Adolphe Lalauze (8 October 1838 – 18 October 1906) was a prolific French etcher who made the illustrations for many books. He won various awards and was made a knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Life

Adolphe Lalauze was born in Rive-de-Gier, Loire, on 8 October 1838. His first job was a ''Contrôleur de l'Enregistrement''. Lalauze worked in this civil service job in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

for some time, then enrolled at the Toulouse École des Beaux-arts. He moved to Paris, where he became a student of Léon Gaucherel. Encouraged by Gaucherel, he took up etching, and first exhibited at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

in 1872. At the Salon in 1876 he exhibited twenty-one etchings. These included a series of nine called ''Le Petit Monde'' (The Small World) that depicted childhood scenes using his children as models, which won a 3rd class medal. He won a 2nd class medal at the Salon of 1878 for twelve plates illustrating the ''

Histoires ou contes du temps passé ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé, avec des moralités'' (), or ''Contes de ma mère l'Oye'' (),Zipes (2000), 236 ff. is a collection of literary fairy tales written by Charles Perrault, published in Paris in 1697. The work became popular be ...

'' by

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , , ; 12 January 162816 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his ...

. Lalauze illustrated many books. He drew the Frontispiece for ''Le Bric-à-brac de l'amour'' (1879) published by Octave Uzanne. This book used revolutionary new photo-mechanical reproduction techniques. He illustrated the Peter Anthony Motteux translation of ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', first published in 1879. Lalauze made 21 etchings for the 1881 edition of Galland's translation of the ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

'', and these were reproduced in several other editions. He was one of the illustrators of Damase Jouaust's 1882 ''Petite Bibliothėque artistique'' (Small Art Library), along with Pierre Edmond Alexandre Hédouin and Émile Boilvin. He created illustrations for

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's ''

Waverley Novels The Waverley novels are a long series of novels by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). For nearly a century, they were among the most popular and widely read novels in Europe. Because Scott did not publicly acknowledge authorship until 1827, the se ...

'' published in Boston in 1893–94. In 1898 his illustrations in the pure ''fin de siècle'' style appeared in '' Sophie Arnould, actress and wit'' by Robert B. Douglas. Adolphe Lalauze was a member of the

Société des Artistes Français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...

. He died in Milly-la-Forêt, Essonne in 1906. His son, Alphonse Lalauze, was also an artist.

Work

Adolphe Lalauze - La Lecon de Dessin 1880

Lalauze was known for etchings that depicted children, using his own children as models. He also made etchings that interpreted work by such artists as Charles Bargue, Pieter Codde,

Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (March 3, 1803August 22, 1860) was a French painter noted for his Orientalist works. Life Decamps was born in Paris. In his youth he travelled in the East, and reproduced Oriental life and scenery with a bold fidelity to ...

, Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Charles Green,

Antoine-Jean Gros Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was granted the title of Baron Gros in 1824. Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the ...

, Jean-Baptiste Huet,

Pierre-Paul Prud'hon Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (, 4 April 1758 – 16 February 16, 1823) was a French Romantic Painting, painter and drawing, draughtsman best known for his allegorical paintings and portraits such as ''Madame Georges Anthony and Her Two Sons'' (1796). ...

, David Teniers,

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; 5 March 1696 – 27 March 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...

, and

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...

. Lalauze made color prints by superimposing etched boards. Some of his larger plates included "Love Story" after Frank Dicksee, "A Kiss from the Sea" after Hamilton Macallum and "The Entry of Charles V into Antwerp" after Hans Makart. His best work included "The Halt" after

Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (; 21 February 181531 January 1891) was a French Academic art, academic painter and sculpture, sculptor. He became famous for his depictions of Napoleon I of France, Napoleon and his military sieges and :wikt:manoeuv ...

, etched for the magazine ''L'Art'', and "Portrait of Madame Pompadour" after

Maurice Quentin de La Tour Maurice Quentin de La Tour (; 5 September 1704 – 17 February 1788) was a French painter who worked primarily with pastels in the Rococo style. Among his most famous subjects were Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis XV and the Madame de Pompadour. Biogra ...

, published by the

. During his lifetime he was called "one of the most skillful original etchers of the modern French school." An 1889 book described him as an etcher with extreme facility who composed elegant vignettes and frontispieces. Later, Claude Roger-Marx criticized him for having fallen from interpretive drawing into a "laborious work of illustration" and of multiplying small compositions and vignettes.

Awards and distinctions

* 1876 Salon Medal 3rd class * 1878 Salon Medal 2nd class * 1889 Bronze Medal at the Exposition Universelle * 1895 Knight of the Legion of Honor, * 1900 Gold Medal at the Exposition Universelle

Gallery

File:AdolpheLalauze-arabian-nights1.jpg, Arabian Nights illustration File:1001-nights-burton-v3-p371.jpg, Arabian Nights illustration File:DuclosConfessionsCount***.jpg, Illustration from the ''Confessions du comte de ***'' by

Charles Pinot Duclos Charles Pinot (or Pineau) Duclos (12 February 1704 – 26 March 1772) was a French author and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''. Biography Duclos was born at Dinan in Brittany ...

File:Pierre-Charles-Henri Fauvel by Adolphe Lalauze.jpg, Pierre-Charles-Henri Fauvel 1892 File:Henri d'Orléans (1867-1901).jpg, French explorer Prince Henri of Orléans (1867–1901) c. 1897 File:José-Maria de Heredia (French poet) by Adolphe Lalauze.jpg, French poet

José-Maria de Heredia José-Maria de Heredia (22 November 1842 – 3 October 1905) was a Cuban-born French Parnassian poet. He was the fifteenth member elected for seat 4 of the Académie française in 1894. Biography Early years Heredia was born at Fortuna Ca ...

(1842–1905) c. 1897 File:Emmanuel Frémiet.jpg, French sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet (1824–1910) c. 1897

Life

Work

Awards and distinctions

Gallery

References

Sources

External links