Author(s):
monnier, henry bonaventure (paris, 07–06–1799 - paris, 03–01–1877 — 3–6–1877), designer-lithographer
delpech, françois seraphin (orléans, 1778 - 1825), printer
other title: administrative morals (series title)
dating in century: 19th century
type(s) of object(s): graphic arts, print
name(s): print
materials and techniques: vellum paper, watercolor, lithography
dimensions - artwork:
height: 26cm
width: 35cm
dimensions - picture:
height: 16. 8cm
width: 16. 7cm
dimensions - mounting:
height: 50cm
width: 40cm
description:
colored print
marks, inscriptions, hallmarks:
watermark - d. B. : 4
title of the work - above the image: administrative morals. Caption - below the image: eight o'clock / sweeping of offices, political discussions between mrs. Office boys. Registration concerning the test - under the image on the right: i. Lith de delpech
inscription concerning the author - under the image on the left: henry monnier
iconographic description:
in an office furnished with two secretaries, a bookcase, a stove and armchairs, two men are talking. One has a broom under his arm, the other a deck washer, they both hold newspapers in their hands. Actor, playwright and designer, henry monnier helped illustrate la comédie humaine. His engravings of administrative morals, and especially his play scenes from bureaucratic life, clearly inspired balzac for his novel la femme supérieure, renamed les employés. "the land registry is not a career. It is, like many of these kinds of administrations without a future, a kind of hole in the governmental skimmer. The people who launch themselves through these holes (topography, bridges and roads, teaching, etc. ) always realize a little late that more skilful people, sitting next to them, are moistening themselves with the sweat of the people, say the opposition writers, whenever the skimmer plunges into the tax, by means of this machine called budget adolphe, working from morning to evening and earning little by working, soon recognized the infertile depth of his hole. So he thought, by trotting from commune to commune and spending his salary on shoes and travel expenses, to look for a stable and profitable place. [excerpt from les paysans, by honoré de balzac]
themes / subjects / places represented:
subject of society, morals, office, broom, stove
institution: maison de balzac
inventory number: bal91. 25. Date: Unknown.
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