About this artwork
Gerard de Nerval was a French poet who anticipated the Symbolist movement in his fascination with dreams as a reflection of the supernatural. Destitute and distraught over a thwarted love, he hung himself from a lantern post in 1855. Gustave Doré’s lithograph provides a fitting pictorial memorial to the poet’s hallucinatory vision and tragic end. Never pulled in an edition, the lithograph is very rare; it marks the culmination of Doré’s work in the medium. After 1855, the young artist began to rely on professional engravers while he turned increasingly to painting.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Gustave Doré
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Title
- La Rue de la Vieille Lanterne: The Suicide of Gérard de Nerval
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Place
- France (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1855
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Medium
- Lithograph in black on light gray China paper laid down on white wove paper
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Dimensions
- Image/chine: 50.2 × 34.3 cm (19 13/16 × 13 9/16 in.); Sheet: 57.6 × 40 cm (22 11/16 × 15 3/4 in.)
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Credit Line
- Mary S. Adams Fund
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Reference Number
- 1986.455
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/105494/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
