Gustave Dorray
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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. Dores 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 Poes The Raven. The Dorй illustrated edition of The Raven is the first edition of Poes 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)
Dorйs 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. Dorйs later works included Coleridges Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Miltons Paradise Lost, Tennysons 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 citys 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
Volumes / Format
Drawings
Publisher
Honorй de Balzac
Les Contes Drфlatiques
Sociйtй Gйnйrale de la Libraire, and in Le Journal pour Tous
Fierabras dAlexandrie, Lйgende Nationale traduite par Mary Lafon
1 vol in 8vo
Librairie Nouvelle
Mйmoires dun Jeune Cadet, par Victor Percival
La Lйgende du Juif Errant
1 vol. grand in folio
12[2]
Michel Lйvy
1857[3]
Dante Alighieri
LEnfer
70[4]
1857 autumn
Ed. de La Bйdolliиre
Nouveau Paris, Histoire de ses 20 Arrondissements
1 vol in 4to
Barba
1857 autumn
Valйry Vernier
Aline, Journal dun Jeune Homme,
one large page
Dentu
1860-1862
Thomas Mayne Reid
LHabitation du Dйsert,
1 vol. in 16mo
Hachette
1860-1862
Ann S. Stevens
La Fille du Grand Chieftain
1 vol.
1860-1862
M. V. Victor
Flкche dOr
1 vol.
1860-1862
E. S. Ellis
LAnge des Frontiиres
1 vol.
1860-1862
N. W. Buxted
Les Vierges de la Forкt
1 vol.
William Shakespeare
The Tempest
1 vol. in 4to
(London)
Les Figures du Temps,
1 vol. in 12mo
(Paris)
Plouvier and Vincent
Les Chansons dAutrefois
in 12mo
Coulon and Pineau, Paris
Edmond