New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-12
GUSTAVE DORE.
IN ENGLAND AND IN FRANCE.

LONDON January "a.
Nj Gustave DorGs death is lamented by the Eng
sh press In terms somewhat out of proportion 10 bis
real place and importance In the world VI art. It
may help to define his position il we say that be was
! French artist whose fame as "a pauter was chiefly
English and American. As the standard both of
art aud art-criticism is considerably higher in
France than In England flor prudential reasons
| omit America, this is equivalent to saying that
Dores reputation was highest where ,t was exposed
to least competition, and to the most lcnient
method OF Judgment. A Dore Gallery has been
open in Bond-st for know not how many years
psst and has been constantly filed, and proved ex-
trernely prontabe to Dore and ths business part
ners 1t Is difficult to imagine such an exhibition
permanently open IN Paris. albeit this Bond-ss.
gallery mas been indebted to American support for
no small part Of Its success. Tne English say no
did not understand England, and cite his illustrs-
tiOns to Blanchard Jerroid's book abont London in
proof. But Ebe understood one sidei of England
very well. lie early found out that q great num-
Der of people care more for the subject Of picture
than for the technical merit of IT, II il Is religious
and has dramatic quality that is enough.
The Dor6 Gallery, accordingly, was filled in great
part with Biblical subjects, such as Tue Triumph
Of Christianity over Paganism," The Entry into
Jerusalem" "Christian Martyrs" "The Flight
into Egypt" and the astonishing work which l
once heard described as Christ leaving the Crite-
rlOn. Pictures OF this Sort painted IN DOr6s paus-
lble, superficial style, inharmonlous in color and
always deficient that searching technique and
sound learning on which the French insist. could
never have made him the sort of idol ne was here.
Nor did they. He has never stood high as q
painter in France. His vast canyases attracted at.
tentiOn IN the Salon because they were vast and
because they were Dore's. Certainly they we're
not without merit OF sort, or they would not
have been hung but no French critic dreamed of
ranking Gustaye DOre among the great painters Of
the day.
He was better known by his illustrations to fa-
nous books than by his paintings. Yet il must be
said that the earliest of his illustrations remained
his beet He has probably never done anything so
good so really illustrative, so sympathetic with his
author. genuinely powerful and original. as tho
designs for cheap popular edition of Rabelais
Published in a single small folio volume in Paris,
1854. The book. oddly enough, is both illustrated
by Dor6 and dedicated to him by the publisher, Bry.
Next to this may be put the designs for the Contes
DrolatiquesO of Balzac These like the preceding, were
engraved on wood and often coarsely enough rem
dered but are admirable in spirit aud conception.
The collector may be warned that only the early
impressions of either are worth having. The
Contes Drolatiques appeared in 1859 aud copies
lin French of that date are of the original issue,
though the book Is described IN its title rs the fifth
editlon-meaning the fifth edition of the book not
of this illustrated edition. The English translation
has worn impressions and Ia OF little IN ntereSt nor
is Balzacs powerful work one that caG, IN any
form, be recommended for indiscrmlnate reading.
For what ~ grotesque and ghastly and repnlsive,
Dor6 had natural gift. yet his illustrations to
Dante IRE only moderately successful. The imagin-
ative power and ausere splendor of the great Flor
entne's genius were not in Dor6's way. With
Cervantes he succeeded better His Milton - con-
fessedy failure and many Others are failures, the
Bible most of all. These books were published in
luxurious FORM mostly in large folios, with much
ostentation. They have never becn muck sought
after by the fastidlous collector
Possibly Dore did not care much more for the fas-
tidious collector than did the tasidous collector
for him. He liked the admiration of the multitude,
and knew now to secure it, in England If not IN
France. In his own genius there was much OF the
vulgar Mere bigness pleased him. When he be-
came able to dictate to publishers he insisted ON
big books. He never seemed to care TO painta
small picture-the poverty of bis method would
have been too apparent. say the connosseurs OF
his own country. Exaggeration was an element OK
his art Yet In his OWE way he was sincerely de-
voted to 1t loved it for its own sake more than for
the money it brought HIM. OF money he always
had enough, and more than enough. except perhaps
at one OF two moments of his life when be had
formed expensive connections with people for
whom 40 treasury was too full 70 empty. HIS ra-
pidity was prodigious and probably that fatal
facty both or conception and execution dld as
III uch 'as anything to prevent his becoming great
artist. There was something positively marvellous
in his quckness ard comprehenslveness of sight.
once saw him look through large volume OF elab-
orate architectural drawings filled with minute
details in search of some ornamcntation for pic.
tnre OF his own. He turned the leaves almost as
quickly as his fingers could move. closed the book,
and remarked there nothing he wanted. but
Won cannot have really examined the plates r.
Ask ne about any of theIn." was his ans"eT and
he described drawing after drawing the moudings
nj doorways the figures of saints, the exact number
of columns and corbes, the LEAKAGE OF the capitals
and I am not sure he had not counted the splrais
and the paues OF glass. His eve took IN these de-
tails at a glance, as Macauay Is said to have taken
IN whole page NJ "a glance Instead OF a word ot
sentence like ordinar' mortals.
But his life and his art may be divided into two
n.uods He began with Iusti atoDs, anu various
n. these were in merit, an immense fame, in
France as elsewhere. By and by he took up tho
norton that he was formed for greater things than
supply wing pictures of other mems thoughts and he
devoted the last twenty years OF his life cnlehy u
n,ntino and in this he failed. He had an ambi-
ton to descend posterity as historical painter.
Rnt he would not begin again his artistic edu-
cation. The faults which appeared on a small scale
in his designs, appeared over again OF a largo
scale in his pictures. He was never SOUND
draught,man and bad drawing is moro conspicuous
and pernaps more offensive when displayed Oh half
an acre of canvas than when opposite o
printed page. Ada to this that he had no idea OF
color and it is easy to see how and why the i'm
mense labor and some really great faculties be-
stow ed on his paintings were Of slight avail.
don't think no ever had real success at tho Salon
in Paris Not one picture did he paint about which
ths French public gathered or which / rench writ