FOX AND THE GRAPES 1885 Gustave Doré - Jean de La Fontaine ANTIQUE ENGRAVING

Original 9 1/2 inch x 7 1/2 inch Engraving titled THE FOX AND THE GRAPES.

”The celebrated fable of the Fox and the Grapes has been applied by M. Doré in a human sense. The ragged roysterers at the bottom of the garden terrace are evidently pretending indifference to the happiness of the wealthy lords and ladies above, and are as obviously envious of it. A very pretty picture is made up of the old chateau and grounds, and the indolent, holiday-making gallants and damsels.”

Illustration by Gustave Doré (1832 - 1883). The most popular and successful French book illustrator of the middle of the 19th century. Doré became widely known for his illustrations to such books as Danté’s Inferno (1861), Don Quixote (1862), and the Bible (1866), and he helped to give European currency to the illustrated book of large format. He was so prolific that at one time he employed more than forty wood engravers. His work is characterized by an eclectic mix of Michelangelesque nudes, northern traditions of sublime landscape, and a highly spirited love of the grotesque and bizarre.

Engraved by Henri Théophile Hildebrand (1824 - 1897). Hildibrand was close to the engraver François Pannemaker working with him in his early days. He became one of the best engravers of Gustave Doré and was a virtuoso of the "wood of colour" (or "engraving of colour").

Jean de La Fontaine (1621 – 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages.
After a long period of royal suspicion, he was admitted to the French Academy and his reputation in France has never faded since. Evidence of this is found in the many pictures and statues of the writer, as well as later depictions on medals, coins and postage stamps.

Illustration for Jean de La Fontaine’s “Fables” published between 1668 to 1694 and illustrated by Doré in 1885.

This edition from Cassell’s ‘Doré Gallery’ published in 1885.

Page size 12 1/4 inch x 9 1/8 inch

The engraving is in very good condition. Reverse side blank.