Raoul Dufy, Guillaume Apollinaire, and others
Le Bestiaire, ou Cortège d’Orphrée
1910
Scroll
- Artist: Raoul Dufy
- Author: Guillaume Apollinaire
- Publisher: Deplanche
- Printer: Gauthier-Villars
- Binder: Léon Gruel
Le Bestiaire, ou Cortège d’Orphrée
1910
Physical Qualities
Bound volume with woodcuts and letterpress, Book: 330 x 260 mm. (13 x 10 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Nelson and Juanita Greif Gutman Fund
Object Number
2013.226
Like medieval “creature books” known as bestiaries, Apollinaire’s collection of lyrical poems creates the impression of a parade of animals following Orpheus, the mythological figure celebrated for his enchanting lyre music. The short poems are casual yet witty, imaginative but also grounded in reality by the animal subjects. While Apollinaire wrote the poems before Dufy created the complementary woodcuts, Dufy’s deep involvement in printing the woodcuts and designing the layout of the book resulted in a thorough melding of image and text.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 2013; Ursus Books, Ltd., New York
Rena Hoisington, BMA, "Off the Shelf: Modern and Contemporary Artists' Books," May Gallery, March 12 - June 25, 2017.
