Weird Anxiety Depicted: Portraits of Guy de Maupassant

Across the length and breadth of the internet, images of the Guy de Maupassant are rare. This weird writer has yet to receive the wide span of treatments ranging from comical to gorgeous given to more well known authors like Poe and Lovecraft. Still, the unassuming visage of this French master of psychological horror is honored in several quarters. Interestingly enough, the casual explorer would be hard pressed to find Maupassant portraits differing little across the centuries. A few notable exceptions to the trend, however, are revealed below.


This black and white sketch appears on the University of Adelaide's web page devoted to Maupassant: a fine place to read many short works by the man. It's an old and fairly stereotypical scan of the 19th century portrait, probably inspired by one of his photos.


Almost a political cartoon, this one shows off Maupassant's prodigious literary themes and output. It doesn't take an understanding of French to appreciate the colorful charm here.


The image above represents a modern, stylized contribution from an admirer of Maupassant, deviantart.com's Monsterofid. Note that it is he who takes his place in center, a deserved place French literature, which he plastered with contributions from many genres (though his works of weird fiction concern us here). Maupassant is flanked by Theophile Gautier on the left, and Gerard de Neval on the right.

-Grim Blogger