The poetry of Paul Verlaine, especially the more intimate of his poems, seemed to have particular appeal for illustrators during the 1940 and 50s. Parallèlement was Verlaine’s seventh poetry collection, published in 1889 by Léon Vanier with an extended edition in 1894. It includes poems about intimate friendship, including specifically gay and lesbian love.

The Vertès illustrations for this limited-edition portfolio are possibly the sketchiest and most quickly-drawn of any of his work, and though it might be tempting to suggest that this was easy money on his part for a series which could easily have been produced in one day, they also demonstrate that by this stage in his career he knew exactly where to make the marks to convey the most intimate and essential details of a scene. Sometimes less is indubitably more.

The Vertès-illustratated Parallèlement was published by Éditions Vialetay in a limited numbered edition of just 99 copies.