Chêne et chien: roman en vers
INV-2446Mary Reynolds (American, 1891-1950)
Written by Raymond Queneau (French, 1903-1976)
Published 1937; rebound 1937-1942
book
Date
Published 1937; rebound 1937-1942
Medium
Full goatskin with dotted-blue-calfskin onlays and gold stamping; tan wove endpapers speckled with gold leaf
Dimensions
H.: 19 cm (7 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Mary Reynolds Collection, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries
Raymond Queneau’s novel in verse Oak and Dog is a collection of childhood reminiscences, some in graphic detail, and all with Queneau’s signature flair of humor. The novel repeatedly describes nature, specifically trees. A patient of Freudian psychoanalysis, Queneau likely interpreted the tree as a symbol of maturity and loss of childhood innocence.
Mary Reynolds chose a textured goatskin for the book’s cover. The surface is earthy and bumpy, simulating the feel of running one's hand along the bark of an oak tree. Reynolds’s technique of onlaying leather dots to spell out the title resembles Marcel Duchamp’s 1934 Green Box. The tactile journey along the goatskin is only interrupted by the title itself and Queneau’s name stamped in gold near the bottom of the spine.
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