Gustave Doré

Paul Gustave Doré (January 6, 1832 – January 23, 1883) was a French artist, engraver, and illustrator.

Related Topics:
January 6 - 1832 - January 23 - 1883 - French

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He was born in Strasbourg and published his first illustrated story at 15. He became a book illustrator in Paris, and his commissions included work by Rabelais, Balzac, and Dante. In 1853 he was asked to illustrate the works of Lord Byron. This was followed by other work for British publishers, including a new illustrated English Bible. He also illustrated an oversized edition of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.

Related Topics:
Strasbourg - Paris - Rabelais - Balzac - Dante - Lord Byron - Bible - Edgar Allan Poe - ''The Raven''

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Doré's English Bible (1865) was a great success, and in 1867 he had a major exhibition of his work in London. This led to the foundation of the Doré Gallery in New Bond Street.

Related Topics:
1865 - London

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In 1869, Blanchard Jerrold, the son of Douglas William Jerrold, suggested that they work together to produce a comprehensive portrait of London. Jerrold had got the idea from The Microcosm of London produced by Rudolph Ackermann, William Pyne, and Thomas Rowlandson in 1808.

Related Topics:
Blanchard Jerrold - Douglas William Jerrold - Rudolph Ackermann - William Pyne - Thomas Rowlandson

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Doré signed a five-year project with the publishers, Grant & Co, that involved his staying in London for three months a year. He was paid the vast sum of £10,000 a year for his work. The book, London: A Pilgrimage, with 180 engravings was published in 1872.

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Although a commercial success, many critics disliked the book. Several were upset that Doré appeared to concentrate on the poverty that existed in London. He was accused by the Art Journal of "inventing rather than copying." The Westminster Review claimed that "Doré gives us sketches in which the commonest, the vulgarest external features are set down."

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London: A Pilgrimage was a financial success, and Doré received commissions from other British publishers. His later work included Milton's Paradise Lost, Tennyson's The Idylls of the King, The Works of Thomas Hood, and The Divine Comedy. His work also appeared in the Illustrated London News. Doré continued to illustrate books until his death in Paris in 1883. He is buried in the city's Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Related Topics:
Milton - Paradise Lost - Tennyson - Idylls of the King - Thomas Hood - The Divine Comedy - 1883 - Père Lachaise Cemetery

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He was a prolific artist which makes it difficult to compile a comprehensive list of his illustrations, but Blanche Roosevelt (1885, pp 241-243) listed the following:

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• In the autumn of 1857 he illustrated Ed. de La Bédollière's Nouveau Paris, Histoire de ses 20 Arrondissements, 1 vol in 4to, with 150 drawings, published by Barba. Also, Aline, Journal d'un Jeune Homme, with one large page of illustrations, written by Valéry Vernier, and published by Dentu.
• The next work was a translation from Mayne Reid, called L'Habitation du Désert, 1 vol. in 16mo, published at Hachette's, by A. Le François, 60 drawings (footnote: The above are American works (names of translators not given) and are at present in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.)
• La Fille du Grand Chieftain, by Ann S. Stevens, 1 vol., 15 drawings.
• Flêche d'Or, M. V. Victor, 1 vol., 13 drawings.
• L'Ange des Frontières, by E. S. Ellis, 1 vol., 10 drawings.
• Les Vierges de la Forêt, by N. W. Buxted, 1 vol., 10 drawings

The above were published one after the other during the years 1860 to 1862.

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• The Tempest (Shakespeare), published in London in 1860, 1 vol. in 4to.
• Les Figures du Temps, with biographical notice (Paris, 1861), 1 vol. in 12mo.
• Les Chansons d'Autrefois, by Plouvier and Vincent (Paris: Coulon and Pineau, 1861), in 12mo.
• Le Roi des Montagnes, by Ed. About, fifth edition, 1 vol in 8vo (Hachette and Co., Paris; 1861), 157 drawings, with eleven not in the text.
• Les Mythologies du Rhin, by Saintine (Paris: Hachette, 1862), 1 vol. in 8vo, illustrated with 165 drawings; six more than required by the text.
• L'Espagne, M?urs et Paysages, by Godard, Paris, 2 vols in 8vo (Paris, 1862).
• Les États Unis et la Mexique, by Malted (Brun, Paris, 1862), 1 vol. in 4to.
• Histoire aussi intéressante qu'invraisemblable de l'intrepide Capitaine Castagnette, neveu de l'Homme à la Tête de Bois, 1 vol. in 4to, illustrated by 43 woodcuts (Hachette, 1862).
• Aventures de Baron Münchausen, traduction nouvelle par Théophile Gautier fils, 1 vol. (London, 1866).
• In 1863 Gustave began his season by M. Épiné's Légende de Croquemitaine, 1 vol. in 4to, published by Hachette, illustrated by 177 woodcuts. This book was of such importance that an edition for private circulation was printed on vellum paper. It was also brought out in London in 1866.
• His next work was La Chasse au Lion et à la Panthère, by Gastineau, 1 vol. in 8vo, completely illustrated (Hachette and Co., 1863).
• Don Quixote de la Mancha, translation by Louis Viardot, 2 vols. folio, was the great work of 1863 (Hachette and Co.), 370 drawings. London: Cassell and Co.
• Les Contes de Perrault, was begun in 1862, but not published until 1863, at Hetzels. This is the celebrated work which had a preface by S. P. State, and over 100 drawings. (Id., Los Cuentos de Perrault, in Spanish, published by Ledouse, 1863.)
• De Paris en Afrique, by Gastineau (Paris, 1865), 1 vol. in 12mo,?drawings.
• L'Histoire d'un Minute, by A. Masse, 1 vol., 12mo (Paris, 1865).
• Victor Hugo's Travailleurs de la Mer, also in 1866, brought out by Sampson Low and Co., in London.
• Cressy and Poictiers, by E. Edgar (London, 1865), 1 vol. in 8vo, over 50 drawings.
• L'Épicurien, by Thomas Moore (French translation: Paris, 1865), in 8vo, freely illustrated.
• Falmy Realm (London, 1865), in folio.
• Le Chevalier Beautemps, by Quatrelles; Preface, Alex. Dumas fils (Paris, 1865), grand in 8vo.
• Atala, by Châteaubriand (Hachette Edition, 1865), 2 vols, grand folio, 80 drawings.
• 1866 begins with Théophile Gautier's Capitaine Fracasse, published by Charpentier, and illustrated with 60 large drawings, 1 vol. grand in 8vo.
• Histoire de la Guerre en Mexique, by G. La Bédollière (Paris, 1866), in 4to,?drawings.
• Dante's Il Purgatorio ed il Paradiso, Hachette and Co., 1867.
• Le Chemin des Écoliers, by Saintine (Hachette and Co.), 1 vol. in 8vo,?drawings (1866).
• La Sainte Bible, according to the Vulgate, new translation, 2 vols. grand in folio (1866), over 200 illustrations. Mame, publisher, Tours; Cassell and Co., England.
• Paradise Lost, by John Milton, edited by Cassell and Co. (London, 1866).
• La France et la Russie, by La Bédollière (Paris, 1867).
• Les Fables de Lafontaine, 2 vols. in folio (Hachette and Co.), 8 large and 250 small plates, 1867.
• Les Pays-bas et la Belgique (Paris 1867), in 8vo, fully illustrated.
• Thomas Hood's Poems (London, 1870: Ward and Lock), 2 vols. in folio.
• The Song of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge, grand in 4to (1870), 40 large and 3 small drawings.
• New edition of Rabelais, 2 vols. in folio (Paris, 1873: Garnier). London: Chatto and Windus, 1873.
• London, by Louis Ernaut, 174 wood engravings, (Hachette and Co., 1876), 1 vol. in 4to.
• L'Espagne, by Baron Ch. Davilliers, illustrated with 309 engravings on wood (Hachette and Co., 1874), in 4to. London: Sampson Low and Co.
• Michaud's Histoire des Croisades, 1875 (Paris: Hachette and Co.).
• The Idyls of the King, Tennyson, 36 drawings, Hachette and Co. (London: Ward and Lock).
• Orlando Furioso (Ariosto), in 1877, was the last great classic ever illustrated by the prolific artist.
 
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