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An Edmund Dulac Treasury: 116 Color Illustrations
Rooted in tales both ancient and modern, these vibrant images date from the early twentieth century's Golden Age of Illustration. Edmund Dulac, a prominent artist of the period, created them for books published between 1905 and 1928. Their moods range from the shadowy foreboding of Jane Eyre to the venturesome spirits of Treasure Island and the lighthearted fantasies of A Fairy Garland. Other featured titles include Shakespeare's The Tempest, The Arabian Nights, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, and the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen.
French-born Edmund Dulac arrived in London in 1904, when new advances in the printing process kindled a rage for picture books. Dulac's imaginative powers and technical skills assured the popularity of his book illustrations, many of which were sold separately as fine art paintings. After World War I, when the appetite for deluxe volumes waned, the artist turned his talents in many new directions, including portraiture, theatrical costume and set design, newspaper caricature, and stamp design. This retrospective of his early works is the only such anthology available, offering a singular tribute to an artist from a halcyon era of art inspired by literature.
French-born Edmund Dulac arrived in London in 1904, when new advances in the printing process kindled a rage for picture books. Dulac's imaginative powers and technical skills assured the popularity of his book illustrations, many of which were sold separately as fine art paintings. After World War I, when the appetite for deluxe volumes waned, the artist turned his talents in many new directions, including portraiture, theatrical costume and set design, newspaper caricature, and stamp design. This retrospective of his early works is the only such anthology available, offering a singular tribute to an artist from a halcyon era of art inspired by literature.
- GenresArtGraphic Novels
128 pages, Paperback
First published May 19, 2011
3 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Edmund Dulac
288 books43 followersDulac was born in Toulouse, France as "Edmond Dulac" in 1882.
Dulac attended the University of Toulouse, studying law while attending art classes at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. After two years, he left law school and enrolled full-time in the Ecole.
He won the 1901 and 1903 Grand Prix for his paintings and, on scholarship, attended the Académie Julian in Paris in 1904.
After a move to London, he recieved a commission from J.M. Dent to illustrate the collected works of the Brontë sisters. Later, Dulac formed a relationship with the Leicester Gallery and Hodder & Stoughton. The Leicester Gallery commissioned his paintings and Hodder & Stoughton purchased the rights to the paintings for illustrated books.
Under this unique relationship, Dulac's illustrations appear in The Arabian Nights in 1907, The Tempest in 1908, The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fair Tales in 1910, The Bells and Other Poems in 1912 and more.
Dulac became a naturalized British Citizen on Feb 17 1912, and throughout World War I, he contributed his illustrations to relief books, including Princess Mary's Gift Book and King Albert's Book. In 1915, he produced Edmund Dulac's Picture Book for the French Red Cross. With the war's end, the illustrated book became less popular. His last such books were Edmund Dulac's Fairy Book and The Kingdom of the Pearl.
He continued his art with newspaper caricatures, portraiture, bank notes, bookplates, medals, chocolate boxes, postage stamps and various other graphics. Dulac in 1924 began producing illustrations for The American Weekly.
Halfway through his final book commission, Milton's Comus, Dulac died of a heart attack in 1953.
Dulac attended the University of Toulouse, studying law while attending art classes at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. After two years, he left law school and enrolled full-time in the Ecole.
He won the 1901 and 1903 Grand Prix for his paintings and, on scholarship, attended the Académie Julian in Paris in 1904.
After a move to London, he recieved a commission from J.M. Dent to illustrate the collected works of the Brontë sisters. Later, Dulac formed a relationship with the Leicester Gallery and Hodder & Stoughton. The Leicester Gallery commissioned his paintings and Hodder & Stoughton purchased the rights to the paintings for illustrated books.
Under this unique relationship, Dulac's illustrations appear in The Arabian Nights in 1907, The Tempest in 1908, The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fair Tales in 1910, The Bells and Other Poems in 1912 and more.
Dulac became a naturalized British Citizen on Feb 17 1912, and throughout World War I, he contributed his illustrations to relief books, including Princess Mary's Gift Book and King Albert's Book. In 1915, he produced Edmund Dulac's Picture Book for the French Red Cross. With the war's end, the illustrated book became less popular. His last such books were Edmund Dulac's Fairy Book and The Kingdom of the Pearl.
He continued his art with newspaper caricatures, portraiture, bank notes, bookplates, medals, chocolate boxes, postage stamps and various other graphics. Dulac in 1924 began producing illustrations for The American Weekly.
Halfway through his final book commission, Milton's Comus, Dulac died of a heart attack in 1953.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 29, 2020
Amazing illustrations by one of my favorites artists ever, a great inspiration for my paintings.
September 7, 2017
Lovely pictures, but (as with most such publications) that's about all there is. It's not a book to read, it's a collection of art to admire.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
July 13, 2020
Lovely collection of Dulac's illustrations. Certain images were more racist than others (sadly, not uncommon at this time). Dulac adapted to several different styles of art and was proficient in many. The way he draws fingers is quite delightful.
February 6, 2021
What an absolutely beautiful book!!! I was able to buy it was a Barnes and Noble gift certificate that my cousin gave me for my birthday. Otherwise, I might have not bought it. So glad that I now own this treasure.
December 19, 2016
A concise and short page and a half introduction to Edmund Dulac followed by beautiful, large illustrations.
Favorite illustrations were from:
Stories From the Arabian Nights
Lyrics Pathetic and Humorous From A to Z
Shakespeare's Comedy of The Tempest
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
The Sleeping Beauty and Other Stories
Favorite illustrations were from:
Stories From the Arabian Nights
Lyrics Pathetic and Humorous From A to Z
Shakespeare's Comedy of The Tempest
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
The Sleeping Beauty and Other Stories
July 3, 2013
Absolutely gorgeous!
March 6, 2021
Arabian nights
Allan poe
Rubaiyat
Allan poe
Rubaiyat
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews