Les Elephants - Poème
New York: Beatrice Coron, 2004. One of 12 copies. "Les Elephants" is an evocative poem written in 1900 and published in the poetry collection, Poèmes Barbares. Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894), known as Leconte de Lisle, was a poet, leader of the Parnassian school of French poetry, who from 1865 to 1895 was acknowledged as the foremost French poet apart from the aging Victor Hugo. Leconte de Lisle’s theories, reacting against Romanticism and stressing the need for impersonality and discipline in poetry, were expressed with deliberate provocativeness and exaggeration. His epic poetry is often overweighted by erudition and ornamentation, but his shorter poems convey a compelling and individual vision, and “Qaïn” (1869; “Cain”) is one of the most impressive short epics of the 19th century[Encyclopaedia Brittanica].
The well known book artist Beatrice Coron has created an inventive structure to convey the lyrics of this poem, which notes and celebrates the passage of a solemn, massive herd of elephants that moves slowly across the red sands. The text of the poem is written across a series of 12 illustrated stenciled boards that convey the images of the elephants as they move across the sand, with the poem printed on silk and the red sand simulated on the back of each board. The boards are accompanied by a paper page with the text of the poem in French. The boards and printed poem are housed on box with covers of simulated leather that resembles an elephant's skin. In fine condition. Measures 2 x 11 inches. With 12 stenciled boards. ARTB/061924. Fine.
Item #37321
Price: $740.00