Flemish Tales

Prototypes of some characters from Flemish tales can be found in the folklore of various European countries; however, most characters have distinct Flemish traits. The tales in the collection have a certain elegance characteristic of a country that gave rise to a famous school of painting, and their fresh presentation pays a peculiar tribute to the creative imagination of the people of Flanders. Flemish folk tales were collected by various individuals. Some of the tales of Flanders were published in the late 19th century in the collection "This is What the Flemish Tell," part were included in an academic anthology compiled by J. Teiklin, and the third part was collected and literary processed by Belgian writer Jean de Boscher; in this book, the tales are united in the cycle "People and Beasts." Jean de Boscher was also a talented artist — the edition is adorned with his original illustrations.

De Boscher was born in the territory of the modern Belgian commune of Uccle in 1878. In 1893, he began studying at the Ghent School of Horticulture, but when his parents moved to Antwerp a year later, Jean took the opportunity to attend the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, as his passion for drawing manifested in childhood. Within the walls of the academy, de Boscher honed his skills for four years. Later, for another four years, he regularly visited Paris, where he was influenced by symbolists, both writers and artists. From 1905 to 1914, de Boscher's art-critical articles regularly appeared in the magazines "L’Osidén" and "L’Art Flamand et Hollandais." Jean de Boscher also wrote several monographs dedicated to Flemish art. In 1909, he published his first collection of poems "Bel-Green," which he illustrated with his own drawings. The style of these illustrations, as well as his later works, was influenced by art nouveau, especially the drawings of Aubrey Beardsley. After the start of World War I, de Boscher left Belgium. He moved to London, where he met writers like John Fletcher and Aldous Huxley, as well as imagist poets, including Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Richard Aldington. De Boscher made acquaintances with several London publishers for whom he later illustrated many books. Among them were poetry collections by Oscar Wilde and Charles Baudelaire. He also created a series of drawings for the erotic classics of Aristophanes, Ovid, and Apuleius. The illustrations for the collection of Flemish tales, which was published in English in London, were created by de Boscher in 1918.