The Fables: Gustave Moreau

Title

en_US The Fables: Gustave Moreau

Description

Juliet Carey

Creator

en_US Carey, Juliet See all items with this value

Contributor

en_US Moreau, Gustave

Date

2022-11-07T16:12:16Z

2022-04

en_US 2021

Date Available

2022-11-07T16:12:16Z

Date Issued

en_US 2021

Abstract

en_US Occasional mention of Gustave Moreau and sample offerings of specific work of his did not prepare me for this revelation of the extent of his work on fables. Moreau created some 64 watercolor illustrations of La Fontaine's fables, first exhibited in 1886 and last exhibited in 1906. This present book is the catalogue of a recent exhibit at the Rothschilds' Waddesdon Manor. The book's author, Juliet Carey, was curator of that exhibit. The book, large format (9¾" x 12") and 168 pages long, gives accounts of Moreau's life, including the fable watercolors; of La Fontaine and the fables; and of animal studies by Moreau that prepared for this work. The bulk of the book is then an impressive catalogue featuring a large colored illustration of each of the 35 fables in the exhibit, starting with "Allegory of Fable," in which fable rides on a chimaera. Among the best, for me, are WS; "The Monkey and the Dolphin"; "Death and the Woodcutter," in which death is a seductive woman; and FK. The book's last pictorial section is a brief account of Felix Bracquemond's black and white etchings based on Moreau's fables. Of the many critical comments included here, the most helpful for me is that Moreau "explored states of consciousness." Moreau achieved early fame with popular works exploring mythology, e.g., "Oedipus and the Sphinx." This book is a new treasure in the collection!

Identifier

en_US 12873 (Access ID)

uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/139054

Language

en_US eng

Publisher

en_US The Rothschild Foundation

en_US Waddeston Manor, Buckinghamshire

Subject

Jean de La Fontaine See all items with this value