Les Fables de La Fontaine: Livres I, II, III
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Authors
Jean de La Fontaine
Issue Date
1953
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Type
Book, Whole
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Abstract
#25 of 50 copies printed on vélin de Rives. This lovely set of four volumes plus a collection of the illustrations in a fifth "volume" comes with a lovely signed inscription from the illustrator Jean Chièze to Robert Raynaud. There is also with this Volume I a separate letter from J.A. Bressy, mentioned as Chièze's collaborator in the colophon on 131 of this Volume I. The letter is addressed to Monsieur and Madame Raynaud in Algeria. This unbound volume consists of 131 pages in eight page segments gathered in a portfolio of boards and enclosed in a box. Each fable begins on a new page. The seller writes that Chièze is a modern master of wood engraving, a highly demanding art that does not admit of mistakes. Because of its difficulty, Chièze abandoned this art form little by little. He is one of its last exemplars. The wood engravings, usually about 3¼" x 2", are highly dramatic. A good example of the dynamism in Chièze's art is "Les Deux Mulets" on 13: one robber is ready to kill the treasure-carrying horse while another restrains him and a third approaches with firearms. In the meantime, the other horse dashes off free in the distance. "Les Voleurs et l'Ane" (32) has the same dynamism in the fight of the two thieves and the getaway of the third thief on the horse. TMCM (24) presents a standard quiet housefront with a rounded staircase -- until we notice the rat jumping for his life to get away from this house! The bird wounded by a feathered arrow (63) has been pinned down by the wing, not mortally wounded in his body. Is that hare smiling over the frightened frogs on 79? CW combines humor, nudity, and movement (87). FK shows three frogs dangling from the new king's beak (104)! Chièze does one of the best jobs I have seen of presenting a cat disguised in flour (128). The format of this publication would make it ideal for something like the upcoming Joslyn exhibit, if only that the illustrations were large enough to be seen. Not in Bodemann.
Description
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Publisher
Chez Pierre Bricage
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DOI
Identifier
10802 (Access ID)