Lot 305: Charles Doudelet French, 1861-1938 , Legende d'Ulenspiegel de Charles DeCoster, livre III ink and pencil on paper

signed CHARLES DOUDELET and inscribed Et il y avait des bossus sur les collines et des bossus dans les plaines... Ulenspiegel alla à l'un d'eux..." (Légende d'Ulenspiegel de Ch. De Coster Livre III: paragr. X) l.r. ink and pencil on paper

43 by 57cm., 17 by 22½in.

The present work illustrates paragraph ten in chapter three of Charles De Coster's book La Légende et les aventures héroïques, joyeuses et glorieuses d'Ulenspiegel et de Lamme Goedzak au pays de Flandres et ailleurs (The Legend of the heroic, joyous and glorious adventures of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak in Flanders and elsewhere).

A classic medieval fable, the original Till Eulenspiegel (known as Thyl Ulenspiegel in the lowlands) is a cheerful collection of 95 loosely related vignettes depicting the life and times of a legendary peasant hero and roving jester who travelled through Germany, the Netherlands and Flanders. The trickster hero devotes his life to deflating the pompous, the rich, and the smug. While Eulenspiegel translates as 'Owl Mirror' in high German, the original low German meaning of the name translates as 'wipe-bottom', an apt name for its protagonist, considering that a large part of Eulenspiegel's adventures consist of passing wind and excreting faeces in 'inappropriate' situations. This 'toilet' humour was very popular at the time and is reminiscent of another medieval humoristic classic, Rabelais' Le Quart Livre. In 1867 Charles De Coster wrote his own version of the fable. De Coster was one of many 19th Century nationalist writers who made use of - and considerably adapted and changed - pre-existing folk tales. In this case, Thyl Ulenspiegel is made into a Protestant hero of the time of the Dutch War of Independence. De Coster incorporated in his book many of the original amusing Ulenspiegel tales, alongside newly invented and sometimes far from funny material - for example, graphic depictions of torture by the inquisition. As depicted by De Coster, Ulenspiegel carries in a locket around his neck the ashes of his father, burned at the stake on charges of heresy - a feature never hinted at in any of the original folk tales. Similarly, the encounter of Ulenspiegel and the hunchbacks does not feature in the German original. Charles Doudelet was a painter, sculptor, illustrator and stage designer, but is primarily known today for his illustrations for the works of Maurice Maeterlinck and Charles De Coster. Multi-talented, he studied music at the Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium and sculpture at the Gewerbeschule, Ghent, before obtaining a grant from the city of Ghent, which enabled him to visit Paris and Italy to further his studies. He was deeply impressed by the masters of the Quattrocento, and was encouraged to take up painting after meeting Constantin Meunier. He painted Symbolist scenes and was influenced by Art Nouveau. After exhibiting his work with Les XX in Brussels (1893), he made decorative panels for Oostakker Castle.