Gustave Doré - part 13

Our visual image of Victorian London is largely fixated on its sordidness—cramped streets, dark alleys, desolate slums, overcrowding, and illicit dens. Two people are responsible for creating in our heads such pictures of destitution and filth—one is Charles Dickens, whose works largely revolved around grinding poverty, and the other is French illustrator Gustave Doré. Doré (1832 – 1883) was a prolific engraver, artist, illustrator, and sculptor, who became very popular both in France and England by being an extremely successful illustrator for books and magazine.

He began his career early—at the age of fifteen—working for the French paper Le journal pour rire. Before he was twenty-five, his illustrations had adorned the books of several prominent writers of his time such as Cervantes, Rabelais, Balzac, Milton, Byron, and Dante. His illustrations of Cervantes's Don Quixote left such an indelible impression on the collective imagination of the public that it forever changed how subsequent artists, stage and film directors would represent the various characters in the book in their medium. Doré's illustrations for the English Bible in 1866 was such great success that it earned him a major exhibition of his work in London, eventually leading to the foundation of his very own Dore Gallery.

In 1869, Dore teamed up with journalist Blanchard Jerrold to produce a comprehensive portrait of London. For the next four years, Jerrold and Dore explored the dark underbelly of the largest, most fashionable, and most prosperous city in the world, visiting night refuges, staying in cheap lodging houses and making rounds of the opium den. The duo were often accompanied by plain-clothes policemen. They travelled up and down the river and attended fashionable events at Lambeth Palace, the boat race and the Derby.

Note: Doré produced so much work that I have featured his work in two tranches. The first series features works by Doré from 1847 to 1870 (see index). This series features works from 1867 to 1883.

This is part 13 of a 25-part series on later works of Gustave Doré:

1867 from Two Hundred Sketches Humorous and Grotesque by G Doré published by Frederick Warne and Co., London:

Front Cover

Title Page

Chorus of Conspirators.

Prima Donna. Prima Tenore. Basso Profundo. 

Touching unanimity of sentiment in a company - who have taken too much.

Chorus of Huntsmen - who have taken nothing.

The last Galop before supper. Tremendous excitement!!!

A distinguished soiree of amateurs. Lovers of music, every one.

Bucolic game of bowls.

"A little additional leisure will enable them to improve their minds."

Family exhibition of feats of agility and skill on the long rope.

National Theatre of Guignol.
Sensation drama! Terrific combat between Punch and a nameless personage. Discomfiture and death of the latter.

The Noble Art of Horsemanship.
As exhibited gratis by the clerks and linendrapers' assistants frequenting the Champs Elysées and the Bois de Boulogne.

Interior of an Omnibus.
Agreeable choice of neighbours.

A mother and daughter have ventured into the most dangerous part of the Boulevard des Italiens - but it is known that the French are the politest people under the sun.

It is, perhaps, as well to avoid those walks in which Parisian infancy disports itself at certain hours of the day.

On his return to Paris, Monsieur Pouponnet introduces to his wife some interesting and agreeable strangers, with whom he has become aquainted during his stay in London.

Effect produced on the outward appearance of the Parisians by their visit to London.

Paganini, who has just won the principal race.

This is a company of strangers anxious to inspect the "Lions" of our town.

Aerial Voyage.
Exceedingly cheap, and very agreeable - to those who have not the slightest tendency to dizziness in the head, or sickness in the lower regions.

Warm baths - supposed to be soft water from the Seine.

This is what is called cold bathing in Paris - and under these circumstances the Parisians are supposed to learn to swim.

"Ho! hou!" - "Grecian statues" exhibited in the Circus.

A Picnic
"Look out for the cork!"

An Amateur Concert in a quiet provincial town.

Innocent and primitive amusement, illustrating the pleasures of hope.

"The hunt has not been very successful, but we're first-rate huntsmen." Ecce signum!

This is what we see in front of the palace from seven to nine o'clock in the morning.

The Grand Avenue between two and four o'clock in the afternoon.

Hospitality Under Difficulties.
The Frenchman understands not a word of English, the Englishmen speak not a syllable of French; so they interchange ideas by signs and play of countenance, after the manner of King Zingataboo of the Cannibal Islands.

We do the honours of the city to our guests.

The Hotel des Invalides.
Certain embarrassing recollections would seem to survive among the veterans of the First Empire.

View of the room in which they play at Roulette at Baden. This is the place greatly affected by patients suffering from disease whose cure id dependent on the mind being kept very quiet and free from all excitement.

1868 Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson:

"And high above a piece of turret-stair.
Worn by the feet that now were silent, wound Bare to the sun,"

"And when the pale and bloodless east began
To quicken to the sun, arose and raised
Her mother too and hand in hand they moved
Down to the meadow where the jousts were held."

"First thou thyself, thy lady, and thy dwarf,
Shall ride to Arthur's Court and being there,
Crave pardon for that insult done the Queen."

"and Enid stood aside to await the event
Not dare to watch the combat, only breathe
Short fits of prayer at every stroke a breath."

(Note: captions were not found for the remainder of the illustrations)