Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-12-20
GSaSfaVe DOre.

FROM tho Boston Courier.
Gust;,ve Dore is nearly fifty years of age and
looks ABOUT fhirty-iye. OF medium stature he
Has the frame OF an acrobat and the head of a
poet. To see him in the street you would feel
inclined 10 give him penny for he is the worst
dressed man in Paris. the scape-goat of his
tailor. Who inilicts upon him all his insists
Dore passes his life in drawing and painting.
sleeping or dancing about with fiddle in his
nahd In society when he is not mapping or
nddiinS ne Is constantly making sketches. His
iertinty Is rfodiglous. and on that account his
brother artists 40 not look upon him with a
favorable eye statistcian has calculated that
pore PICTURES and drawings, if laid fiat side by
SIDE would suffice to cover the railway track
from Paris and Lyons. He attaches no impor-
rance 10 MS work. and although i'm business
transactions man OF singular acuteness in
private life he is the most giving of artists.
W hen he was in Switzerland few wears auo he
used to give his water colOrs away right and
| lett to his neghbOrs at the table d'hOte. At
dinner at Madame KS the other day. AN Emo
lish lady begged Dore to write his name on a
slip OF paper, SO that she might possess his
iliustrious autograph.
"oh: Madame, | will give you something bet
ter than mere signature"
ana, Su'ting the action to the word. he took
OF his black necntie asked for a Bit of fake
powder. mixed it with water and. with match.
he painted on the necktie a gay procession of
cuplds Offering a necktie to a lady signed it
fair admrer.
Gustave Dores talent is universal He is
painter. engrayer, designer, sculptor and water
colol painter. In painting he does nearly every
thlng with the brush, and fixes the position of
the figures with the barest possible indication
IN CHARCOAL. His ocular memory is astonishing.
In his studio he has no documents. no sketches
| no models. Recently he made a replica of his
great picture of Christ leaving the Pratorium
entirely from memory. When ne was doing his
great book on London and visiting all the dens
OF Nhitechappel and Wrapping, he never made
sketcheS on the spot, but only at night when he
returned to his hotel Unlike most of the artists
of the day. Gustaye DOre has no taste for bric-a-
brac and blbetOts. His studio, formerly riding
school, is scene of indescribabe disorder, full
OF immense scaffoldings, huge canyases i'm
mense paiettes. such as Hercules might have
USED had ne taken to painting; cOlOrs and
brushes all pel NELL piles of drawings statues,
modelling cray, etchings, engravings wood-cuts.
and IN the midst piano, and on the piano a
Stradlvarus. Whenever he does venture to buy
! oaoe5ots ne Chooses the most abOminable rubbish.
i0r instance, Bohemian glass of the most modern
manufacture.
Lately Dore has had craze for sculpture.
and all the great bronze foundries are anxions
to buy his models. The colossal vase. The Emo
pee Oh bacchus, which was exhibited at the
, at the artists own expense
FOR the past seven years DOre has been work
ing at the illustration of Shakespeare. which ne
is anxious to make his masterpiece of illustra-
| ton. Thanks to his knowledge of German-he
| was born at Strasburg-he has been able to get
very near to Shakespeare and to comprehend
| him as few Frenchmen have done. To give an
idea of the care he is taking over the work. he
says that he has spent over $4,000 in ESSAYS
and plates, which he has for the most part re.
| jected as unsatisfactory. An American and al
English publisher are rivals for the possession
OF this work. which will not be finished for q
| year or two to come
No Frenchman has been decorated with more
foreign orders of chiyalry. but he never wears
any decoration except the Legion of Honor, anG
no triumph abroad. however great, gives him
the same joy as the smallest success won al
| Paris.