Emile Zola / Carlos Schwabe ; L. Métivet‎ - ‎Le Rêve. Illustrations de Carlos Schwabe et L. Métivet‎ [1ère ed. illustrée ; Art nouveau] - 1892

First illustrated edition, sought after for the sublime illustration by Carlos Schwabe (1866-1926), a German-born painter and illustrator, imbued with mysticism and religious symbolism, foreshadowing the world of Art Nouveau.

The Dream is considered one of the major works of symbolism. It is not surprising that one of the greatest symbolist painters, Carlos Schwabe (1866-1926), turned to this story. 'The experimental theme of the novel as well as the confrontation between Zola and Schwabe made it a place for a representation of the aesthetic and intellectual conflicts of the time, opposing naturalism and idealism,' wrote Rodolphe Rapetti, curator at the Musée d’Orsay, and Jean-David Jumeau-Lafond, an art historian, when presenting the exhibition Symbolism and Naturalism: Carlos Schwabe, Illustrator of Zola's Dream, which took place at the Musée d’Orsay in 1994.

One title vignette in black and 55 illustrations in black by Carlos Schwabe: 27 full-page, 5 frames, 1 within the text, 11 tailpieces, and 11 chapter heads; also 10 illustrations by Lucien Métivet at the end of the work: 5 full-page, 1 chapter head, and 4 tailpieces.

Copy preserved in an original binding, half brown Morocco leather. Ornate spine with raised bands, with a gilt title and floral motifs.

Condition: friction at the headbands, spines, and edges. Perforated paper along the cuts. Interior fresh, slightly yellowed paper, rare foxing. Good copy.

Emile Zola / Carlos Schwabe; L. Métivet
The Dream. Illustrations by Carlos Schwabe and L. Métivet
Paris, Marpon and Flammarion 1892
Grand in-8 (27.5 x 18.5 cm); 335 pages.