Gustave Dore the Painter
Everyone knows the importance of good interior design in a bar, how certain elements encourage people interaction, how the furniture and general placement affect the ‘feel’ of the place. One good way to change the ‘feel’ of the place without expensive hacking and renovation would be to throw in some prints and paintings; they liven up a plain wall and can give new life to a place.
Today I’d like to introduce you to the Master of mood paintings, Gustave Dore. I shall not bore you with details of his background, but instead show you his works and let them speak for themselves. One of the art world’s best kept secrets, he has illustrated classics such as Dante’s Inferno and the Holy Bible leaving readers awed and inspired by the words given shape in his extraordinary works. Due to the rarity of his art, I had to go to some lengths to get the few pictures for this article for which I hope will give you a taste, a small appetizer if you will of his work. Above you find one of his masterpieces, The Black Eagle of Prussia, which is now on permanent display at the Dahesh Musuem of Art, New York.
De La Femme De Pilate, Claudia Procula
Above is the painting done in watercolor titled Le Reve De La Femme De Pilate, Claudia Procula or The dream of Pilate’s Wife, Claudia Procula in english. Despite my best attempts, this was the only picture I could find on the web. Take it from me , this picture does not do justice in the slightest to the power of the work. The exquite facial expressions and brilliant vermillion of the Angels wing held me in a trance for a while when I first came upon this piece.
On their own, many of his illustrations would make a great decoration to your bars , reproductions of his prints are widely available and can be bought off the web. Below, an examplary illustration titled, Richard I and Saladin in the Battle of Acre.
