Parallèlement [extra title page]

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Parallèlement [extra title page]

Artist Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867-1947)

Publisher Ambroise Vollard, éditeur, Paris, 1900

Printer lithograph: Auguste Clot, [Paris] text: l’Imprimerie Nationale, Paris

Author Paul Verlaine (French, 1844-1896)

Date1900

DimensionsPage (untrimmed): 11 13/16 x 9 5/8 in. (300 x 244mm)

MediumOriginal print: lithograph in rose, on verso Text: letterpress (typeface: Garamond Italic) Paper: holland, watermarked 'Parallèlement'

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineGift of Molly and Walter Bareiss

Object number

1984.180

Not on View

Label TextThis title page bears the Imprimerie Nationale effigy of the French Republic. When the French Ministry of Justice realized the erotic nature of the book's contents, they required Vollard to recall the available copies and reprint the title pages with a new vignette in place of the mark of the Imprimerie Nationale. 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. Bouvet, Francis, Bonnard: The Complete Graphic Work, New York, 1981, no. 73,reprs.. cf. Castleman, Riva, A century of artists books, New York, 1994, pp. 86--87, repr. cf. A Catalogue of the Gifts of Lessing J. Rosenwald to the Library of Congress, 1943 to 1975, Washington, 1977, no. 2125, col. repr. p. 382. cf. Garvey, Eleanor M., The Artist & the Book, 1860--1960, Boston, 1961, no. 27, col. repr. cf. Hogben, Carol, Rowan Watson, editors, From Manet to Hockney: Modern Artists’ Illustrated Books, London, 1985, no. 17, repr. cf. Johnson, Una E., Ambroise Vollard, éditeur: Prints, Books, Bronzes, New York, 1977, no. 166, col. repr. pp. 54--55. cf. Ray, Gordon N., The Art of the French Illustrated Book, 1700 to 1914, vol. II, New York, 1982, no. 383, repr. cf. Roger-Marx, Claude, Bonnard lithographe, Monte-Carlo, 1952, no. 94, repr. Symmes, Marilyn, "Illustrated books at The Toledo Museum of Art", The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Miami, winter 1988, pp. 56--57, reprs. cf. Strachan, W. J., The Artist and the Book in France; The 20th Century livre d'artiste, New York, 1969, p. 326 cf. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Houston, Museum of Fine Arts; Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Pierre Bonnard: The graphic art, 1990, no. 84, repr. fig. 38. cf. The Frank Crowninshield Collection of Modern French Illustrated Books, New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1943, no. 55 cf. Johnson, Robert Flynn, Artists' Books in the Modern Era 1870--2000: The Reva and David Logan Collection of Illustrated Books, San Francisco, 2001, no. 11 Ives, Colta, et al., Pierre Bonnard: The Graphic Art, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989, cat. nos. 83-86Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Bareiss Collection of illustrated books from Toulouse-Lautrec to Kiefer, 1985, no. 8 (repr.)

Toledo Museum of Art, The Artist and the Printer, 1994--1995 (no cat.).

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pierre Bonnard: The Graphic Art, December 2, 1989-February 4, 1990.