An iconographic and text archive related to communication, technology and art.
☛ “Le Bibliophile” by Félix Edouard Vallotton, woodcut, 8.87 x 7 in. (22,5 x 17,8 cm.), 1911. Image retrieved from Zeno.org.
This image illustrates the cover of the French translation of Alberto Manguel’s The Library at Night (La Bibliothèque, la nuit, trans. Christine Le Boeuf, Paris: Actes Sud). Something in this illustration –maybe the heavy black-and-white contrast– strongly reminds me of the drawings of French comics artist Jacques Tardi.
In the collection of Jean Bonna, there is what appears to be a preparatory drawing for this woodcut:
For more information about the life and work of Félix Edouard Vallotton (1865-1925), one can explore the Fondation Félix Vallotton (in French). Below is a photo of the artist taken in 1899. He is on the far right:
