Doré, Paul Gustave

(1832 - 1883)

Paul Gustave Doré (January 6, 1832 – January 23, 1883) was a French artist, engraver, and illustrator.

He was born in Strasbourg and published his first illustrated story at 15. He became a book illustrator in Paris, and his commissions included work by Rabelais, Balzac, and Dante. In 1853 he was asked to illustrate the works of Lord Byron. This was followed by other work for British publishers, including a new illustrated English Bible. He also illustrated an oversized edition of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.

Doré's English Bible (1865) was a great success, and in 1867 he had a major exhibition of his work in London. This led to the foundation of the Doré Gallery in New Bond Street.

In 1869, Blanchard Jerrold, the son of Douglas William Jerrold, suggested that they work together to produce a comprehensive portrait of London. Jerrold had got the idea from The Microcosm of London produced by Rudolph Ackermann, William Pyne, and Thomas Rowlandson in 1808.

Doré signed a five-year project with the publishers, Grant & Co, that involved his staying in London for three months a year. He was paid the vast sum of £10,000 a year for his work. The book, London: A Pilgrimage, with 180 engravings was published in 1872.

Although a commercial success, many critics disliked the book. Several were upset that Doré appeared to concentrate on the poverty that existed in London. He was accused by the Art Journal of "inventing rather than copying." The Westminster Review claimed that "Doré gives us sketches in which the commonest, the vulgarest external features are set down."

London: A Pilgrimage was a financial success, and Doré received commissions from other British publishers. His later work included Milton's Paradise Lost, Tennyson's The Idylls of the King, The Works of Thomas Hood, and The Divine Comedy. His work also appeared in the Illustrated London News. Doré continued to illustrate books until his death in Paris in 1883. He is buried in the city's Père Lachaise Cemetery.