Doré, Gustave

Doré, Gustave (güstäv` dôrā`), 1832–83, French illustrator, engraver, painter, and sculptor. He is best known for his highly imaginative and dramatic illustrations. At first he did his own engraving on wood, but as his success grew, his later work was done in collaboration with numerous engravers. His lively illustrations for some 120 books, including Paradise Lost, the Divine Comedy (1861), Don Quixote (1862), the Bible (1866), Balzac's Droll Tales, the works of Rabelais, the Fables of La Fontaine, and other classics, are still admired. He particularly excelled in weird, fantastic scenes. Less popular today are his works in painting and sculpture.

Bibliography

See study by N. Gosling (1974).

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Doré, Gustave (-Paul)

(born Jan. 6, 1832, Strasbourg, France—died Jan. 23, 1883, Paris) French printmaker. In 1847 he went to Paris and began producing lithographic caricatures for a weekly journal and several albums of lithographs (1847–54). He achieved fame and wide popularity with his wood-engraved book illustrations; among the finest were editions of Dante's Inferno (1861) and the Bible (1866). His vivid work is characterized by images of the grotesque and bizarre. Employing over 40 block cutters, he eventually produced more than 90 illustrated books.