Gustave Dore - Don Quixote, 120 illustrations

Gustave Doré (1832 – 1883) was a French artist, engraver, and illustrator.
Doré was born in Strasbourg and published his first illustrated story at fifteen. He became a book illustrator in Paris, and his commissions included works by Rabelais, Balzac, and Dante. In 1853 he was asked to illustrate the works of Lord Byron. This commission 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.


Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1855)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.

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.


Doré illustrated several fairy tales: Cendrillon (or Cinderella).
A Doré woodcut illustration from The Divine ComedyDoré 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.

Although a commercial success, the book was disliked by many critics. 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."


Over London by Rail Gustave Doré c 1870. From London: A PilgrimageLondon: 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. More

Don Quixote is often nominated as the world's greatest work of fiction. It stands in a unique position between medieval chivalric romance and the modern novel. The former consist of disconnected stories with little exploration of the inner life of even the main character. The latter are usually focused on the psychological evolution of their characters. In Part I, Quixote imposes himself on his environment. By Part II, he is no longer physically capable, but people know about him, "having read his adventures," and so, he needs to do less to maintain his image. By his deathbed, he has begun to assume a new identity, including a nickname, "the Good." More