04 Works of the Canals of Venice, by Edmund Dulac after Alfred de Musset poem, with footnotes. #132

Edmund Dulac 

Venise

Watercolour

354 x 272 mm. (13 7/8 x 10 3/4 in.)

Private collection

Sold for GBP 6,250 in Dec 2015

This watercolour is the first of a series of four drawings used to illustrate the poem Venise by Alfred de Musset (1810-1857). Dulac’s illustrations were deemed to be the ideal accompaniment to de Musset’s poem, as noted on the cover of this particular issue; ‘The indolent and voluptuous Venice of Alfred de Musset, evoked in compositions of a mysterious and disturbing charm by the very personal art of Edmund Dulac, that is the surprise reserved for the admirers of this prestigious watercolourist as well as for lovers of the old city of the Doges.

Edmund Dulac 

Preparing for the ball, c. 1912

Pencil and watercolour heightened with bodycolour on paper

I have no further description, at this time

A woman of the XVIIIth century. The scene is set in a typical interior of the period, recognisable by the furniture, armchair and bench in the Louis XV style. The interior is richly decorated with curtains and a dressing table. The woman is standing with a mask in her hand. This scene represents something very common in painting, the masquerade. This mask represents the role that the nobility plays. Indeed, in this period, the nobility are in perpetual representation. More on this painting

Edmund Dulac 

Venise: The Carnival, St Mark's, Venice

Pencil and watercolour heightened with bodycolour on paper

12 1/8 x 9 ¾ in. (30.8 x 24.8 cm.)

Private collection

Sold for GBP 25,000 in Jul 2021

The artist's wife, Elsa Bignardi, dressing for a masked ball, waiting for her lover in an archway beside the water, masked in a group of figures in the present drawing, and in the final work, reclining with her lover in a gondola. These are some of the last of Dulac's works using the distinctive rich dark blue tonality we see here. More on this painting

Edmund Dulac 

Reclining with her lover in a gondola

Pencil and watercolour heightened with bodycolour on paper

I have no further description, at this time

The model for the woman in this drawing is the artist’s wife Elsa Bignardi. Dulac’s illustration was captioned by one stanza of de Musset’s poem: ‘-Ah! maintenant plus d’une / Attend, au clair de lune, / Quelque jeune muguet, / L’oreille au guet.’ The other three drawings by Dulac used to illustrate the poem - each with the prominent figure of Elsa – depicted a woman getting ready for a masked ball, a pair of lovers in a gondola, accompanied by a musician, and a scene of masked figures in the Piazza San Marco. The drawings for Venise are among the last of the artist’s works in this distinctive tonality.

Edmund Dulac (born Edmond Dulac; 22 October 1882 – 25 May 1953) was a French British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer. Born in Toulouse he studied law but later turned to the study of art at the École des Beaux-Arts. He moved to London early in the 20th century and in 1905 received his first commission to illustrate the novels of the Brontë Sisters. During World War I, Dulac produced relief books and when after the war the deluxe children's book market shrank he turned to magazine illustrations among other ventures. He designed banknotes during World War II and postage stamps, most notably those that heralded the beginning of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. More on Edmund Dulac

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