Gustave Doré

Paul Gustave Doré (French pronunciation: ​[pɔl ɡystav dɔʁe]; January 6, 1832 – January 23, 1883) was a French artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor. Most of Doré's work was wood engraving and steel engraving.

Gustave Doré
Gustave Doré by Nadar, 1867
Born(1832-01-06)January 6, 1832
Strasbourg, France
DiedJanuary 23, 1883(1883-01-23) (aged 51)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Known forArt (Painting, engraving, Illustration)

Biography

Doré was born in Strasbourg. His first illustrated story was published at the age of fifteen. As a young man, he began work as a literary illustrator in Paris. He was hired to illustrate scenes from books by Rabelais, Balzac, Milton and Dante.

In 1853, Doré was asked to illustrate the works of Lord Byron. British publishers asked him to do more work, including a new illustrated English Bible. Ten years later, he illustrated a French edition of Cervantes's Don Quixote. His images of the knight and Sancho Panza have influenced later readers, artists, and stage and film directors' ideas of how the two characters looked. Doré also illustrated an edition of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" with larger than usual pages. He was paid 30,000 francs by the publisher Harper & Brothers in 1883.[1]

Doré's English Bible (1866) was a great success, and in 1867 Doré had a major exhibition of his work in London. The Doré Gallery in Covelant Bond Street opened after the show. In 1869, Blanchard Jerrold suggested that they work together to make a complete portrait of London. Jerrold got the idea from The Microcosm of London produced by Rudolph Ackermann, William Pyne, and Thomas Rowlandson in 1808. Doré signed a five-year contract with the publishers Grant & Co. He had to stay in London for three months each year. He was paid £10,000 a year for the project.

The completed book, London: A Pilgrimage, was published in 1872. It had 180 engravings. The book was successful financially and influenced many people. However, many critics at the time disliked it. Some of these critics wrote that Doré paid too much attention to the poverty in parts of London.

His later works included Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 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.

He continued to illustrate books until he died in Paris after a short illness in 1883. He is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

  • Illustration 14 from The Raven
    Illustration 14 from The Raven
  • Illustration 15 from The Raven for the line "Perched upon a bust of Pallas."
    Illustration 15 from The Raven for the line "Perched upon a bust of Pallas."
  • The song of Deborah
    The song of Deborah
  • Illustration 14 from Orlando Furioso
    Illustration 14 from Orlando Furioso
  • A hippogriff from Orlando Furioso
    A hippogriff from Orlando Furioso
  • Satan from Paradise Lost
    Satan from Paradise Lost
  • Confusion of Tongues–The Tower of Babel
    Confusion of Tongues–The Tower of Babel
  • From The Rime of Ancient Mariner
    From The Rime of Ancient Mariner
  • From Idylls of the King
    From Idylls of the King
  • Paradiso Canto 31
    Paradiso Canto 31
  • Purgatorio Canto 12
    Purgatorio Canto 12
  • Inferno Canto 5
    Inferno Canto 5
  • Inferno Charon crossing the River Styx
    Inferno Charon crossing the River Styx
  • Don Quixote
    Don Quixote

List of works

Doré made many works of art. This list is very long, but does not include every piece of art that Doré made. It does not include his sculptures and paintings. Also, many journal illustrations are not listed.

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[2]
1854RabelaisOeuvres contenant la vie de Gargantua et celle de Pantagruel ...1 vol. 4to.Frontis. & 15J.Bry Ainé, Paris[3]
1855Honoré de BalzacLes Contes Drôlatiques425Société Générale de la Libraire, and in Le Journal pour Tous[4]
1856Fierabras d'Alexandrie, Légende Nationale traduite par Mary Lafon1 vol in 8vo123Librairie Nouvelle[5]
1856Mémoires d'un Jeune Cadet, par Victor Percival48[5]
1856La Légende du Juif Errant1 vol. grand in folio12 Image:Wandering jew title page.jpgMichel Lévy[5]
1857[6]Dante AlighieriL'Enfer70[7][8]
1857 autumnEd. de La BédollièreNouveau Paris, Histoire de ses 20 Arrondissements1 vol in 4to150Barba[9]
1857 autumnValéry VernierAline, Journal d'un Jeune Homme,one large pageDentu[9]
1860–1862Thomas Mayne ReidL'Habitation du Désert,1 vol. in 16mo60Hachette[9]
1860–1862Ann S. StevensLa Fille du Grand Chieftain1 vol.15[9]
1860–1862M. V. VictorFlêche d'Or1 vol.13[9]
1860–1862E. S. EllisL'Ange des Frontières1 vol.10[9]
1860–1862N. W. BuxtedLes Vierges de la Forêt1 vol.10[9]
1860William ShakespeareThe Tempest1 vol. in 4to(London)[9]
1861Les Figures du Temps,1 vol. in 12mo(Paris)[9]
1861Plouvier and VincentLes Chansons d'Autrefoisin 12moCoulon and Pineau, Paris[9]
1861Edmond About[10]Le Roi des Montagnes1 vol. in 8vo157Hachette and Co., Paris[9]
1862SaintineLes Mythologies du Rhin1 vol. in 8vo165Hachette and Co., Paris[9]
1862L'Abbé Léon GodardL'Espagne, Mœurs et Paysages,2 vols in 8vo4 Image:Moeurs et paysages title page.jpgAlfred Mame et Fils, Tours Image:Moeurs et paysages title page.jpg or Paris[9][9]
1862Malte-Brun[11]Les États Unis et le Mexique1 vol. in 4toBrun, Paris[9]
1862Histoire aussi intéressante qu'invraisemblable de l'intrépide Capitaine Castagnette, neveu de l'Homme à la Tête de Bois1 vol. in 4to43Hachette[9]
1866Aventures du Baron de Münchausen, traduction nouvelle par Théophile Gautier fils1 vol.(London)[9]
1863M. ÉpinéLégende de Croquemitaine1 vol. in 4to177Hachette[9]
1863GastineauLa Chasse au Lion et à la Panthère1 vol. in 8voHachette and Co.[9]
1863Miguel de CervantesDon Quixote de la Mancha translation by Louis Viardot2 vols. folio370Hachette and Co., Paris, and Cassell and Co., London[9]
1863Les Contes de Perrault or in Spanish Los Cuentos de Perrault100+Hetzels. in Spanish by Ledouse[9]
1865GastineauDe Paris en Afrique1 vol. in 12mo(Paris)[9]
1865A. MasseL'Histoire d'un Minute1 vol., 12mo(Paris)[9]
1866Victor HugoTravailleurs de la MerSampson Low and Co., London[9][12]
1865E. EdgarCressy and Poictiers1 vol. in 8vo50+(London)[9]
1865Thomas MooreL'Épicurien (French translation)in 8vo(Paris)[9]
1865Falmy Realmin folio(London)[9]
1865QuatrellesLe Chevalier Beautempsgrand in 8vo(Paris)[13]
1865ChateaubriandAtala2 vols, grand folio80Hachette Edition[9]
1866Théophile GautierLe Capitaine Fracasse1 vol. grand in 8vo60Charpentier[9]
1866G. La BédollièreHistoire de la Guerre en Mexiquein 4to(Paris)[9]
1867Dante AlighieriIl Purgatorio ed il ParadisoHachette and Co.[9]
1866[14]X. B. SaintineLe Chemin des Écoliers1 vol. in 8vo450 Image:Le chemin des ecoliers title page.jpg(not all by Doré)Hachette and Co.[9]
1866La Sainte Bible, according to the Vulgate, new translation2 vols. grand in folio200+Mame, Tours; Cassell and Co., England[9]
1866John MiltonParadise LostCassell and Co.[9]
1867La BédollièreLa France et la Russie(Paris)[9]
1867Les Fables de Lafontaine2 vols. in folio8 large and 250 small platesHachette and Co.[9]
1867Les Pays-bas et la Belgiquein 8vo(Paris)[9]
1870Thomas Hood(Poems)2 vols. in folioWard and Lock, London[9]
1870Samuel Taylor ColeridgeThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner[15]grand in 4to40 large and 3 small drawings[9]
1873New edition of Rabelais2 vols. in folioParis : Garnier; London: Chatto and Windus[9]
1876Louis ÉnaultLondon1 vol. in 4to174 wood engravingsHachette and Co.[9]
1874Baron Ch. DavilliersL'Espagnein 4to309 wood-engravingsHachette and Co.; London: Sampson Low and Co.[9]
1875MichaudHistoire des Croisades2 vol. medium folio100 grand compositionsParis: Hachette and Co.[9]
Alfred TennysonIdylls of the King[9]
1877AriostoOrlando Furioso36 drawingsHachette and Co. (London: Ward and Lock)[9]
1884Edgar Allan PoeThe Raven26 steel engravings[7]London: Sampson Low and Co., New York: Harper and Co.[16]

References
  1. Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. p. 252. ISBN 0-8018-5730-9
  2. indyworld.com Archived 2013-11-26 at the Wayback Machine Gustave Doré's «Holy Russia» by Bill Kartalopoulos. INDY Magazine, Summer 2004
  3. Eleanor Garvey, A Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Philip Hofer Bequest, 1988.
  4. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", page 183. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885.
  5. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", page 207. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885.
  6. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", pages 215. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885. Roosevelt states that "In Doré's catalogue 'L'Inferno' figures amongst the works of 1857, and I shall therefore speak of it as belonging to that year's collection, although it was not brought out until 1860."
  7. This reference needs attribution.
  8. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", pages 212-227. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885.
  9. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", pages 241-243. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885.
  10. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", pages 63. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885. Gustave Doré, Edmond About, and H. Taine were more than contemporaries: they knew each other from college. Roosevelt quotes Doré, "...from that date [1847] until 1850, I occupied myself—sometimes well and sometimes badly—in finishing my studies at the Lycée Charlemagne. It was there that I was so fortunate as to have Edmond About and H. Taine for fellow-collegians."
  11. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", pages 241. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885. Roosevelt attributes authorship to "Malted": "'Les États Unis et la Mexique,' by Malted (sic) (Brun, Paris, 1862), 1 vol. in 4to." She is most likely referring to either Conrad Malte-Brun or his son, Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun, both noted French Geographers.
  12. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", page 242. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885. Roosevelt implies, though does not specifically state, that a French publisher published this volume in 1865. For one, she places this reference with the other books published in 1865, for another, she uses the word also when mentioning that Sampson Low brought out a copy in London in 1866. Additionally, an English publication would most likely be translated and have a title of Toilers of the Sea. Roosevelt's line reads thus: "Victor Hugo's 'Travailleurs de la Mer,' also in 1866, brought out by Sampson Low and Co., in London."
  13. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", page 242. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885. Roosevelt states that the preface was written by Alex. Dumas fils
  14. Although Blanche Roosevelt lists this book as being published in 1866, here Image:Le chemin des ecoliers title page.jpg is the title page of an edition published five years earlier, with Gustave Doré drawings. Roosevelt is most likely mistaken.
  15. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", page 242. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885. Roosevelt titles this book "The Song (sic) of the Ancient Mariner". The error possibly derives from reverse-translating the French title (Le Chanson du Vieux Marin) back into English.
  16. Roosevelt, Blanche: "Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré.", page 488. Cassell & Company, Limited, New York, 1885.

Bibliography
  • Delorme, Rene (1879). Gustave Doré. Paris: Librairie d'Art.(80 illustrations, earliest photogravures of Dore paintings)
  • Roosevelt, Blanche (1885). Life and Reminiscence of Gustave Doré. New York: Cassell & Co., Ltd.(141 illustrations)
  • Jerrold, Blanchard (1891). The Life of Gustave Doré. London: W. H. Allen & Co., Ltd.(138 illustrations)
  • Valmy-Baysse, J. (1930). Gustave Doré - L'Art et la Vie. Paris: Éditions Marcel Seheur.(314 illustrations)
  • Deze, Louis (1930). Gustave Doré - Bibliographie et catalogue complet de l'oeuvre. Paris: Éditions Marcel Seheur.(103 illustrations)
  • LeBlanc, Henri (1931). Catalogue de l'oeuvre complet de Gustave Doré. Paris: Ch. Bosse.(30 illustrations)
  • Farner, Konrad (1963). Gustave Doré der Industrialisierte Romantiker ((2V) ed.). Dresden: Verlag der Kunst.(521 illustrations, reprinting most of the Delorme photogravures)
  • Gustave Doré 1832-1883. Strasbourg: Musée d'Art Moderne. 1983.(exhibition book: 591 illustrations)
  • Renonciat, Annie (1983). La vie et l'oeuvre de Gustave Doré. Paris: ACR Edition.(343 illustrations)
  • Malan, Dan (1995). Gustave Doré, Adrift on Dreams of Splendor. St. Louis: MCE Publishing Co.(500 illustrations)
  • Fantasy & Faith: the Art of Gustave Doré. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2007. (exhibition book: 250 illustrations, 40 in full-color, sometimes incorrectly listed as, “40 b/w, 120 color illustrations”)
  • "Bibliographie de la France", Journal Général de l’Imprimerie et de la Librairie, 1811 (annual listing of the books published in France)

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