The art of Mario Laboccetta
Tales of Hoffmann (1932).
Another great illustrator about whom information is scant; I need better reference books, the web is often no use at all. Monsieur Thombeau posted the cover to Laboccetta’s edition of Les Fleurs du Mal (below) which had me looking around for other work by the artist. VTS has pages from a 1932 edition of Tales of Hoffmann while more of the Baudelaire pictures can be found on various bookdealers’ sites. As to the artist, we’re told he was an Italian living in Paris, and this French site has a small list of his illustrated editions. It’s frustrating to see that Les Paradis Artificiels is among these; what did he make of Baudelaire’s opium visions?
Tales of Hoffmann (1932).
Tales of Hoffmann (1932).
Tales of Hoffmann (1932).
Tales of Hoffmann (1932).
Tales of Hoffmann (1932).
Les Fleurs du Mal (1933).
Les Fleurs du Mal (1933).
Les Fleurs du Mal (1933).
Les Fleurs du Mal (1933).
Les Fleurs du Mal (1933).
Poster design (1948).
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The illustrators archive
Previously on { feuilleton }
• The Tale of Giulietta
• Carlos Schwabe’s Fleurs du Mal
10 comments or trackbacks
#1 posted by Thombeau
Mar 8th, 2011
John, what an absolutely fantastic post!! I will definitely be referring back to it. Such wonderful illustrations!
#2 posted by John
Mar 8th, 2011
Aren’t they great? A shame there isn’t more of his work around. Another good Thombeau find, thanks!
#3 posted by Thombeau
Mar 8th, 2011
Thank YOU, ’cause I’ll definitely be posting some of these pictures!
#4 posted by Nick Hydra
Mar 8th, 2011
Nothing to do withanything, but I thought you might like these pictures by Arne Bendik Sjur:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=31766&id=100001501388167&l=2e5189c1cf
http://www.davidsongalleries.com/artists/sjur/sjur.php
Shamelessly living up to the cliche of the doomy scandanavian…
#5 posted by Dave C
Mar 8th, 2011
A few more of his Tales of Hoffman here:
http://www.nocloo.com/gallery2/v/mario-laboccetta-tales-hoffmann/
#6 posted by Wiley
Mar 9th, 2011
The style itself is very similar to that of Rosaleen Norton, though Labocetta seems more developed and in control. The other and more prominent difference being Laboccetta seems more explicitly decadent from what I’ve seen here, and Norton lay firmly within what would be called occult.
#7 posted by Will Schofield
Mar 10th, 2011
Love it John, thanks.
Last night I loaded onto the new site Richard Sica’s scans of a ’35 edition of Baudelaire:
http://50watts.com/#1152977/Les-Fleurs-du-Skull
#8 posted by John
Mar 11th, 2011
Thanks, Will, interesting as always comparing different interpretations.
#9 posted by Melissa
Nov 8th, 2011
Any idea if his illustrations (or if the book Tales of Hoffman) are in the public domain?
#10 posted by John
Nov 9th, 2011
Hi Melissa. The book dates from 1932 so may well be out of copyright in most countries by now. But I’ve no idea when Labocetta died so wouldn’t know whether his artwork generally is copyright-free. Matters aren’t helped by the way there’s little detailed information about him anywhere.