The Calling of Samuel 1877

drawing, print, gouache, paper, ink

drawing

print

gouache

incomplete sketchy

charcoal drawing

possibly oil pastel

paper

charcoal art

ink

underpainting

pastel chalk drawing

france

water

painting painterly

watercolour illustration

charcoal

watercolor

"The Calling of Samuel," a 1877 work by Gustave Doré, depicts the biblical story of Samuel's calling by God. This dramatic black and white drawing, currently housed at The Art Institute of Chicago, features an angel appearing in a darkened room to a sleeping Samuel. The angel, bathed in divine light, appears above Samuel’s bed, signaling his divine purpose. Doré's distinctive style, characterized by detailed rendering and dramatic composition, intensifies the moment of revelation and calls to mind the artist’s other famous works, such as his illustrations for Dante's Inferno.