Une passion dans le désert
Illustrations by Paul Jouve, etched by Haasen; copy signed by the artist and the publisher at the colophon.
Copy with the suite of illustrations in black and an unpublished original drawing by Paul Jouve added: only the 13 deluxe copies usually contain an original drawing (no. 110).
This surprising and provocative short story by Balzac, published on 24 December 1830 in La Revue de Paris, is one of the shortest texts in La Comédie humaine. Having first placed it among the Études philosophiques, Balzac ultimately classified it as one of the two Scènes de la vie militaire — alongside Les Chouans. Fifteen years after Waterloo, Balzac produced here one of the earliest manifestos of the Napoleonic legend.
The text received no illustration either during Balzac’s lifetime or in the following decades. It was naturally to Paul Jouve, celebrated for his ability to bring wild animals to life, that the illustration of this story was entrusted, more than a century after its first publication: thirteen full-page compositions (nine full-page in color, one in black, and three double-page in color) and 54 headpieces, all etched on copper by Raymond Haasen.
From his early training, Paul Jouve was passionate about animals and quickly established his reputation as an artist: at the age of sixteen he took part in exhibitions, achieving early success at the Salon des Artistes français. His animal drawings caught the attention of the architect René Binet, who commissioned him to decorate the monumental gate of the 1900 Exposition Universelle, awakening his talent as a sculptor and encouraging him to continue studying animal physiognomy through numerous trips to European and North African zoos. This expertise would later serve masterpieces of illustration such as Kipling’s Le Livre de la Jungle, Pierre Loti’s Pèlerin d’Angkor, and this Passion dans le désert.
The copy comes from the library of Maurice Genevoix: the two men would collaborate ten years later on a major edition of the Roman de Renard, for which Jouve provided 90 original watercolor drawings.
A very fine original signed drawing by Paul Jouve is added: it depicts the panther “Mignonne” from the story.
Jouve’s animal subjects, particularly his big cats, are among his most sought-after works. Few preparatory studies for the panther of Une passion dans le désert are as accomplished as this one.
From the library of Maurice Genevoix, at “Les Vernelles” (bookplate).
Une passion dans le désert, De Balzac à Paul Jouve, exhibition from October 4, 2007 to January 6, 2008 at La Maison de Balzac; Monod, 915.