New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-11-08
GUsTAvE DoRE.
A NEW LIFE OF THE ARTIST.


tative and temperate biography. The late Blan-
chard Jerrold was an intimate friend of the great
illustrator and, like Miss Roosevelt, he was pretty
well convinced that the king could do no wrong.
But he could restrain the expression OF his en-
thusiastic admiration within bounds, and the pres
ent volume, published nearly seven years AFTER
it's authors death, is d credit to his GOOD tas'e'
Dore was born, with caul, at Strasbourg, on
the 9th of January, 1882, He came into the worio
with gay disposition, which remained With MN
through life. But 1t was colored from the pegln-
ang by the gloomy tints Of the mediaeval age. Inc
fantastic shadows Of the cathedral rested on MN
at his birth, and he never shook them OIL lie pre-
sents curious combination Of northern ana south-
ern characteristics, of the Gothic and the Roman
esoue His imagination was iuxuriant. rotous, as ef-
fervescent as that of Daudets Tartarin at the same
time, it was essentially grim, bleak, and macabre
One of the first products Of his precocious child
hood was Voyage INTERNAL" which he wrote
and Illustrated In one of his copy-books. Az
the age Of nine he made q drawing Of the murder
Of Cltus, which for sheer horror is not far below
the Dantesque designs Of his maturity. At fifteen
he was taken to Paris. His parents had en-
couraged his artistic procvties, but never thought
of permitting him to embrace an artistic career
He and bis brother Emile were both to enter the
Polytechnic School, Dore himself tells the story
Of his dedication to art thus:
zone day / had passed the shop-window Of
ALBERT e. Philippon, on the Place de Ia Bourse {;
and on returning to the hotel, made some carica-
tres in the style Of those had seen in the window
While my parents were out, ! went to the pub
fishers and showed them my sketches. M.
Philippon looked kindly and attentively at these
beginnings, questioned me as to my position and
sent me back to my parents with letter inviting
u md
Phiippon, using all his persuasive eloquence, pre-
vailed upon them to leave me in Paris"
NJ Philippon managed the journal pour
Rire,' and was the patron of Cham, TOPPER.
Gavarni and Daumier. He unhesitatingly ranked
Dore with these men, and brought out at once his
protege's first sustained effort, the "Labors of
Hercules The world to-day knows Dore mainly
as the illustrator of Dante, Rabelas and Cervantes,
which is partial proof Of the slight value of his
early work. but the latter none the less of i'm
mense importance In the formation of his style.
The pressing needs of the periodical press for
which he worked spurred him on to swift and
continuous production, encouraged and confirmed
his fatal facility" For years, Dore poured
forth his caricatures. The burlesque with which
he made his Partisan debut was significant
omen OF the course he was ever after to pursue.
His labors were herculean At the age of thirty
hundreds of these were done in his early years
under Philippon r. b.,
1t is strange 10 find this apparently careless and
unscientifc workman q believer in method. He
told Mr. Hamerton once that he had Systematically
educated his memory, that he observed things as he
walked, with the intention Of remembering all he
could Of them. by long practice Of this
kind" says Mr.. Hamerton, "he can
carry away with him wonderful quantity Of
facts. and has even tested his memory by con-
test with Photographic apparatus, o. friend Of
his photographing cathedral, Dore looking at
it, and drawing it afterward at home while his
friend developed the photograph. On comparing
the two, drawing and photograph, it appeared
much to the establishment of the photographer
that Dore had omitted no detail of importance, a
few minor inaccuracies being alone discoverable. /"
This anecdote points to Dore's possession Of
great natural abilities abilities which Jerrold
would hold, fitted him to ride the whirlwind and
control the storm. by his unfagging observa
ton" he says, and his trained memory, he got
within his skull the secrets Of grand effects and
the food which his imagination could journey
into the vast Unknown" The truth is. Dore
relied too much upon his memory and his other
natural gifts Gautier was right when he called
him un gamin de genie" He was lawless and
capricious, and never submitted cheerfnlly to
training. AS a consequence artists refused to
acknowledge him one of themselves. Jerrold
found himself compelled to divide the " Life" into
two parts, because Dore lived two distinct and
separate lives, that of the illustrator, the
other that Of the painter. AS an illustrator he
was praised, as painter he was condemned. The
explanation is not far to seek. Continual appli-
cation to black and white work blurred and
destroyed the slight color sense which he had
mill n1 ct
his handling the brush with mastery. OF course
he would never bow to the decision of the gods.
@My adversary is myself, he used to say.s Il
must efface and kill the illustrator and be spoken
Of only as the painter" Posterity will sympa-
thize with him, but will hardly agree
with him, 1t will accept him--if it
accepts him at alias the fertile draughts-
man who enriched the pages of Rabelais,
Taine. Balzac. Dante. Perrault. Cervantes, Milton,
and Tennyson, with thousands; Of original and
diverting illustrations. The Dore gallery in Bond
st. may retain limited popularity for years to
come, but the Christ Leaving the Praetorium,'
with all its impressive qualities will never do for
rhe artists fame with his illustrations have done
for it. Those not only brought him fame. they
brought him fortune, though it is denied that he
was avaricious has been commonly be-
heved. Jerrold states that $500 was the price
usually paid for one of the large folio drawings
and that this purchased the copyright. On
basis of this sort the Dante illustrations must have
brought the artist about 800 and as his other
work paid as well in proportion, he must have been
as artists go, extraordinarily rich.
In spite Of the secondary interest which attaches to
Dore's paintings, the Life" contains few moro
readable passages than those relating TO the in
ception and execution of the =" Christ
Leaving the Praetorium." TIE idea WAS
suggested to Dore by Canon I. X.
Hartford. who pointed out that il had never,
to his knowledge, been utilized by any painter.
Dore grasped it eagerly. He began the .o.Dr position
in 1se7, worked at it and off. but did not finish
il until 1872 Canon Hartford came TO the studio