Dore's Illustrations for Don Quixote (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) [Paperback]

Gustave Dore (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Fine Art, History of Art | Publication Date: July 1, 1982

Doré's sympathy to Cervantes' satire was so complete that, of numerous interpretations by many artists, his has become standard. Here are 190 wood-engraved plates, 120 full-page: charging the windmill, traversing Spanish plains, valleys, mountains, ghostly visions of dragons, knights, flaming lake. Marvelous detail, minutiae, accurate costumes, architecture, enchantment, pathos, humor. Captions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486243001
• ISBN-13: 978-0486243009
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary visual companion to DON QUIXOTE, June 19, 2004

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dore's Illustrations for Don Quixote (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) (Paperback)

Gustave Doré was a frustrated painter. Forced by circumstance to produce illustration illustrations for a number of literary works, he primarily longed for fame and success as a painter. But while shooting for fame as a painter, he inadvertently achieved immortality as arguably the greatest illustrator in history.

Most illustrators of the classics fall far short of the efforts of the works they are asked to illustrate, but Doré almost always managed to eerily echo visually the genius of the original authors. After reading the first half of DON QUIXOTE, I discovered this Dover collection of Doré's illustrations of the work, and I found them to be completely stunning. Doré had a genius for precisely visualizing events in the novel and transferring them precisely into his illustrations. No scene is too much of a challenge to him. The famous moment when Don Quixote attacks the windmills, mistaking them as giants, is depicted brilliantly by Doré. Every famous scene and many less famous scenes are all depicted, and I can honestly say that not once does Doré disappoint me in his imaging of how the scene occurred. One can, if one wants, make minor quibbles with Doré, such as his drawing Quixote wearing the wash basin helmet even in section later in the novel where he is said to have worn a sallet helmet. But this truly would be mere quibbling, for throughout Doré perfectly captures the spirit of DON QUIXOTE.

I'm convinced that this collection of illustrations is not nearly as well known as it deserves to be. Graphic novels are an extremely popular genre today, and it is impossible to imagine anyone interested in the visual aspects of those stories not being fascinated by Doré's far more complex and classically organized illustrations. Likewise, no one interested in graphic art or the history of art could not find these less than riveting. Most of all, anyone who loves DON QUIXOTE will adore these drawings, and to work through the various illustrations is to relive all the glorious events of the novel once again. Indeed, one could almost argue that while other translators have managed with more or less success to translate Cervantes's masterpiece into English or German or French, Doré managed to translate the novel into a purely visual language.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, April 2, 2009

By 

C. E. Federal "Gustavo" (Brazil) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dore's Illustrations for Don Quixote (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) (Paperback)

The album is a combination of two great artists: the writer (Cervantes) and the illustrator (Doré). It worths every dollar we pay!

4.0 out of 5 stars Dore's Illustrations for Don Quixote, December 15, 2010

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This review is from: Dore's Illustrations for Don Quixote (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) (Paperback)

I ordered Dore's Illustrations for Don Quixote, because I am a university professor who covers Don Quixote in one of my courses. I wanted some spectacular pictures to include in the visual side of my presentation. I am very satisfied, because I believe that Dore is able to render the essence of Cervante's words. One of the things which I emphasize in the course is that great works of literature engender other art forms.