Artist Retrospectives VIII – Edmund Dulac

Monsieur Dulac.

Edmund Dulac was born in France in 1882. Initially he studied law, but transitioned into art. He subsequently moved to England, eventually becoming a British citizen.

For The Dreamer of Dreams.

These big black horses are really a thing, aren’t they? This one for Sinbad the Sailor.

For Andersen’s The Snow Queen.

For Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.

He is considered one of the masters of the Golden Age of illustration. He was sought-after by book and magazine publishers. He illustrated a great many “gift books.”

Our old favorite, The Tempest.

For Sleeping Beauty.

Arabian Nights. Well, during the day.

His subject matter included fairy tales, the Arabian Nights, Shakespeare and the works of the Brontë sisters. I’m sure you can see similarities between his work and that of other contemporaries of the Golden Age.

For Jane Eyre.

Another for Jane Eyre.

Dulac even created currency designs and postage stamps.

Created for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1952.

For the coronation of King George.

A banknote with a Dulac illustration.

We can enjoy his delicate lines, his careful color combinations and his mastery of suggestion. Even his most prosaic depictions carry an air of something more, something beyond the visual. His work is certainly inspirational.

For The Wind’s Tale.

More for The Arabian Nights.

And this last one, another for The Dreamer of Dreams.

He was still working when he died of a heart attack in 1953, at age 70.