British-French illustrator Edmund Dulac created lovely Art Nouveau illustrations for decades. He interpreted the works of the Brontë sisters, Hans Christian Andersen, Edgar Allan Poe, and Omar Khayyam, among others. However, that wasn't the plan that his father had for his life.
Dulac was born in Toulouse, France in 1882. Having completed studies in law, he was going to spend the rest of his life as lawyer when he had a change of heart.
Cher Journal: Well, trouble brewing again. Mon père… Furious upon opening my law books, and seeing page upon page of wizards, mermaids, and unicorns painted by me over “the sacred words.” On explaining to him that these creatures are more real and dear to me than le droit privé [private law], father’s promptly turned the color of a freshly boiled lobster.
Edmund, June 3, 1900
During World War I, Dulac suffered from lack of paid work, but drew anyway to support the Red Cross and other relief efforts. Read the story of Edmund Dulac and see many of his gorgeous illustrations at Messy Nessy Chic.
