The Dore Bible Illustrations Paperback – June 1, 1974

Nice clear, large pictures; one picture per page.

Good pencil style drawings

the photos in here are spectacular; already purchased another for a gift!

Dover's Dore Bible Illustrations consists of a 5 page introduction, 3 pages for the list of plates, and 241 full page engravings with the title and excerpt of the biblical passage the image represents. Most images are about 8"x10". The old testament, new testament and some of the apocryphal books are represented (in all, 39 books).The reproduction quality is excellent. Upon close inspection, minute artifacts can be seen in most of the engravings. Most often they are tiny white dots in otherwise dark spaces. However, with the extraordinary density of fine lines engraved in every image, flawless pressings may have been nearly impossible. I recommend studying this book with a large magnifying glass. The naked eye doesn't do justice to the almost superhuman effort that went into the artwork. Every plate bears the monogram of both Dore and an assistant, and he clearly needed help to complete the book. Just imagining what it took to finish the book gives me carpal tunnel.Every image is easily readable. Contrast is generally in the medium-high range, and all planes are well-defined. Many plates contain hundreds, even thousands of figures, and creating such large-scale images coherently is a feat in itself. The style Dore employs in his Bible scenes is atypical of the medium. He engraves with a woodcutter's sensibility, giving this book a distinct look. With the exception of a few uses of stippling, every plate consists only of contouring lines of varying density. True white or black spaces are practically nowhere to be found in the entire set; the hand of the artist can be seen everywhere. No shortcuts were taken, and Dore seems to say with his technique that the subject matter is important enough to demand great dedication.After an avalanche of praise, I should note that the book isn't above reproach. Plate 103 shows some highly questionable-looking bears, plate 38 shows a camel that is wildly out of proportion, and plate 14 shows some awkwardly rendered figures. But there's another problem that pervades the series, and that's a lack of complexity. There's not much in the way of symbolism or imagination, and there are no close ups. This is a macroscopic, bird's-eye view of the Bible that's more about events than people, more about style than substance. Dore doesn't seem to have that spark of insight that defines the devotional masterpieces of Durer, da Vinci, Rembrandt, Bernini, Caravaggio, Michelangeo, Holbein, Rubens, Bosch, etc. That said, the book as a whole is immense and impressive, and very well-reproduced by Dover. Highly recommended to anyone interested in art and religion.

Good reproductions of the art, arriving in perfect condition, and quickly. We already are thinking of someone to share it with.

Dore's illustrations are quite beautiful. and this book is a great, reasonably priced collection.I bought this as a gift for a friend. The book did come with a large blemish on one page, though, so I am only giving it four stars. The blemish was a weirdly folded extra long page? It was very strange. It didn't cause any harm to the illustrations though, so I suppose it is fine.

Outstanding gift or coffee table book.

Great ideas for tattoos