The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1883-02-01
NJ. oUsrAYE DoRE.

Chicago Tribune: In tue death Of
GustaYe DOEe the world Of art has suffer-
ed severe loss and the world at large
has lost one of its most popular artists.
The misfortune is the more 10 Be regret
ted as he is taken away in the very prime
of his activity and usefulness and At
time when bisfacile and original pencil
was engaged upon wha. promised to be
the great work of his life. tho ill9stra-
ton of Shakespeare.
NJ. Dore was both painter and design
er. but was better known In ihe lartsT
department of his artistic work. AS
painter his canvAses we're always on .
large scale. They represented Alpine
scenes, battle scenes, great stretches OF
landscape, episodes IF storms, deluges.
and convuision, of nature. and some OF
the grand scenes Of the Bible, especially
those involving conffIcI, but the critics
always complained that while they were
original and almost unique In design
they lacked color, dtlicacy of treatment.
aud refinement of handling. Il was 10 the
field OF illustration that he shone con-
splcuous, and no artist of his time was
so popular or so well known "a he. His
name was almost household word. and
his designs have been multiplied literal
ly by millions. Apart from their intrin-
sic merit, one reason for this wonderful
popularity may be found la his asRocta,
ton with the great standard works OF the
world abelais. the myth OF the Wan
dering Jew, the fantastic conceptions OF
Balzac, the travels OF Talne, the Infer
no of Dante. Don QuixOtc. the Bible.
tho Fables OF La Fountaine. the Purga-
tDry and Paradise and the IdYls of Ten
nysOn. Besides these. which may be
called his greater works, his pencil has
illustrated many scenes OF French life
and manners IN the current periodicals
and papers, aud they have always been
eagerly sought for.
There was a peculiar originality or
individualism in his works which made
itself manifest at once. His pictures al
ways stood confessed. They needed no
signature. His power was prodigious.
and he fairly reVeled in the weird,
gloomy and sombre, adding still greater
force TO the original conceptions or the
author whose visions or fancIes he sought
to bring before the eye. With all
this he was very spirited. and in those
pictures where the touches of his pencil
were lighter he manifested u rich exu-
berance of fancy. He was himself poet
and prophet and he adorned or Intensi-
| fed the productions of others with the
graphic conceit of his own genius. To
catch SO thoroughly and accurately the
fancies of others and to place them be-
fore the reader with heightened power re-
quired u power of no common order.
That he had unusual energy and bold
ness no one can question, who has seen
his weird imaginings of Dante's text,
while IheiFables of La Fontainp and Don
Quixote betray his keen sense of humor
and the oddities of BalZac his grotes-
querie. He had that quality in its high
est manifestations which Walt Whitman
80 often calls the ensemble. Ali phases
of life and passion suggested TO him
subjects for his pencil, but he was un-
questlOnably at his best in great scenes
of gloom and awful power 1t will be a
lasting regret that he did not live to fin
ish his designs for Shakespeare, which
offered such a splendid field for his bril-
liant talent; but he has LETT behind him
imperishable monuments OF his genius.