French-born illustrator Edmund Dulac was one of the most celebrated Golden Age illustrators of the early twentieth century. After settling in London, he became renowned for his richly colored, highly imaginative interpretations of classic literature and folklore. Drawing inspiration from Persian, Indian, and East Asian art as well as European fairy-tale traditions, Dulac developed a distinctive style marked by jewel-like colors, elegant line work, and an atmosphere of enchantment.
A major turning point in his career came when he began an association with the Leicester Galleries and the publisher Hodder & Stoughton. Under this arrangement, original paintings were exhibited and sold through the gallery, while the reproductions appeared in lavish illustrated gift books. Among the most famous of these volumes are Stories from The Arabian Nights (1907), featuring 50 color illustrations; Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1908); The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (1909); The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales (1910); Stories from Hans Christian Andersen (1911); Edgar Allan Poe’s The Bells and Other Poems (1912); and Princess Badoura (1913). These sumptuous books established Dulac as one of the foremost illustrators of his era, and his work remains admired for its dreamlike beauty and masterful storytelling.
