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Marie-Thérèse Oubrier Austin - Review of Constantine Christofides and Christopher Carsten, translators, Koren Christofides, editor, Fables of La Fontaine

Abstract

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This collection of a selected number of the fables of La Fontaine, illustrated by contemporary artists and edited by Koren Christofides, was originally put together for a travelling exhibition in the late 1990s, and drew inspiration from Honoré Daumier’s nineteenth-century project that was never realized. Illustrated fables are a traditional genre which dates back to the medieval emblem. More than most, the fables of La Fontaine lend themselves to visual representation because they are so vivid and descriptive, and they have inspired a number of illustrators down through the centuries. François Chauveau’s vignettes, in which the characters can be seen interacting in the foreground while another scene takes place in the background, adorned the first seventeenth-century edition of the fables of La Fontaine and started the trend. In the eighteenth century, Jean-Baptiste Oudry drew elaborate and realistic illustrations of the fables. Then followed the poetic imagery of Gustave Doré and the satirical cameos of J.J. Grandville in the nineteenth century, adding to the ever-growing diversification of the genre. They also paved the way for the surrealistic depiction of the fables by Marc Chagall and for the faux-naïve style of Willy Aractingi, to name only a few, in the twentieth century.

The Christofides project is one of the latest in a long line of illustration, and one of the most original. The many artists in this collection, who come from different cultural backgrounds (mainly the USA, France, and Italy), achieve unity of purpose in diversity; they display a contemporary approach through a range of individualistic expression and yet they reflect the universal appeal of La Fontaine because, like the fables, they never cease to intrigue and entertain at the same time as they invite reflection on the vagaries of human nature. The artwork, as eclectic as the fables themselves, communicates the fables’ complexity in a variety of media, which is both stimulating and thought-provoking; acrylic paint, watercolor, gouache, pen and ink, collage, computer design, mixed media, and photography contrast and complement each other with matching styles that run the whole gamut from the naïve and the humorous to the multi-layered, the sophisticated, and the cryptic. This delightful mix of color, shape, texture, and movement, together with the written text, guides the reader through the subtle pattern of the fables as it unfolds and unravels gradually.

Although, because of its immediate impact, there is an emphasis on the visual, the artwork does not take precedence over the accompanying text translation, which is equally enjoyable and is of interest in its own right. The text is the work of two translators, Constantine Christofides and Christopher Carsten. The input by Christofides is quantitatively the more important and also the more daring of the two. Carsten’s stylish poetic concision achieves nuance and depth. Both succeed in conveying La Fontaine’s message, each in a personal way. And as the eye moves from the illustration to the text, and back to the illustration, it makes for an enhanced experience and for an enriched understanding of the fables. The reader is given the opportunity for a personal response to the unique interpretation of the artist and the writer combined.

The whole corpus of the La Fontaine fables numbers over 240 items, published in separate installments over a period of twenty years. A noticeable feature and a definite strength of this edition, which includes early and late fables, is the unusual choice of pieces from La Fontaine’s collection. Some of them are old favorites, such as The Grasshopper and the Ant, The Hare and the Tortoise, and The Milkmaid and the Pot of Milk. Others, like The Limbs and the Stomach, and The Animals Sick from the Plague are famous, although less well-known. And a few, like The Fish and the Shepherd Who Played the Flute and The Elephant and Jupiter’s Monkey, are almost forgotten. This selection gives a comprehensive sampling of a wide-ranging literary work, which often challenges preconceptions and caters to a readership of children and adults alike, as La Fontaine had intended.

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[Review length: 665 words • Review posted on May 10, 2007]