Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) (author)
Umberto Brunelleschi (1879-1949) (illustrator)
Contes Et Nouvelles De La Fontaine, Vols. I-V
[Tales and Short Stories of La Fontaine]
Gibert Jeune, Librairie d’Amateurs, 61, Boulevard St.-Michel, Paris: c. 1940-41
One quarter red morocco, marbleized boards, gilt spine
Stamped edition No. 900/3000
Quarto, 10.5 x 8.25 inches, overall
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.
Contes Et Nouvelles De La Fontaine
Illustrated by Brunelleschi
Illustrated by Brunelleschi
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The humorous and often ribald stories in verse by 17th-century French author Jean de La Fontaine are interpreted in erotic illustrations by 20th-century artist Umberto Brunelleschi. Published in a limited edition of 3,000, the two book set contains five volumes, bound in a special hardcover red leather binding. La Fontaine originally published these works in four volumes between 1664 and 1674, based on stories by Boccaccio, Ariosto and others.
Jean de La Fontaine was a French poet, whose collection of fables, originally published as Fables choisies, mises en vers[Selected Fables in Verse] is considered a masterpiece of world literature. The collection of some 230 fables was published between 1668 and 1694 in 12 volumes. Based on Aesop, these animal stories comment on human behavior and society. An immediate success, they have been produced in countless editions since their initial publication. La Fontaine’s other works include Contes et Nouvelles en Vers [Tales and Novels in Verse] (1664-1674), a four volume work of ribald verse tales drawn from Boccaccio, Ariosto and others. He also wrote poems on classical themes, long poems, comedies and opera librettos.
Umberto Brunelleschi was an Italian painter, illustrator and scenographer. He studied at the fine arts academy in Florence and exhibited his work in Italy, then settled in Paris around 1900. There he quickly became part of a circle of young poets in the Latin Quarter and found work as a caricaturist and illustrator in a Modernist style influenced by the Orientalism of Leon Bakst and Erte, as well as the elegance of 18th century Florentine art. A favorite subject was the Comedia del Arte. During the 1910s he exhibited at Salon exhibitions while frequently contributing fashion illustrations to French magazines. He also designed costumes for the flamboyant performer Josephine Baker. In 1933, he exhibited his illustrations for the French classic Manon Lescaut, but was mainly occupied during the 20s and 30s with theater set design for La Scala, the Folies Bergere and New York’s Roxy Theatre. During the latter decades of his life he concentrated on book illustration, including Goethe’s Werther, Alfred de Musset’s La Nuit vénitienne, and Diderot’s Les Bijoux indiscrets and numbered editions of erotica.
References:
Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs. France: Librairie Gründ, 1966. Vol. 2, p. 179-180.
“Jean de La Fontaine.” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed. New York: Columbia University Press: 2003. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.bartleby.com/65/la/LaFontaJ.html (28 October 2004).
“Umberto Brunelleschi.” DesignerHistory.com. 2002. http://www.designerhistory.com/historyofashion/illbrunelleschi.html (28 October 2004).