The Entomologist's Dream
Watercolour
1909 (made)
1909 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This work is an illustration for Le Papillon Rouge (the red butterfly) by Gerard d’Houville, a tragic love story published in the Christmas 1909 edition of the French news and art magazine L’Illustration. The tale explores the supernatural potential of dreams and the hallucinatory power of a moonlit night. An entomologist is driven mad by his failure to meet the demands of his lady for a blood red butterfly. After a lifetime of searching he ransacks his entire butterfly collection in the throes of nightime delirium. The insects magically awaken and fly from their cases into the night. The entomologist is found dead in the morning, heartbroken.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Entomologist's Dream (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | 'The Entomologist's Dream' by Edmund Dulac, watercolour, 1909 |
| Physical description | The Entomologist's Dream, watercolour, a man half lies, half leans on a bed in a room in disarray (bed clothes are in a state of disorder and a chair has toppled onto its back), while on the floor are empty boxes from which butterflies have escaped. He is surrounded by the insects as they encircle him; the room has a blue hue. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Signed Edmund Dulac. 09 |
| Credit line | Given by Mr C. D. Rotch, through Art Fund |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This work is an illustration for Le Papillon Rouge (the red butterfly) by Gerard d’Houville, a tragic love story published in the Christmas 1909 edition of the French news and art magazine L’Illustration. The tale explores the supernatural potential of dreams and the hallucinatory power of a moonlit night. An entomologist is driven mad by his failure to meet the demands of his lady for a blood red butterfly. After a lifetime of searching he ransacks his entire butterfly collection in the throes of nightime delirium. The insects magically awaken and fly from their cases into the night. The entomologist is found dead in the morning, heartbroken. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.655-1922 |
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| Record created | February 18, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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