Illustrations from 1923 by Floris Jespers
Description from Ursus Books:
JESPERS, Floris. Kinderlust. 12 verses by Jan Peeters, each illustrated by a linoleum block colour print by Floris Jespers. Oblong 4to., 228 x 300 mm, bound in original pictorial wrappers, front and rear wrapper with a different colour lithographed illustration. Preserved in a new cloth folding box. Antwerp: J.F. Bogaerts & R.R. Dodson, 1923.
A fine copy of the only children's book produced by a member of the Belgian avant-garde, with its celebrated modernist illustrations.
Floris Jespers (1889-1965), a Belgian avant-garde painter, was a member of the Antwerp avant-garde movement of the 1920s.
This early avant-garde children's book, with its impressive coloured linoleum prints characterized by an interplay of abstract geometric and decorative patterns in primary colours, is an outstanding example of post-World War I book illustration. The book is a reflection of the interplay of various artistic movements such as Cubism, Constructivism, Expressionism, and De Stijl at the beginning of the Twenties.
Created for children, but now valued for its artistic qualities by collectors and museums, it is a rare book it has also escaped the notice of all the standard reference works.
