Gustave Doré and an Extraordinary Look at Victorian England

Beautiful may not be quite the word for some aspects of London life during the Victorian period and Gustave Doré has done a remarkable job of it in his drawings.  (The Guardian: London, a pilgrimage: Gustave Doré's historic visions of the capital city)

Note:  "The Organ in the Court" - Gustave Doré

Here we get a feeling of Vincent in such an elegant attempt to show the existence for people at that time and, throughout it all, what an enormity of people everywhere.  This work was just prior to the advent of Impressionism so maybe it's not surprising to see the focus on elemental things such as an organ grinder playing for kids.

The picture is part of a project Gustave Doré was developing between 1868 and 1872 and it's all the more remarkable this isn't so much more than a century ago.  There are many more images in the linked article from The Guardian and that will lead to yet more.