Doré's Spain: All 236 Illustrations from Spain

by Gustave Doré

One of the most popular (and most prolific) illustrators of all time, Gustave Doré (1832–1883) established his reputation with works of art that exuded a romantic style, an abundance of detail, and a dramatic use of light and shade. This collection of drawings, created during Dore's trip to Spain with a friend in the 1870s, includes a haunting view of Barcelona's prison of the Inquisition, dynamic portraits of working-class men and the huddled poor, soaring interiors and exteriors of cathedrals, bullfighting arenas, fiery Spanish dancers, and other scenes evocatively conveying mood and setting.

Genres: Art, Travel, History

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2004

About the author

The most popular and successful French book illustrator of the mid 19th century. Doré became very widely known for his illustrations to such books as Dante's Inferno (1861), Don Quixote (1862), and the Bible (1866), and he helped to give European currency to the illustrated book of large . He was so prolific that at one time he employed more than forty blockcutters. His work is characterized by a rather naïve but highly spirited love of the grotesque and represents a commercialization of the Romantic taste for the bizarre. Drawings of London done in 1869-71 were more sober studies of the poorer quarters of the city and captured the attention of van Gogh. In the 1870s he also took up painting (doing some large and ambitions religious works) and sculpture (the monument to the dramatist and novelist Alexandre Dumas in the Place Malesherbes in Paris, erected in 1883, is his work).

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning!