Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–8 public

La Rue de la Vieille Lanterne: The Suicide of Gérard de Nerval

A work made of lithograph in black on light gray china paper laid down on white wove paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of lithograph in black on light gray china paper laid down on white wove paper.

Date:

1855

Artist:

Gustave Doré
French, 1832-1883

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.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Gustave Doré

Title

La Rue de la Vieille Lanterne: The Suicide of Gérard de Nerval

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1855

Medium

Lithograph in black on light gray China paper laid down on white wove paper

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.)

Credit Line

Mary S. Adams Fund

Reference Number

1986.455

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

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.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share