Towards 1878-1879, Edgar Degas initiates a series of pastels to illustrate La Maison Tellier, a short story by his contemporary Guy de Maupassant. The painter was seduced by this realistic tale, in which the author refers to the theme of prostitution. The two men met in the literary salons of the capital, including the one of Ludovic Halévy. Degas also began to sketch the characters of the Cardinal family, symbol of the petty and pedantic bourgeoisie of Paris, created by Halévy in two short stories, Monsieur et Madame Cardinal and their wishful dancers daughters Les Petites Cardinal. But Halévy, future member of the French Academy, did not like the realistic style of the painter who put back his monotypes in a drawings cardboard. It was not until 1928 that the illustrations reappeared during an art auction. In 1939, the bookseller Auguste Blaizot finally published the collection in collaboration with Maurice Potin. It is this same engraver that was chosen by the Vollard Editions to work in 1934 on the publication of La Maison Tellier. This late publication was due to Ambroise Vollard who wanted first to issue the pastels without the text. (source : wikipedia.fr)Currently, the librairie Loliée offers :
- Degas (Edgar) - Maupassant (Guy de). La Maison Tellier. Paris, A. Vollard, 1934, in-8, full Levant binding by Lucie Weill. 19 full-page copper platings and 17 wood engravings based on the original compositions in black and in colors by Edgar Degas. Limited edition to 325 copies.
- Degas (Edgar) - Maupassant (Guy de). La Maison Tellier. Paris, A. Vollard, 1934, in-8. 19 full-page copper platings and 17 wood engravings based on the original compositions in black and in colors eby Edgar Degas. Limited edition to 325 copies.
- Degas (Edgar) - Halévy (Ludovic). La Famille Cardinal. Paris, Blaizot, 1939, in-4, full Levant binding by Maylander. 32 full-page monotypes (7 in couleurs). Limited edition to 325 copies.
