![The image, a wood engraving of a crayon drawing by Charles Conder, is in portrait orientation. It is the frontispiece to Balzac’s La Fille Aux Yeux D’Or. This title, “LA FILLE AUX YEUX D’OR, appears in a banner with hand-lettered caps at the top edge. The text “BY [caps] // Honore de Balzac” is hand-lettered, centred, at the bottom. In the bottom left corner of the page is the artist’s signature and date: “Charles Conder. 98.”Between this publishing information are three cameo portraits suspended in cameos between two pillars fronted with allegorical figures. The two pillars rise to just below the line underscoring the title, leaving room for a falcon to sit atop each pillar. The falcons have their wings spread and their bodies facing the viewer, with their heads turned to face into the page towards each other. In the space on the upper page between the falcons and tops of the two pillars is a stream of cloudy smoke blowing from the centre of the separation line down and to the left, just in front of the left pillar. Behind the smoke is a black background made of close horizontal black lines. In the upper centre of the page is the top of the three medallion portraits. It is oval shaped and has an image of a woman in profile facing to the left. She is only visible from the shoulders and above, and has short curled hair pulled into an updo hairstyle. There is no clothing visible on her bare shoulders. The ornamental frame has a large bow hanging from the bottom edge. Behind the frame and down slightly on the page is another puff of smoke, but this one is much brighter and whiter than the one above. On the left edge of the page, standing in front of a pillar, is a half-clothed female figure. The woman is standing and facing the viewer, but her face is turned down to look at the ground. She has a nude upper body with material wrapped around her legs and behind her back. She has her right hand lifted up to cup the right side of her face. Her hair is curly and short. Her left foot is lifted slightly up from the ground on which she stands. To the right of the oval frame is a male figure standing in front of the pillar on the right. The man is wearing a robe made of many layers of draped material wrapped around him. He is standing to face the viewer, but his head is turned to face in towards the centre of the page. His face is visible in profile. He has his right arm lifted up and his long-nailed thumb is extended out to touch the edge of the oval frame. He has a hooked nose and a horn on his head, a seeming representation of the devil. His hair is short and dark. His shadow falls behind him and to the left, visible on the front of the pillar behind him. Between these standing figures are two more portrait frames, each perfectly circular. The medallion on the left shows a man facing the viewer. He has her dark hair and is wearing a dark jacket, shirt, and tie; his right hand is lifted up to his right shoulder. He is staring straight ahead. The medallion portrait beside this one is of a seated woman turned in profile to the left. The woman is visible from the waist up. She is wearing an off-the-shoulder top that is lightly shaded with polka-dots. She has curled hair that is pulled up on top her head. The two circular portraits are connected by ribbons and bows that hang down from the bottom of each of them and tied together in the middle space below. The remainder of the page is the light-coloured and festooned with roses.](http://beta.1890s.ca/wp-content/uploads/SAVOYV4_icon9_conder_balzac.jpg "SAVOYV4_icon9_conder_balzac")
MLA citation:
Conder, Charles. “A Frontispiece to Balzac’s La Fille Aux Yeux D’Or.” The Savoy, vol. 4, August 1896, p. 43. The Savoy Digital Edition, edited by Christopher Keep and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra 2018-2019. Yellow Nineties 2.0, Ryerson University Centre for Digital Humanities, 2019, https://1890s.ca/savoyv4_conder_balzac/