Gustave Dorray

Life

Dorй was born in Strasbourg and his first illustrated story was published at the age of fifteen. Dorй began work as a literary illustrator in Paris. Dore's commissions include works by Rabelais, Balzac, Milton and Dante. In 1853 Dorй was asked to illustrate the works of Lord Byron. This commission was followed by additional work for British publishers, including a new illustrated English Bible. Dorй also illustrated an oversized edition of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. The Dorй illustrated edition of The Raven is the first edition of Poe's most recognized poem.

Vivien (PЄII) - Drawn by Paul Gustave Dorй and engraving by W. Ridgway. (From the Rita Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon)

Genoveva (PЄI) - Drawn by Gustave Dorй and engraving by W. Ridgway. (From the Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon)

Dorй's English Bible (1866) was a great success, and in 1867 Dorй had a major exhibition of his work in London. This exhibition led to the foundation of the Dorй Gallery in New Bond Street.

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

Dorй 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 Ј10,000 a year for his work. The book, London: A Pilgrimage, with 180 engravings, was published in 1872.

London: A Pilgrimage enjoyed commercial success, but the work was disliked by many contemporary critics. Some critics were concerned with the fact that Dorй appeared to focus on poverty that existed in London. Dorй was accused by the Art Journal of "inventing rather than copying." The Westminster Review claimed that "Dorй gives us sketches in which the commonest, the vulgarest external features are set down."

London: A Pilgrimage was a financial success, and Dorй received commissions from other British publishers. Dorй's 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. Dorй continued to illustrate books until his death in Paris in 1883. He is buried in the city's Pиre Lachaise Cemetery.

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Works

Dorй was a prolific artist; thus the following list of works, though extensive, is by no means comprehensive (e.g. it does not include his sculptures, paintings, nor many of his journal illustrations):

List of WorksDate Author Work Volumes / Format Drawings Publisher Ref

1855 Honorй de Balzac Les Contes Drфlatiques 425 Sociйtй Gйnйrale de la Libraire, and in Le Journal pour Tous [1]

1856 Fierabras d'Alexandrie, Lйgende Nationale traduite par Mary Lafon 1 vol in 8vo 123 Librairie Nouvelle [2]

1856 Mйmoires d'un Jeune Cadet, par Victor Percival 48 [2]

1856 La Lйgende du Juif Errant 1 vol. grand in folio 12[2] Michel Lйvy [2]

1857[3] Dante Alighieri L'Enfer 70[4] [5]

1857 autumn Ed. de La Bйdolliиre Nouveau Paris, Histoire de ses 20 Arrondissements 1 vol in 4to 150 Barba [6]

1857 autumn Valйry Vernier Aline, Journal d'un Jeune Homme, one large page Dentu [6]

1860-1862 Thomas Mayne Reid L'Habitation du Dйsert, 1 vol. in 16mo 60 Hachette [6]

1860-1862 Ann S. Stevens La Fille du Grand Chieftain 1 vol. 15 [6]

1860-1862 M. V. Victor Flкche d'Or 1 vol. 13 [6]

1860-1862 E. S. Ellis L'Ange des Frontiиres 1 vol. 10 [6]

1860-1862 N. W. Buxted Les Vierges de la Forкt 1 vol. 10 [6]

1860 William Shakespeare The Tempest 1 vol. in 4to (London) [6]

1861 Les Figures du Temps, 1 vol. in 12mo (Paris) [6]

1861 Plouvier and Vincent Les Chansons d'Autrefois in 12mo Coulon and Pineau, Paris [6]

1861 Edmond