The French Symbolist Gustave Moreau’s series of 64 illustrations for La Fontaine’s Fables, rendered in his distinctive jewel-like tones, were much praised when exhibited in the 1880s – one critic suggested that Moreau was ‘drunk on colour’. Nearly half were lost from a Rothschild collection during the Nazi era but the remainder, on loan from a private collection, will go on public display in this exhibition at Waddesdon Manor for the first time since 1906. The show runs from 16 June–17 October; find out more from Waddesdon Manor’s website.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here
Democritus and the Abderites (1881), Gustave Moreau. Private collection
The cat transformed into a woman (1884), Gustave Moreau. Private collection
The cobbler and the financier (1882), Gustave Moreau. Private collection
The dream of an inhabitant of Mongolia (1881), Gustave Moreau. Private collection
Allegory of fable (1879), Gustave Moreau. Private collection
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