The Doré Bible gallery

Preface

This volume, as its title indicates, is a collection of engravings illustrative of the Bible — the designs being all from the pencil of the greatest of modern delineators, Gustave Dore. The original work, from which this collection has been made, met with an immediate and warm recognition and acceptance among those whose means admitted of its purchase, and its popularity has in no wise diminished since its first publication, but has even extended to those who could only enjoy it casually or in fragmentary parts. That work, however, in its entirety, was far too costly for the larger and ever-widening circle of M. Dore's admirers, and to meet the felt and oftenexpressed want of this class, and to provide a volume of choice and valuable designs upon sacred subjects for art-loving Biblical students generally, this work was projected and has been carried forward. The aim has been to introduce subjects of general interest — that is, those relating to the most prominent events and personages of Scripture — those most familiar to all readers ; the plates being chosen with special reference to the known taste of the American people. To each cut is prefixed a page of letter-press, in narrative form, and containing generally a brief analysis of the design. Aside from the labors of the editor and publishers, the work, while in progress, was under the painstaking and careful scrutiny* of artists and scholars not directly interested in the undertaking, but still having a generous solicitude for its success. It is hoped, therefore, that its general plan and execution will render it acceptable both to the appreciative and friendly patrons of the great artist, and to those who would wish to possess such a work solely as a choice collection of illustrations upon sacred themes.

GUSTAVE DORR

The subject of this sketch is, perhaps, the most original and variously gifted designer the world has ever known. At an age when most men have scarcely .passed their novitiate in art, and are still under the direction and discipline of their masters and the schools, he had won 3. brilliant reputation, and readers and scholars everywhere were gazing on his work with everincreasing wonder and delight at his fine fancy and multifarious gifts. He has raised illustrative art to a dignity and importance before unknown, and has developed capacities for the pencil before unsuspected. He has laid all subjects tribute to his genius, explored and embellished fields hitherto lying waste, and opened new and shining paths and vistas where none before had trod. To the works of the great he has added the lustre of his genius, bringing their beauties into clearer view and warming them to fuller life.

His delineations of character, in the different phases of life, from the horrible to the grotesque, the grand to the comic, attest the versatility of his powers ; and, whatever faults may be found by critics, the public will heartily render their quota of admiration to his magic touch, his rich and facile rendering of almost every thought that stirs, or lies yet dormant, in the human heart. It is useless to attempt a sketch of his various beauties ; those who would know them best must seek them in the treasure-house that his genius is constantly augmenting with fresh gems of wealth. To one, however, of his most prominent traits we will refer — his wonderful rendering of the powers of Nature.

His early wanderings in the wild and romantic passes of the Vosges doubtless developed this inherent tendency of his mind. There he wandered, and there, mayhap, imbibed that deep delight of wood and [valley, mountain-pass and rich ravine, whose variety of form and detail seems endless to the enchanted eye. He has caught the very spell of the wilderness ; she has laid her hand upon him and he has gone forth with her blessing. So bold and truthful and minute are his countless representations of forest scenery ; so delicate the tracery of branch and stem ; so patriarchal the giant boles of his woodland monarch, that the gazer is at once satisfied and entranced. His vistas lie slumbering with repose either in shadowy glade or fell ravine, either with glint of lake or the glad, long course of some rejoicing stream : and above all, supreme in a beauty all its own, he spreads a canopy of peerless sky, or a wilderness, perhaps, of angry storm, or peaceful stretches of soft, fleecy cloud, or heavens serene and

fair — another kingdom to his teeming art after the earth has rendered all her gifts, (vi)

Paul Gustave Dor6 was born in the city of Strasburg, January 10, 1833. Of his boyhood we have no very particular account. At eleven years of age, however, he essayed his first artistic creations — a set of lithographs, published in his native city. The following year found him in Paris, entered as a student at the Charlemagne Lyceum. His first actual work began in 1848, when his fine series of sketches, the " Labors of Hercules," was given to the public, through the medium of an illustrated journal with which he was for a long time connected as designer. In 1856 were published the illustrations for Balzac's " Contes Drolatiques" and those for "The Wandering Jew" — the first humorous and grotesque in the highest degree — indeed, showing a perfect abandonment to fancy ; the other weird and supernatural, with fierce battles, shipwrecks, turbulent mobs, and nature in her most forbidding and terrible aspects. Every incident or suggestion that could possibly make the story more effective or add to the horror of the scenes was seized upon and portrayed with wonderful power. These at once gave the young designer a great reputation, which was still more enhanced by his subsequent works.

With all his love for nature and his power for interpreting her in her varying moods, Dore was a dreamer, and many of his finest achievements were in the realm of the imagination. But he was at home in the actual world also, as witness his designs for "Atala," " London — a Pilgrimage " and many of the scenes of " Don Quixote."

When account is taken of the variety of his designs and the fact considered that in almost every task he attempted none had ventured before him, the amount of work he accomplished is fairly incredible. To enumerate the immense tasks he undertook — some single volumes alone containing hundreds of illustrations — will give some faint idea of his industry. Besides those already mentioned are Montaigne, Dante, the Bible, Milton, Rabelais, Tennyson's " Idyls of the King," "The Ancient Mariner," Shakespeare, " Legende de Croquemitaine," "La Fontaine's Fables," and others still.

Take one of these works — the Dante, La Fontaine, or " Don Quixote " — and glance at the pictures. The mere hand labor involved in their production is surprising ; but when the quality of the work is properly estimated, what he accomplished seems prodigious. No particular mention need be made of him as a painter or a sculptor, for his reputation rests solely upon his work as an illustrator.

Dore's nature was exhuberent and buoyant, and he was youthful in appearance. He had a passion for music, and possessed rare skill as a violinist, and it is assumed that, had he failed to succeed with his pencil, he could have won a brilliant reputation as a musician.

He was a bachelor, and lived a quiet, retired life with his mother — married, as he expressed

it, to her and his art. His death occurred on January 23, 188,3.

(vii)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,

GlISTAVE DORE, . . e e .

Creation of Eve, . .

The Expulsion from the Garden,

The Murder of Abel, „

The Deluge, 8

Noah Cursing Ham, ....

The Tower of Babel, ....

Abraham Entertains Three Strangers,

The Destruction of Sodom,

The Expulsion of Hagar,

Hagar in the Wilderness,

Trial of the Faith of Abraham,

The Burial of Sarah, ....

Eliezer and Rebekah, ....

Isaac Blessing Jacob, ....

Jacob Tending the Flocks of Laban, .

Joseph Sold into Egypt,

Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh's Dream,

Joseph Making Himself Known to His Brethren.

Moses in the Bulrushes,

The War Against Gibeon,

Sisera Slain by Jael, ....

Deborah's Song of Triumph,

Jephthah Met by His Daughter, ( viii ")

Frontispiece I

3 4

5 6

7 8

9 io ii

13 14 15 16

17 18

19 20 21

22 23

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

IX

Jephthah's Daughter and Her Companions,

Samson Slaying the Lion,

Samson and Delilah,

Death of Samson,

Naomi and Her Daughters-in-Law,

Ruth and Boaz, .

The Return of the Ark,

Saul and David, .

David Spares Saul,

Death of Saul,

The Death of Absalom,

David Mourning over Absalom,

Solomon, ....

The Judgment of Solomon,

The Cedars Destined for the Temple,

The Prophet Slain by a Lion,

Elijah Destroying the Messengers of Ahaziah,

Elijah's Ascent in a Chariot of Fire,

The Death of Jezebel, .

Esther Confounding Haman,

Isaiah,

The Destruction of Sennacherib's Host,

Baruch,

Ezekiel Prophesying,

The Vision of Ezekiel, .

Daniel,

The Fiery Furnace,

Belshazzar's Feast,

Daniel in the Lions' Den,

The Prophet Amos,

Jonah Calling Nineveh to Repentance,

47 48

49 50 51

52 53 54

X

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Daniel Confounding the Priests of Bel,

Heliodorus Punished in the Temple,

The Nativity, ....

The Star in the East, .

The Flight into Egypt, .

The Massacre of the Innocents,

Jesus Questioning the Doctors,

Jesus Healing the Sick,

Sermon on the Mount,

Christ Stilling the Tempest,

The Dumb Man Possessed,

Christ in the Synagogue,

The Disciples Plucking Corn on the Sabbath

Jesus Walking on the Water, .

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem,

Jesus and the Tribute Money, .

The Widow's Mite,

Raising the Daughter of Jairus,

The Good Samaritan,

Arrival of the Samaritan at the Inn,

The Prodigal Son,

Lazarus and the Rich Man,

The Pharisee and the Publican,

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria,

Jesus, and the Woman Taken in Adultery,

The Resurrection of Lazarus,

Mary Magdalene,

The Last Supper,

The Agony in the Garden,

Prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Olives,

The Betrayal, ....

55 56 57 58

5*9 60 61 62

63 64

65 66 67 68 69 70

74 75 76

77 78

79 80 81 82 83 84 85

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

XI

Christ Fainting Under the Cross,

The Flagellation,

The Crucifixion, .

The Close of the Crucifixion,

The Burial of Jesus,

The Angel at the Sepulchre,

The Journey to Emmaus,

The Ascension,

Martyrdom of St. Stephen,

Saul's Conversion,

Deliverance of St. Peter,

Paul at Ephesus,

Paul Menaced by the Jews,

Paul's Shipwreck,

Death on the Pale Horse,

• 87

• 93

■ 95

, 96

.

e «

• •

TOO

CREATION OF EVE.

See Genesis ii.

HE Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept ; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and. the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh : She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."

In the scene in Paradise here depicted, the story of Eve's creation is told with entire appropriateness. The artist shows fine poetic sensibility and the utmost delicacy of thought, and brings us face to face with all the freshness, simplicity and glowing beauty of the Garden just finished by the hand of God. Amid the varied and luxuriant foliage are three luminous figures — beautifully conceived, and executed with delicate white touches upon a pale background. The figure of Adam, though in profound repose, still palpitates with life. Eve, coy and debonair, gazes upon him with wonder, while in the dazzling light beyond stands a majestic form, faintly outlined — a noble conception of him in whose image man was created.

i

THE EXPULSION FROM THE GARDEN.

See Genesis iii.

JHE happiness of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden did not long continue. The Serpent appeared and tempted Eve, by offering her the forbidden fruit, and she in turn beguiled Adam. When they had thus broken the commandment of God, their " eyes were opened," and they no longer appeared to each other innocent as before ; and when they heard the voice of God in the garden, their consciences smote them and in fear they sought to hide themselves from his face. But God summoned them before him, pronounced judgment upon their transgression, and banished them from the garden. The expulsion is thus described by Milton in " Paradise Lost : "

" They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld Of Paradise, so late their happy seat, Waved over by that flaming brand ; the gate With dreadful faces thronged, and fiery arms : Some natural tears they dropp'd, but wiped them soon: The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide : They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way."

In the picture Adam and Eve are fleeing from the threatening figure that guards the way of " the tree of life." Adam seems stunned with amazement and fear at the new scene which opens before him, while Eve clings to him, with head bowed in sorrow and remorse. Unsightly shrubs and broken rocks cumber the ground around them ; thick brambles stretch across their hard, dry path ; and from his cragged lair a crouching wild beast sends forth a threatening growl. The beauty and luxuriance of the foliage that bounds the garden are strikingly contrasted with the rugged and sterile scene which lies beyond.

THE MURDER OF ABEL.

See Genesis iv.

[[FTER Adam and Eve had been driven from the garden of Eden, their children Cain and Abel were born. The record of their lives is brief. We are told that Cain became a tiller of the soil and Abel a keeper of sheep, and then follows the account of the awful tragedy with which their names will be forever linked — one as the type of gentleness and obedience, the other as the embodiment of envy, rebellion and revenge. We read thus :

" And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof: and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering. But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect : and Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth ? And why is thy countenance fallen ? If thou do well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door; And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother ; and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

"And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper ? And he said, What hast thou done ? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength : A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from thy face shall .1 be hid, and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth : and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven fold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him, should kill him."

THE DELUGE.

See Genesis vii.

HAT a thrilling and terrifying scene is here placed before us — showing perhaps the last place of refuge from the rising waters of the Flood which, as the Bible records, overwhelmed the world, because of the wickedness of the people, and ingulfed and destroyed all living, all breathing things — the tender infant, the blooming youth, fathers, mothers, grandsires — all save the righteous family of Noah in. the Ark, and the beasts and birds and creeping things he was commanded by God to save by sevens and by pairs to again replenish the earth. The people had gone on in their wickedness, and as the torrents descended ceaselessly and the gathering waters began to swell around their homes, doubtless they withdrew slowly from the valleys and pleasant fields, regretfully gazing behind, and perhaps wondering how much would be spared of their habitations, of their crops of grain and their vineyards ; but the flood followed them on, rapidly driving them from slope to slope, and what terror and anguish must have seized upon them as, in its swift pursuit, numbers of them began to be swept away or swallowed up, and they came to see that the hills were surely sinking under their feet. How they must have, watched with straining eyes from lofty peaks the waters raging beneath, or listened to their roar and fury, with hearts subdued by fear, in the darkness of the night. And when finally, looking higher and higher for safety, they are driven to the giddy crags of the mountains, who can picture their despair? What cries and groans and bitter wailings must have left their lip's! what piercing shrieks have rent the air, as fathers or mothers were torn from their little ones !

In the picture before us the artist has strikingly depicted the wildness and horror of the scene. We see the waters surging in hollow waves, till their foreboding blackness mingles with a sky heavy and dark and pitiless as they — the remorseless powers of nature unrestrained. In the foreground a single rock still meets the tempest's shock, and around it have gathered, or have been swept the few survivors of the perishing host. A tigress has gathered her young about her, and almost at her feet cluster the babes of the hapless pair who are perishing in the flood below, their last feeble strength being given to place their little ones beyond the reach of the breakers. The infant stretches out his hand imploringly towards its mother, but she has sunk unconscious upon the father's breast.

NOAH CURSING HAM.

See Genesis ix.

HE scene in which Noah is represented as cursing his second son is ably conceived, representing the pastoral simplicity of the time effectively — the prominent grouping, in the foreground, of the principal characters in the history, conforming itself to the spirit of the incident. Noah, with arm uplifted, hurls the dread malediction upon his son, while on either side, in attitudes of wonder, grief and acquiescent condemnation, Shem and Japheth, with their wives, look on. The flying family of Ham, his stricken partner, with backward look of pain regarding her lost companions, the wondering children and the shrinking form of the culprit, are an admirable culmination of the description of the tale.

THE TOWER OF BABEL.

See Genesis xi.

HERE has been much inquiry concerning the location of this remarkable tower.

According to tradition, its site was the same as that of the great Temple of Belus,

near Babylon, which Nebuchadnezzar found in ruins and restored. The present

ruins are called Birs Nimrod (citadel of Nimrod). They bear inscriptions in the cuneiform

character, among which the name of N?buchadnezzar frequently appears. Herodotus visited

the spot about 450 B. C, and described the temple then existing as "a solid tower a stadium

in depth and width, upon which another tower is raised, and another upon that, to the number

of eight towers." Of the original structure upon this site we have no knowledge except that

derived from the brief account in Genesis. No description of its form is given, and the spiral

stairway presented in the engraving is simply a reproduction by the artist of the form given to

it in older but purely fanciful pictures. We read as follows : .

"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass as

they journeyed from the East, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt

there. And they said one to another: Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.

And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. ■ And they said : Go to, let us

build us a city and a tower, whose top may" reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name, lest

we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the

city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said : Behold, the people

is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be

restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there

confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord

scattered them abroad from thence, upon the face of all the earth ; and they left off to build the

City. Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the

language of all the earth ; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of

all the earth."

ABRAHAM ENTERTAINS THREE STRANGERS.

See Genesis xviii.

HEN Abraham was commanded to leave his kindred in Ur of the Chaldees, and make for himself a new home in Canaan, it was with the assurance that this goodly land, rich in pastures and flowing with milk and honey, should be given him and become the inheritance of his children. This promise was renewed again and again ; and even when Abraham and Sarah had become old — when they had far exceeded the usual age allotted to man, and were yet childless — the promise was still held forth to Abraham that he should become the father of a great nation ; that his children, his children's children and their heirs forever, should possess Canaan ; and that the care and favor and blessing of God should be manifested towards them in a peculiar manner. Abraham believed that all these promises would be made good, for he walked in the favor of God, and thus far his life had been attended with many blessings. Honor and power had been bestowed upon him, he had acquired vast possessions, and was regarded as a mighty prince in the land to which he came a stranger.

One day, sitting in the door of his tent during the heat of the day, he beheld three men standing near. They were messengers sent to Abraham, and bore tidings to make glad his heart. He went out before them and bowed himself to the earth, for thus were strangers welcomed in those days. And he said : " My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant : let a little water, I pray you, be -fetched, and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree ; and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts ; after that you shall pass on : for therefore are you come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man ; and he hastened to dress it. And he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them ; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife ? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life ; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son."

Thus in this special manner was again announced God's purpose towards Abraham. The picture which represents the scene here described is quite simple in detail, reflecting, therefore, the spirit of the narrative. The figures of the three spiritual visitants are impressive and beautiful, and their features bear the impress of serenity and peace.

THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM.

See Genesis, xviii, xix.

HE three strangers entertained by Abraham, when they had finished their repast* " rose up from thence and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to bring them on their way." He was then informed of God's purpose to utterly destroy the cities of the plain, because of their great wickedness. Abraham interceded, saying, " Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked ?" Then the promise was made to him that if fifty righteous people were found in the city it should be spared for their sakes. But still Abraham pleaded, and God said he would spare it if there were five less than fifty, and finally promised that for forty's sake, for thirty's, for twenty's — even for ten's sake — he would withhold destruction.

In the evening two angels came to Sodom and found Lot sitting at the gateway. They were invited to accompany him home, and partake of refreshment, and tarry for the night. The purpose of their visit was to warn Lot of the impending destruction of the city, and they urged him to gather together as speedily as possible his family, and to warn such as were not under his roof to flee also. But his sons-in-law were unmindful of the warning, and early in the morning Lot, his wife, and their two daughters departed, urged on by* the messenger who charged them, " Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain ; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

" And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord. Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life ; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die. Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one. Oh, let me escape thither (is it not a little one ?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither, for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

" The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven ; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

The scene is here represented quite literally, and is invested with almost terrific grandeur. The whole horizon is ablaze ; the walls of the doomed city appear fairly torn asunder by the furious sweep of the flames, while the stifling smoke rolls upward in tumultuous volumes, filling all the upper sky with blackness, and spreading gloom over the earth. Through this gathering darkness Lot and his daughters hasten, urged on by terror, and mindful of the injunction not to look backward. The artist has given Lot a most' anxious and appealing look, and has quite successfully indicated the hapless fate of his wife, who stands high above the fire-swept plain, her drapery clinging in hard folds to her motionless limbs — a rigid, unbreathing and almost transshaped figure.

THE EXPULSION OF HAGAR.

See Genesis xxi.

HE incident of which the engraving before us is the illustration — the dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael from the tent of Abraham — is thus described in the twenty-first chapter of Genesis:

"Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

"And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of 'water, and gave it unto Hagar (putting it on her shoulder), and the child, and sent her away: and she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba."