victor Percival48[22]
1856La Légende du Juif Errant1 vol. grand in folio12 Image:Wandering jew title page.jpgMichel Lévy[22]
1857[23]Dante AlighieriL'Enfer70[24]
1857 autumnEd. de La BédollièreNouveau Paris, Histoire de ses 20 Arrondissements1 vol in 4to150Barba[25]
1857 autumnValéry VernierAline, Journal d'un Jeune Hommeone large pageDentu[25]
1860–1862Thomas Mayne ReidL'Habitation du Désert1 vol. in 16mo60Hachette[25]
1860–1862Ann S. StevensLa Fille du Grand Chieftain1 vol.15[25]
1860–1862M. V. VictorFlêche d'Or1 vol.13[25]
1860–1862E. S. EllisL'Ange des Frontières1 vol.10[25]
1860–1862N. W. BuxtedLes Vierges de la Forêt1 vol.10[25]
1860William ShakespeareThe Tempest1 vol. in 4to(London)[25]
1861Les Figures du Temps1 vol. in 12mo(Paris)[25]
1861Plouvier and VincentLes Chansons d'Autrefoisin 12moCoulon and Pineau, Paris[25]
1861Edmond About[26]Le Roi des Montagnes1 vol. in 8vo157Hachette and Co., Paris[25]
1862SaintineLes Mythologies du Rhin1 vol. in 8vo165Hachette and Co., Paris[25]
1862L'Abbé Léon GodardL'Espagne, Mœurs et Paysages2 vols in 8vo4 Image:Moeurs et paysages title page.jpgAlfred Mame et Fils, Tours Image:Moeurs et paysages title page.jpg or Paris[25][25]
1862Malte-Brun[27]Les États Unis et le Mexique1 vol. in 4toBrun, Paris[25]
1862Histoire aussi intéressante qu'invraisemblable de l'intrépide Capitaine Castagnette, neveu de l'Homme à la Tête de Bois1 vol. in 4to43Hachette[25]
1862Charles PerraultLes Contes de Perrault11[28]
1862Aventures du Baron de Münchausen, traduction nouvelle par Théophile Gautier fils1 vol.(Paris, Charles Furne)[25]
1863M. ÉpinéLégende de Croquemitaine1 vol. in 4to177Hachette[25]
1863GastineauLa Chasse au Lion et à la Panthère1 vol. in 8voHachette and Co.[25]
1863Miguel de CervantesDon Quixote de la Mancha translation by Louis Viardot2 vols. folio370Hachette and Co., Paris, and Cassell and Co., London[25]
1863Les Contes de Perrault or in Spanish Los Cuentos de Perrault100+Hetzels. in Spanish by Ledouse[25]
1865GastineauDe Paris en Afrique1 vol. in 12mo(Paris)[25]
1865A. MasseL'Histoire d'un Minute1 vol., 12mo(Paris)[25]
1866Victor HugoTravailleurs de la MerSampson Low and Co., London[25][29]
1865E. EdgarCressy and Poictiers1 vol. in 8vo50+(London)[25]
1865Thomas MooreL'Épicurien (French translation)in 8vo(Paris)[25]
1865Tom HoodFairy Realmin folio(London: Ward, Lock, and Tyler)[25]
1865QuatrellesLe Chevalier Beautempsgrand in 8vo(Paris)[30]
1865ChateaubriandAtala2 vols, grand folio80Hachette Edition[25]
1866Théophile GautierLe Capitaine Fracasse1 vol. grand in 8vo60Charpentier[25]
1866G. La BédollièreHistoire de la Guerre en Mexiquein 4to(Paris)[25]
1866Dante AlighieriThe Vision of HellLondon, Cassell, Petter, and Galpin[25]
1867Dante AlighieriIl Purgatorio ed il ParadisoHachette and Co.[25]
1866[31]X. B. SaintineLe Chemin des Écoliers1 vol. in 8vo450 Image:Le chemin des ecoliers title page.jpg (not all by Doré)Hachette and Co.[25]
1866La Sainte Bible, according to the Vulgate, new translation2 vols. grand in folio241Mame, Tours; Cassell and Co., England[25]
1866John MiltonParadise Lost50 PlatesCassell and Co.[25]
1867La BédollièreLa France et la Russie(Paris)[25]
1867Les Fables de Lafontaine2 vols. in folio8 large and 250 small platesHachette and Co.[25]
1867Les Pays-bas et la Belgiquein 8vo(Paris)[25]
1870Thomas Hood(Poems)2 vols. in folio9 PlatesWard and Lock, London[25]
1870Samuel Taylor ColeridgeThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner[32]grand in 4to40 large and 3 small drawings[25]
1873New edition of Rabelais2 vols. in folioParis : Garnier; London: Chatto and Windus[25]
1876Louis ÉnaultLondon1 vol. in 4to174 wood-engravingsHachette and Co.[25]
1874Baron Ch. DavilliersL'Espagnein 4to309 wood-engravingsHachette and Co.; London: Sampson Low and Co.[25]
1875MichaudHistoire des Croisades2 vol. medium folio100 grand compositionsParis: Hachette and Co.[25]
Alfred TennysonIdylls of the King[25]
1877AriostoOrlando Furioso36 drawingsHachette and Co. (London: Ward and Lock)[25]
1884Edgar Allan PoeThe Raven26 steel engravingsLondon: Sampson Low and Co., New York: Harper and Co.[33]

References

[1]
Citation Linkwww.britannica.comGustave Doré at the Encyclopædia Britannica
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[2]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgLyons, Martin (2011). Books: A Living History. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-60606-083-4.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[3]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.org"Books: A Living History" by Martin Lyons
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[4]
Citation Linkarchive.orgComplete Works of Lord Byron illustrated by Ch. Mettais, Bocourt, G. Doré. Published by J. Bry, Paris, 1853. The version at archive.org is in French. The illustrations are not attributed to any one of the three named on the title page. A handwritten note at page 5 remarks that another edition of 1856 made no mention of Doré among the illustrators, but his designs still appeared in the book.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[5]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgRichard S. Levy, Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution, Volume 1, Oxford 2005, p 186
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[6]
Citation Linkyalepress.yale.eduZafran, with Robert Rosenblum and Lisa Small, editors, Eric (2007). "Fantasy and Faith: The Art of Gustave Dore". Yale University Press.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[7]
Citation Linkwww.ebay.com"eBay". 22 January 2013. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013.
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[8]
Citation Linkbooks.google.com"Willis's Price Current: A Catalogue of Superior Second Hand Books Ancient and Modern ... to which are Added a List of New Publications and Current Notes for the Month". Willis and Sotheran. 21 January 2018 – via Google Books.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[9]
Citation Linkwww.lambiek.net"Gustave Doré". lambiek.net.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[10]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgQuinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. p. 252. ISBN 0-8018-5730-9
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[11]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgMcQueen, A. "Gustave Doré," in Nineteenth-Century Art, Highlights from the Tanenbaum Collection, London: 2015, p. 54.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[12]
Citation Linkwww.romanticlondon.org"Introduction to The Microcosm of London (1808-10) – Romantic London". www.romanticlondon.org.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[13]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgAckyroyd, Peter (2005). London: A Pilgrimage (introduction). Anthem Press. pp. xix.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[14]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgChapman, J (1873). The Westminster Review, Vol 99. p. 341.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[15]
Citation Linkwww.findagrave.comStuthehistoryguy. "Gustave Doré". Findagrave. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[16]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgLyons, Martin (2011). Books: A Living History. J. Paul Getty Museum. p. 135.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[17]
Citation Linkweb.archive.orgindyworld.com Archived 2013-11-26 at the Wayback Machine Gustave Doré's «Holy Russia» by Bill Kartalopoulos. INDY Magazine, Summer 2004
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[18]
Citation Link//www.jstor.org/stable/129823David Kunzle (1983). "Gustave Dore's History of Holy Russia: Anti-Russian Propaganda from the Crimean War to the Cold War". The Russian Review. Russian Review, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Jul., 1983), pp. 271-299. 42 (3): 271–299. doi:10.2307/129823. JSTOR 129823.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM
[19]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgEleanor Garvey, A Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Philip Hofer Bequest, 1988.
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[20]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgRoosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", page 183. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885.
Sep 26, 2019, 6:15 AM