Die Eclogen Vergils in der Ursprache und Deutsch (Band I)

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Die Eclogen Vergils in der Ursprache und Deutsch (Band I)

Artist Aristide Maillol (French, 1861-1944)

Publisher Cranach Presse, Weimar (Harry Kessler); Insel-Verlag, Leipzig, 1926

Printer Cranach Presse (Count Harry Kessler and J. H. Mason, directors; Walter Tanz, compositor; Erich Dressler, H. Gage-Cole, Max Kopp,

Author Virgil (Vergilius Publius Maro) (Roman, 70-19 BCE)

Date1926

DimensionsPortfolio: H: 13 9/16 In. (344 mm); W: 10 1/2 in. (267 mm); Depth: 1 3/16 in. (30 mm).
Book: H: 13 1/4 in. (337 mm); W: 10 5/16 in. (262 mm); Depth: 7/8 in. (22 mm).
Page (untrimmed): 13 1/16 in. (331 mm); W: 10 in. (254 mm).

MediumOriginal prints: 47 woodcuts. Text: letterpress in black with red (typeface: roman). Paper: hemp and linen wove, handmade by Gaspard Maillol at Montval, France (watermark representing Maillol’s statue La Méditerranée with the initials MK [Maillol Kessler] in the base).

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineGift of Molly and Walter Bareiss

Object number

1984.699

Not on View

Label TextThese classical woodcuts rank as the most important illustrations by the French sculptor Maillol. An extraordinary effort under the patronage of Count Harry Kessler, founder of the Cranach Press, went into the creation of this remarkable book, which though begun before World War I was not completed until more than a decade later. In addition to special hand-made paper (with a watermark of the Maillol sculpture LA MEDITERRANEE), a special updated Jensen type was made under the supervision of Emery Walkker, who had worked with William Morris and his Kelmscott Press in the 1890s. Editions with French and English texts were also published. Aristide Maillol, Die Eclogen Vergils in der Ursprache und Deutsch (Virgil's Eclogues in the Original and German). Text by Virgil (1926) In 1908 the German count Harry Kessler, impressed by the classical nature of Aristide Maillol’s sculpture, invited the artist to accompany him to Greece. Kessler wanted to open a publishing house called Cranach Presse to produce limited-edition books. The Greek trip led to an invitation from Kessler for Maillol to create the illustrations for a book. Inspired by their mutual interest in classical culture, Kessler and Maillol agreed on Virgil’s Eclogues as the text for their project. Together, they modified and re-cut a 15th-century Venetian typeface, creating a new font for the project. Maillol was concerned with selecting the proper paper, which he insisted, “be as finely wrought as a rich carpet.” When they couldn’t find a paper they liked, they built their own paper factory. Maillol’s nephew Gaspard Maillol directed the operation, creating hand-made paper of raw Chinese silk for the deluxe copies. Hemp and linen fiber paper was used for the rest of the edition (including this copy). Work on the book began in 1912 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Maillol and Kessler returned to the project in 1925, and the book was finally published in 1926. Maillol cut 47 wood engravings, plus letter decorations. The book was published in a dual Latin and German edition. French and English editions were also printed.Published Referencescf. Baxter, Colles, et al., The Selma Erving Collection: Modern Illustrated Books, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1977, no. 15.

cf. Garvey, Eleanor M., The Artist & the Book, 1860--1960, Boston, 1961, no. 172, repr.

cf. Rewald, John, editor, The Woodcuts of Aristide Maillol, New York, 1943, nos. 8--52, reprs.

cf. Victoria & Albert Museum, The Engraved work of Eric Gill, London, 1963, no. 104 (Cranach Presse mark), repr.

cf. Wheeler, Monroe, Modern Painters and Sculptors as Illustrators, New York, 1946, p. 106

cf. The Frank Crowninshield Collection of Modern French Illustrated Books, New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1943, no. 472.

Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Bareiss Collection of Illustrated Books from Toulouse-Lautrec to Kiefer, 1985, no. 42.

Toledo Museum of Art, Classically Modern, Feb. 18 - April 30, 2000.

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