Gustav Doré

Gustav Doré (1832-1883) was a French artist, engraver, illustrator, and sculptor. He worked primarily with wood engraving and steel engraving. Doré was born in Strasbourg and his first illustrated story was published at the age of fifteen. As a young man, he began work as a literary illustrator in Paris, winning commissions to depict scenes from books by Rabelais, Balzac, Milton and Dante. Doré’s English Bible (1866) was a great success, and in 1867 he had a major exhibition of his work in London. His later works included Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and The Divine Comedy. He continued to illustrate books until his death of a short illness in Paris in 1883.