John Martin

Dangereux Supplements: L'illustration Dans Le Roman en France Au Dix-huitieme Siecle (La Republique Des Lettres) John Martin

"The relation between etching and literature that exists in all kinds of works seems to degenerate into a sort of mania that can grow into a dangerous one for the one and for the other." This quotation of 1752 stems from Robert Hecquet, etcher and illustrator, friend of Nicolas Cochin. This book aims to understand both the significance of this "mania" and the nature of this "danger". By analysing some sixty etchings from almost forty illustrative, narrative prose fictions from the eighteenth century, it aims to identify recurring patterns and illuminate the gray areas from a collective imagination.