'La Vie en Province Histoire d'une Invitation à la Campagne'.
Gustave Doré was a 19th-century French engraver, painter, sculptor and book illustrator. He is world famous for his imaginative and iconic depictions of many classics of world literature. Doré was blessed with a tremendous graphic talent, which enabled him to draw even the most fantastical settings and creatures in a realistic and believable way. His illustrations of The Bible, 'Don Quixote', 'Paradise Lost', 'Baron Munchhausen', 'The Divine Comedy' and 'Fairy Tales of Mother Goose', to name a few, are still regarded as their definitive artistic interpretations. Doré visualized literary characters like Don Quixote, Baron Munchhausen and Puss in Boots in such a vivid manner that they've become part of human collective memory. His work was not only a huge inspiration to countless graphic artists, but also inspired the visual style of various biblical and fantasy children's books, novels, comics, films and TV series. While Doré is first and foremost known as a fantasy illustrator, he also made several realistic paintings and engravings of European land- and cityscapes. Early in his career, he was also an important comic strip pioneer. Four text comics by his hand were published in comic book format: '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). Particularly ''L'Histoire de la Sainte Russie' is seen as a highlight in comic history. Doré elevated the still young medium through inventive experiments with lay-out, text, image and comical exaggerations.
'Paradise Lost'.
Early life
Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré was born in 1832 in Strasbourg, France, as the son of an engineer. Doré always loved reading and listening to stories. He was only five when he started making his first drawings. At age eight, he drew an illustrated story of 28 pages in length inspired by J.J. Grandville's 'Scènes de la Vie Privée et Publique des Animaux' (1830). At age nine, the boy made a first attempt to create illustrations for Dante Alighieri's classic medieval poem 'La Divina Commedia'. In 1844-1846, he wrote several stories which he illustrated himself, namely 'Histoire of Calypso' and 'Les Aventures de Mistenflûte et de Mirliflor'. Doré showed such a remarkable gift that he entered the Lycée of Bourg-en-Bresse where he studied art. Later he also studied at the Lycée Charlemagne. His major graphic influences were J.J. Grandville, Cham and Rodolphe Töpffer. Through his father, 15-year-old Doré met Charles Philipon, publisher of the satirical magazine Le Journal Pour Rire. In 1847, the youngster published his first caricatures for this magazine under the title 'Grotesques', soon establishing himself as their house cartoonist. His contract stipulated that Philipon had to publish at least one of Doré's drawings a week. This clause was a stroke of luck, because Doré's father passed away soon after, making him the only breadwinner of the family.
'Les Travaux d'Hercule', 1847.
Les Travaux d'Hercule
In the late 1840s and early 1850s, Doré created several illustrated sequential narratives, including 'Les Travaux d'Hercule' (1847). This was a parody of François Fénelon's children's novel 'Les Aventures de Télémaque', a book that Cham spoofed five years earlier as 'Télémaque, fils d'Ulysse' (1842). Doré's work is a prototypical text comic, where the story can be read beneath the panels. Publishing company Aubert & Cie made 'Les Travaux d'Hercule' available as a little book in landscape-shaped format. Given that Doré was only 15 years old, it's an amazingly creative and captivating comic strip. In his youthful spirit, he experimented with the medium, inventing his own rules as he went along. He, for instance, multiplied images to visualize different movements. Sometimes Doré didn't draw any panels. His publishers learned early that Doré's artwork dictated the lay-out, rather than the other way around...
'Les Des-Agréments d'un Voyage d'Agrément'.
Trois Artistes Incompris, Méconnus et Mécontents
In 1851, Aubert & Cie published two other comic books by Doré, namely 'Trois Artistes Incompris, Méconnus et Mécontents, Leur Voyage en Province et d'Ailleurs, Leur Faim Dévorante et Leur Deplorable Fin'' (1851) and 'Les Des-Agréments d'un Voyage d'Agrément' (1851), both simple slapstick comics which make no use of panels. 'Trois Artistes' revolves around three bumbling men: dramatist Sombremine, painter Badigeon and violinist Tartarini. After a long series of mishaps, the trio commits suicide by letting themselves be devoured by wild animals. In a way the trio can be considered a forerunner of Louis Forton's classic comic strip 'Les Pieds Nickelés' (1907), nearly half a century later.
Les Desagréments d'un Voyage d'Agrément
'Les Des-agréments' is a humorous tale about two men, César and Vespasie Plumet, who decide to travel through the Alps, but soon discover that their little trip is not as relaxing as they assumed it would be. Doré portrayed himself halfway the story, when the characters notice "the famous Gustave Doré" painting in the mountains. This might very well be the first instance in history of a comic artist making a creator cameo.
'Histoire Pittoresque Dramatique et Caricaturale de la Sainte Russie, d'après les Chroniqueurs et Historiens Nestor Nikan Sylvestre Karamsin Ségur etc'.
Histoire de la Sainte Russie
In 1853, Doré drew his third and final comic strip story, 'Histoire Pittoresque Dramatique et Caricaturale de la Sainte Russie, d'après les Chroniqueurs et Historiens Nestor Nikan Sylvestre Karamsin Ségur etc' (1853). The work is an illustrated history of Russia, visualizing centuries of events in vivid and highly detailed drawings. Doré experiments with lay-out and the juxtaposition between text and image. The narrative is lightened up with puns, ironic narration and literal visualisations of figure-of-speech expressions. An impressive achievement, 'Historie de la Sainte Russie', consists of more than 500 invididual vignettes and is roughly 104 pages long. The book is a strong contender for the title "first graphic novel" in history, not counting predecessors like Lucas Cranach the Elder's 'Passional Christi und Antichristi' (1521) and Hans Holbein the Younger's 'Totentanz' (1523-1526). It can also be regarded as the first history comic. While graphic artists in previous centuries had also made picture stories visualizing historical events, like Jacques Callot's 18-page 'Les Grandes Misères de la Guerre' (1633) and Francis Barlow's one-page 'The Horrid Hellish Popish Plot' (1682), few can match the ambitious scope of Doré's illustrated narrative. In sheer length, 'Histoire de la Sainte Russie' was the longest prototypical comic strip of the time. It remains a milestone in the history of the medium.
'Histoire de la Sainte Russie' wasn't brought out by Doré's previous publisher, Aubert, but instead by the Parisian librarian J. Bry Sr. The book appeared at the height of the Crimean War (1853-1856) between France, the United Kingdom and Russia, which explains the strong anti-Russian tone. While 'Historie de la Sainte Russie' was a bestseller in France, it fell victim to censorship in 1856. French emperor Napoléon III had all available copies confiscated because he feared the book might have a negative effect on the peace negotiations between France and Russia during the Congress of Paris.
Other comics
Doré also drew several one-shot comic strips for Le Journal Pour Rire, occasionally reprinted in other magazines, but never collected in book form. Between 17 February and 24 March 1849, 'Histoire d'une Invitation à la Campagne' (1849) appeared in Le Journal Pour Rire. Three pages long, the narrative follows Mr. Berniquet as he invites his friend Mr. Godinot to his mansion, an experience both regret by the end of the story. On 2 February 1850, Doré and Edmond Dorin co-created the comic strip 'Désagréments des Animaux d'Agrément' in which a monkey, a dog and a parakeet attack a man and his son. In 1849, Doré also illustrated musical scores by his brother Ernest and three years later, the 'Folies Gauloises' (1852).
'L'Homme Aux Cent Mille Écus' (Le Journal Pour Rire, 12 January 1850).
L'Homme Aux Cent Mille Écus
Between January and June 1850, Doré illustrated a text by E. Bourget named 'L'Homme aux Cent Mille Écus, Imitation Anglaise'. This humorous text comic was serialized in Le Journal Pour Rire in issues #102, 106, 111, 115 and 124. It centers on a young man, Narcisse Pomponet, who inherits a large sum of money. Readers could follow his farcical adventures for six months. 'L'Homme Aux Cent Mille Écus' still looks amazingly modern today. Doré toys around with different perspectives, including close-ups, bird's eye views and wide panoramic shots. Thematically, it was inspired by Mr. Crindle's Rapid Career Upon Town' (1847), published in the English magazine The Man in the Moon, written by Albert Smith and drawn by Henry George Hine. Hence the subtitle "Imitation Anglaise" ('English Imitation'). Doré even copied a few images from Hine's story, though he and Bourget at least mentioned their inspirational source on the title page. 'L'Homme aux Cent Mille Écus' was later partly republished in the English magazine The Man in the Moon.
'Une Ascension au Mont Blanc' (1860).
Voyage en Allemagne and other comics
Between 2 May, 9 May and 6 June 1851, Doré published the comic 'Voyage en Allemagne' in issues #170-171 and 175 of Le Journal Pour Rire, an illustrated travel report about Germany. On 12 June 1852, a new comic story starring Narcisse Pomponet (from Doré's previous comic 'L'Homme Aux Cent Mille Écus') was published under the title 'Une Ascension au Mont Blanc' (1852). It ran in issue #37 of Le Journal Pour Rire (12 June 1852). Together with Thomas Rowlandson's 'Doctor Syntax' (1812-1821), this marked the first time the same protagonist was reused in two different stories. 'Une Ascension au Mont Blanc' is also notable for a scene breaking the fourth wall. As Pomponet considers suicide by jumping of the Alps, he enters a chalet, where he finds a copy of Le Journal Pour Rire, featuring 'L'Homme Aux Cent Mille Écus' starring himself.
Between 20 July and 16 August 1852, Doré's text comic 'Les Eaux de Baden' was published in issues #129, 131 and 133 of Le Journal pour Rire. On 18 September 1852, Doré's 'Les Vacances du Collégien' (1852) ridiculed the holiday of a university student. One month later, on 9 October, 'Une Heureuse Vocation' (1852) saw print. The work goes down in history as the first autobiographical comic strip. For the Petit Journal Pour Rire, Doré drew the text comics 'Recette Pour Se Marier Dédiée Aux Célibataires' (issue #5, 1856), 'Impressions de Voyages. À Propos du Départ pour les Eaux de Bade, Wiesbade, et Autres, à l'Usage des Bade-Eaux' (issue #11, 1856), 'De l'Influence de la Propagation du Violoncelle, à l'Exemple de M. Offenbach' (a pantomime comic satirizing the music of composer Jacques Offenbach, issue #15, 1856) and 'Manières d'Élever les Ours et de s'en Faire Dix Mille Livres de Rente' (Le Petit Journal Pour Rire, issue #230, 1860).
'De L'Influence et la Propagation du Violoncelle, A L'Exemple de Mr. Offenbach', 1867 comic strip from Le Petit Journal Pour Rire (issue #15), mocking composer Jacques Offenbach (of 'Orphéé Aux Enfers' fame, best-known for the 'Can-Can', and 'Les Contes d'Hoffmann', known for the 'Barcarolle'.)
Book illustrations
1854 was a turning point in Doré's career. After illustrating François Rabelais' 16th-century novels 'Gargantua and Pantagruel' (1854), published as 'Oeuvres de Rabelais', he achieved his commercial breakthrough. Audiences loved his highly detailed and fantastical artwork, which fit the picaresque novels perfectly. Doré therefore brought out an illustrated sequel in 1873. In 1855, he illustrated 'Les Cent Contes Drolatiques' (1855) by Honoré de Balzac. A year later, he made an engraving depicting The Wandering Jew with 'La Légende du Juif Errant' (1856): a precursor of the biblical illustrations he would make a decade later.
Unfortunately for comic history, Doré left his comic and cartooning career behind in favor of illustrating novels for the rest of his career. He was only 22 at the time, an age when most artists still struggle to complete (and publish) an actual work! It is tempting to wonder what Doré could've achieved if he simply continued drawing comics. But he seemed perfectly satisfied with illustrating other people's imaginative writing, rather than think up his own stories. Still, his illustrated novels still reveal his background in comics. His rich imagination visualized the images behind the fantastical writings. He created magnificent caricatural faces, wonderful creatures and dreamy locations. In some stories, he was able to use exaggerations and physically impossible situations. Doré's graphic power is such that one can even skip the text and just marvel at his illustrations, without missing much of the plot.
'La Divina Commedia'.
La Divina Commedia
In 1861, Doré illustrated the 14th-century narrative poem 'La Divina Commedia' ('The Divine Comedy') by Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The original text follows Dante as he travels to Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Doré's interpretation of 'Hell' was published in 1861, while his visions of 'Purgatory' and 'Paradise' followed in 1868. All three books became instant classics and established his reputation. Particularly his illustrations of Hell ('Inferno') have become the second-most iconic interpretations of the Underworld next to the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. Certain images have captured readers' imagination, like Satan being chained to the ground, sinners growing into trees and Hell's overall wasteland look. They inspired countless graphic artists and film directors. Other notable cartoonists who've illustrated 'The Divine Comedy' since have been Franz von Bayros, Salvador Dalí, Robert Sikoryak (as 'Inferno Joe', mashing the tale up with Wesley Morse's 'Bazooka Joe'), Drs. P & Johnn Bakker (as the one-shot 'Dan Teal') and Gary Panter ('Jimbo in Paradise', 'Jimbo's Inferno', 'Jimbo's Purgatory').
'Le Petit Poucet', or 'Hop O'-My-Thumb'. The cannibalistic giant unknowingly slashes the throats of his own daughters.
Baron Munchhausen
In 1862, Doré visualized Rudolf Erich Raspe's 18th-century novel 'The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen'. The far-fetched stories by the unreliable narrator Münchhausen were perfect material for Doré. It clearly excited him to visualize the Baron's logic-defying tales, filled with chopped-in-half horses, Moon giants and a fur coat jumping out a closet. Doré also gave the main character a standard look. He imagined the Baron as a tall man with a curly moustache and goatee. Other artists who've illustrated the adventures of the "lying baron" have been Toby Nieuwstad, Herb Roth, Sam van Vleuten, Knut Stangenberg, Klaus Nordling, Jacques Van Melkebeke, Dorul van der Heide, Rolf Kauka, Ronald Searle and Mogens Juhl.
Fairy Tales of Mother Goose
In 1862, Doré also completed Charles Perrault's 'Fairy Tales of Mother Goose' (1862), the work that perhaps best defines his signature style. The book encompasses iconic fairy tales like 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Cinderella', 'Puss in Boots', 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Bluebeard' and 'Hop O'-My-Thumb'. Centuries before Doré was even born, these ancient tales had been told and retold. But he managed to provide the defining visual images of all these familiar literary characters, locations and scenes. His illustrations evoke a rich, dreamy atmosphere. The dark woods were inspired by the forests in the Vosges, which Doré remembered from his youth. Each fantasy creature is drawn with an eye for detail, giving them a realistic, vivid and therefore believable look. The iillustrations have been cemented in many readers' memories. The general public image of The Big Bad Wolf, Puss in Boots and Bluebeard - to name a few - were directly shaped by Doré's illustrations. Various scenes have intrigued and sometimes terrified young readers. 'Fairy Tales of Mother Goose' had such an impact that many people still associate Doré with fairy tales. Even though he only illustrated one such book throughout his entire career.
'Don Quixote'.
Don Quixote
In 1863, Doré's pen took on the most classic novel of all time: Miguel de Cervantes' 16th-century chivalry parody 'Don Quixote'. He visualized the tall and lanky windmill chaser and his pot-bellied servant Sancho Panza the way all adaptations have portrayed them since. The backgrounds give a romanticized but believable impression of Spain's sunny landscapes. One image from the book, where a big-eyed gnarled monster peers over the wall, also became iconic, scaring many young readers.
Capitain Fracasse
Many books Doré livened up with his graphic talent were literary classics, released before he was even born. One of the few published in his own lifetime was Théophile Gautier's 'Le Capitain Fracasse' (1863). Yet even this novel was a swashbuckler story, set in the 17th century. It enabled Doré to draw heroic noblemen in cloaks and daggers.
Sinbad the Sailor
Doré also illustrated the stories of 'Sinbad the Sailor', from 'Arabian Nights'. His version was published in 1865.
'David and Goliath'.
Paradise Lost / The Bible
1866 was not only a productive, but also a devout year for Doré. That year, he illustrated two classics of Christian literature, namely John Milton's narrative poem 'Paradise Lost' and "the Book of all Books" - The Bible. While biblical scenes had been portrayed in Western art for centuries, Doré still managed to put his own stamp on them. Specific illustrations by Doré that have became iconic are Jacob wrestling the angel, Samson destroying the temple, David decapitating Goliath, Moses descending from the mountain with the Ten Commandments, the Leviathan rising from the ocean,... Already in his own lifetime, many teachers used his biblical illustrations to make their bible lessons more visually interesting. Countless Christian illustrators, comic artists and cartoonists also took inspiration from Doré work. In 1872, Doré also made the painting 'Christ Leaving the Praetorium', commissioned by two British art dealers.
'The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen'.
Illustrated narrative poems
In 1867, Doré illustrated 17th-century poet Jean de la Fontaine's 'Fables'. His drawing of a wolf disguised as a shepherd for the first-mentioned book would later be copied by Honoré Daumier for his 1867 caricature of Prussian king Wilhelm (the later Wilhelm I). Doré also livened up the pages of Arthur Lord Tennyson's poetry collection 'The Idylls Of The King' (1867-1868), Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' (1875) and the 16th-century epic poem 'Orlando Furioso' (1877) by Ludovico Ariosto. His swan song were his illustrations of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' (1883).
Realistic artwork
While Doré is most famous and celebrated as an illustrator of Romantic tales, he also had an eye for his own era. His 'Voyage aus Pyrénées' (1855) was a graphical report of his voyage to the French-Spanish mountainous area the Pyrenees. The artist also made sketches in Switzerland (1853 and 1875), Spain (1855 and 1861-1862), Germany (1862), England (1868) and Scotland (1873-1874). A more dramatic vision of mountaineering was his iconic depiction of the real-life tragic accident of five mountaineers who fell to their doom while trying to climb the Matterhorn in 1865. Doré's most well-known realistic engravings were 'Paris Tel Qu'il Est' (1854) and 'London: A Pilgrimage' (1872), which depicted city life respectively Paris and London. The latter project was an idea from journalist Blanchard Jerrold and inspired by the illustrated book 'The Microcosm of London' (1808-1810) by Rudolph Ackermann, William Pyne and Thomas Rowlandson.
At the time, Doré's realistic landscape drawings received mixed reviews. Some critics felt he was at his best depicting fantasy stories. Real-life scenery lacked his strong imagination. Other critics felt that his city landscapes could've left out the slums and uglier buildings. Over the course of centuries, Doré's realistic artwork has been revalued. They offer an interesting and valuable time capsule of city life at the height of the Industrial Revolution, without sugarcoating anything. They also prove he wasn't simply a naïve Romanticist living in the wrong century.
Sculptures
Doré was also an accomplished sculptor. His statue of D'Artagnan (1883), the leader of The Three Musketeers, and his monument for the author of 'The Three Musketeers', Alexandre Dumas Sr. (1883), can both still be seen at the Place du Général-Catroux in Paris. His statue of 'Le Danse' (1878) is still visible at the Opera House of Monaco.
'London: A Pilgrimage'.
Assistants
Doré was a productive artist. He left behind an oeuvre of more than 50.000 drawings. Yet he didn't do everything on his own. When he made wood engravings he received help from professional engravers like Jean Best, Ernest Boetzel, Louis-Henri Brevière, Jean Delduc, Émile Deschamps, Louis Dumont, Fagnon, Jean Gauchard, Pierre Gusman, César-August Hébert, Octave Jahyer, Paul Jonnard, Jacques-Adrien Lavieille, Charles Maurand, Adolphe François Pannemaker, Antoine-Alphée Piaud, François Pierdon, Héliodore Pisan, Paul Riault, Elisa Rouget and Noël Eugène Sotain, who often co-signed their names underneath the works.
Recognition
Gustave Doré was honoured as a Chevalier (15 August 1861) and Officer (1879) in the Légion d'Honneur, being the first comic artist to receive this honour. In 1861, he was invited at French emperor Napoléon III's palace and in 1875 he met Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace. The Italian Prime Minister knighted him in the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1861), while Spanish king bestowed him as Commander in the Order of Carlos III (1866). In 1867, he was subject of a huge retrospective exhibition in London. A year later, the British capital established a gallery named after him in Bond Street, which still exists today.
Final years and death
In 1870, the Franco-Prussian War broke out, which motivated Doré to enlist in the National Guard. He also expressed his patriotism in a series of engravings, 'La Marseillaise', 'Le Chant du Départ', 'Le Rhin Allemand', 'L' Aigle Noir' and 'L'Enigme'. A year later, Paris got sweeped up in the revolution of the Communards. Doré and his mother fled to Versailles, only returning to the French capital when the uprising sizzled out again. He remained a lifelong bachelor, who lived with his mother until her death in 1881. Nevertheless, Doré did have a romance with world famous stage actress Sarah Bernhardt. Doré always wanted to illustrate William Shakespeare's plays, but only got as far as 'The Tempest' (1860). He only survived his beloved mother by two years. In early 1883, Gustave Doré passed away from a heart attack. His funeral was organized by his good friend Ferdinand Foch, who would later gain fame as a field marshal during the First World War.
'Fables de la Fontaine'.
Legacy and influence
Gustave Doré was one of the most influential 19th-century illustrators. He remains an inspiration for countless book illustrators, graphic artists and comic artists. In France, he was a strong influence on François Boucq, Philippe Druillet, Léonce Petit, Patrice Ricord and Tomi Ungerer. He also has followers in Belgium (Paul Cuvelier, René Follet, Jean-Louis Lejeune, Félicien Rops, François Schuiten), The Netherlands (Vincent van Gogh, Harry Balm, Anton Pieck, Marten Toonder & his wife Phiny Dick, Peter van Straaten) and Sweden (Sven Nordqvist).
A Canadian admirer of Doré was James McIsaac. In Brazil, Doré ranks Harald Stricker among his followers. In the United States, he was an inspiration to Harvey Kurtzman and Robert Crumb. Walt Disney used Doré's fairy tale artwork as an example of the atmosphere he wanted to evoke in his Silly Symphonies cartoons and feature-length films 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937), 'Cinderella' (1950) and 'Sleeping Beauty' (1959). The haunted forest in 'Snow White' and Sleeping Beauty's palace are just two specific examples.
But Doré's influence can also be felt in live-action films. As early as the 1900s, French cinematic pioneer Georges Méliès mimicked Doré in his film sets and special effects. Hollywood special effects maker Willis O'Brien designed Skull Island in the monster movie classic 'King Kong' (1933) inspired by Doré's atmospheric depictions of dark woods filled with scary creatures. O'Brien's colleague, Ray Harryhausen, also evoked Doré's dreamy artwork in the special effects for the films 'The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad' (1956), 'Jason and the Argonauts' (1963) and 'Clash of the Titans' (1981). Countless biblical epics, particularly Cecil B. De Mille's 'The Ten Commandments' (1956), have imitated scenes from Doré's 'The Bible' and 'The Divine Comedy'. Fairy tale films like Jean Cocteau's 'La Belle et la Bête' (1946), Neil Jordan's 'The Company of Wolves' (1984) and Tim Burton's 'Sleepy Hollow' (1999) also took much of their mood from Doré's Perrault illustrations. David Lean's film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist' (1948) modeled Victorian London after Doré's book 'London: A Pilgrimage'.
Hollywood director Terry Gilliam is a huge fan of Gustave Doré. Many of his live-action films are directly based on works originally illustrated by Doré, such as 'The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen' (1989) and 'Don Quixote' (2018). Others, like 'Time Bandits' (1981) and 'The Brothers Grimm' (2003), take visual cues from Doré's fairy tale adaptations. Last but not least, the bearded cannibal in Doré's illustrations for 'Orlando Furioso' inspired George Lucas to the creation of Chewbacca in 'Star Wars' (1977).
Books about Gustave Doré's comics
For those interested in Doré's work as a comic artist, David Kunzle's 'Gustave Doré. Twelve Comic Strips' (University Press of Mississippi, 2015) is a must-read.
Picture of Doré by Felix Nadar.