Sagesse

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Sagesse

Artist Maurice Denis (French, 1870-1943)

Publisher Ambroise Vollard, éditeur, Paris, 1911

Printer Jacques Beltrand, Paris (Emile Fequet, pressman)

Author Paul Verlaine (French, 1844-1896)

Date1911

DimensionsSlipcase: H: 11 7/8 in. (302 mm); W: 9 3/8 in. (238 mm); Depth: 1 3/8 in. (35 mm).
Chemise: H: 11 1/2 in. (292 mm); W: 9 1/4 in. (235 mm); Depth: 1 in. (25 mm).
Book: H: 11 11/16 in. (297 mm); W: 9 3/16 in. (234 mm); Depth: 1 3/8 in. (35 mm).
Page (untrimmed): H: 11 1/8 in. (283 mm); W: 8 11/16 in. (220 mm).

MediumOriginal prints: 89 wood engravings in colors, from blocks cut by Jacques Beltrand. Text: letterpress in black with colors. Paper: Van Gelder laid paper, watermarked with the title.

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineGift of Molly and Walter Bareiss

Object number

1984.377

Not on View

Label TextVerlaine's SAGESSE, a group of religious poems, first appeared in 1881. While this Vollard publication was not Denis' first book, the illustrations, originally drawn in 1889, were his first set of images inspired by a text. Publisher: Ambroise Vollard Pierre Bonnard, Parallèlement (In Parallel). Text by Paul Verlaine (1900) Pierre Bonnard, Les pastorales de Longus; ou Daphnis et Chloé (Pastorals of Longus; or Daphnis and Chloë). Text by Longus (1902) Maurice Denis, Sagesse (Wisdom). Text by Paul Verlaine (1911) The Parisian art dealer Ambroise Vollard was one of the leading publishers of livres de peintre or painter’s books. These were deluxe editions matching original prints with a text. For his first project Vollard chose Parallèlement, a collection of poems by Paul Verlaine. He settled on Bonnard to create the prints. Bonnard’s sensuous lithographs were printed with rose-colored ink. For the most part the publication was received poorly. Collectors didn’t consider lithography a fine-art technique. The edition did not sell out for over 20 years. Undaunted, Vollard commissioned Bonnard to create lithographs for a translation of an ancient poem by Longus. Unlike the images for Parallèlement, the designs for Daphnis et Chloé conformed to a rectangular format above five lines of text. Colored ink was replaced with the same gray-black ink as the text, adding to the overall unity of the design. This volume too did not sell well. Many of Vollard's projects took years to complete and some were left unfinished at his death. Sagesse was written by Verlaine in 1873. The poem inspired a series of drawings by Maurice Denis, which Vollard saw in 1891. He knew this would make a wonderful livre de peintre, but two decades would go by before the book was published. For this project, Vollard had Denis’s drawings converted to wood engravings. Vollard went on to produce 45 fine press books with such artists as Redon, Maillol, Rouault, and Picasso. They are now considered some of the finest and most influential in the genre.Published Referencescf. Garvey, Eleanor M., The Artist & the Book, 1860--1960, Boston, 1961, no. 77

cf. Hogben, Carol, Rowan Watson, editors, From Manet to Hockney: Modern Artists’ Illustrated Books, London, 1985, no. 4, reprs.

cf. Ray, Gordon N., The Art of the French Illustrated Book, 1700 to 1914, vol. II, New York, 1982, no. 378, repr.

cf. Johnson, Una E., Ambroise Vollard, Editeur: Prints, Books, Bronzes, New York, 1977, no. 181

cf. Catalogue complet des éditions Ambroise Vollard, Portique, Paris, 1930 (1984.438)

cf. Wheeler, Monroe, Modern Painters and Sculptors as Illustrators, New York, 1946, p. 100.

Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Bareiss Collection of Modern Illustrated Books from Toulouse-Lautrec to Kiefer, 1985, no.18

Toledo Museum of Art, Modern Woodcuts, May 5 - July 24, 2000

Toledo Museum of Art, Splendid Pages: The Molly and Walter Bareiss Collection of Modern Illustrated Books, Feb. 14--May 11, 2003.