EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 19 © 2017 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

63 Although today he is almost forgotten, Jacques Onfroy de Bréville was one of the premier illustrators of children’s books at the turn of the last century. Using the initials of his name he signed his work as ‘Job’. Born in Bar-le-duc, in the Lorraine region (of France) on the 25th November 1858, Jacques was fascinated by drawing and the graphic arts from a tender age. He illustrated a variety of plays inspired mostly by military feats and famous battles. In 1868 his family moved to Paris and he entered L’École Bossuet and later pursued his scholarship at the College Stanislas. Simultaneously he wrote a variety of plays with his younger brother Pierre, who went on to become a famous musician. Jacques' forté, however, was his ability as a caricaturist, and in 1876 he signed a ‘Petite Définition’, drawing comparisons with Victor Hugo’s support for the ‘Communards’ [ The Communards were members of the Paris Commune, part of an insurrection against the government that lasted for two months, as a reaction to the defeat of the French during the Franco- Prussian war of 1870 and the capitulation of Paris ]. Art became his most important interest, though when he wanted to go to the École des Beaux Arts he was stopped by his father, so he chose a career in the army instead. For five years, he remained in the newly-formed republican army. Thereafter, he harboured a certain fondness for those days, which shaped his love of weaponry, uniforms and military history. In 1882 he returned to Paris, and finally went to the École des Beaux Arts, studying under the painters Carolus Duran, Ernest Meissonier, Edouard Detaille