Illustration to Voltaire, "Candide"
1948
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
wood engraving [trial proof]
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.17.432
Art Historical Context
Imre Reiner's *Illustration to Voltaire, "Candide"* (1948) brings a mid-20th-century graphic artist's vision to one of literature's sharpest satires. Voltaire's 1759 novella skewers blind optimism amid human suffering, war, and disaster, and Reiner's wood engraving captures this enduring critique through intricate black-and-white imagery. Created just after World War II, work reflects a time when Candide's themes of resilience and irony resonated deeply in a war-weary world. As a trial proof—a preliminary impression pulled before the final edition—this print offers a rare glimpse into Reiner'...
About the Artist
Imre Reiner
**Imre Reiner** (1900–1987) was a Hungarian-born Swiss painter, graphic artist, typographer, and master illustrator whose multifaceted career bridged sculpture, experimental typography, and exquisite wood engravings. Born on August 18, 1900, in Versec (now Vršac, Serbia) to a Jewish family—his father a sculptor and stone carver who apprenticed him young—Reiner began formal studies at age 15 in scu...