Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00011555Sketch for "The Wolf Turned Shepherd" (recto)
by Gustave Doré
About the Artwork
“The Wolf Turned Shepherd” is a fable in which a disguised wolf approaches a flock of sheep while their shepherd sleeps. The wolf is ultimately discovered while impersonating the shepherd, waking the flock’s caretaker with its howl. Gustave Doré’s early sketch focuses on the wolf’s piercing gaze, highlighting his cleverness and overconfidence. Doré was among the most successful and versatile illustrators of the mid-1800s, and his illustrations for The Fables of La Fontaine—to which the final version of this drawing belongs—contributed to his fame. First published in France in 1867, the book was soon reissued in other countries.
Inscriptions
lower left, in graphite: 31/4 ; lower center, in brown ink: (No. 2) / "The wolf turned sheppard" / (LaFontaine) ; lower center, in graphite: No 84 [upside down] [84 underlined] ; lower right, in graphite: X
Provenance
estate of the artist (Lugt Suppl. 681a, lower right, in red ink)
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Gustave Doré (French, 1832–1883)
- Date
- c. 1868
- Medium
- graphite
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 30.1 x 22.2 cm (11 7/8 x 8 3/4 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Gift of Leo Weidenthal
- Accession no.
- 1956.37.a
More by Gustave Doré in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00011555
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