Poème de la Vigne (1877-1878)
By Paul Gustave Doré (1832 - 1883)
At the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago (where you had to pay special admission to see it) the mammoth bronze caught the attention of Michael de Young, who had grand aspirations of his own. De Young exhibited the piece at his San Francisco's Midwinter Fair of 1894, and this exuberant work must have resonated with the fair's theme, ‘California: Cornucopia of the World.’
After the fair de Young purchased the work for the Memorial Museum (now the de Young Museum) that was a legacy of the exposition, and the vase was a highlight of the museum's collection in its early years. In 1906 the San Francisco earthquake tipped over the vase but apparently caused little damage.
According to an article in an 1893 issue of World's Fair, ‘The total visual effect of 'Poem of the Vine' is one of lush, rich enjoyment ... like a bottle of wine itself, to be tasted in sips, yet enjoyed as a complete experience.’”
Although I’ve searched the data from the 1893 World Expo in Chicago and the Midwinter Fair of 1894, I wasn’t able to substantiate the above. There is a book from the Expo that’s pretty cool and quite extensive, but there’s no mention in its nearly 1,000 pages of Doré or this odd piece. Indeed, the deYoung’s own website only offers a passing reference to it, stating “The massive Doré vase is on display outdoors near the current de Museum. It is installed in the spot where it stood before the entrance to the old Memorial Museum.”
It also offers the following: the item is bronze, 156” x 82” and is alternately called “The Vintage Vase.” They do offer a pretty cool Flash-based way to examine detail on the item. Unfortunately, it only shows one face of the vase!
