[WOOD (engraving)] - DORÉ (Gustave). Matrices for an engraving depicting a Masked Ball at the opera. S.l., circa 1855. - Woodcut 316 x 495 mm, bleached with ceruse white. Original woodcut after a drawing by Gustave Doré, depicting a masked ball at the Opéra. This large matrix, composed of ten wooden blocks assembled in two rows of five (total dimensions: 316 x 495 mm), bears Gustave Doré's signature in the lower right-hand corner. The engraver remains anonymous. Gustave Doré often explored the theme of the mid-Lent ball at the Opéra, notably through illustrations published in periodicals such as Le Monde illustré, Musée français-anglais and Les Nouvelles du jour. We have been unable to determine whether this specific engraving was ever published. A similar version, engraved by Auguste Trichon (1814-1898), is however attested in Le Journal pour tous of February 2, 1856 (ref. Leblanc, p. 175). Angular losses on blocks 1 and 6, cracks on blocks 4, 5 and 10, and some elements coming loose.