Author(s):
monnier, henry bonaventure (paris, 07–06–1799 - paris, 03–01–1877 — 3–6–1877), designer
delpech, françois seraphin (orléans, 1778 - 1825), designer-lithographer
other title: little human delights (title of the series)
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: 22. 4cm
width: 28. 9cm
dimensions - image:
height: 15. 6cm
width: 15. 6cm
description:
colored print
marks, inscriptions, hallmarks:
title of the work - above the image: little human felicities
legend - under the image: heat
inscription concerning the author - under the image on the right: i. Lith de delpechunder the image on the left: henry monnier
iconographic description:
in an elegant café-restaurant decorated with columns, gilded woodwork, a spiral staircase, small round tables, customers have a snack. In the center of the room there is a large stove, five men crowd around it to keep warm. 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 same references to the customs of their time often inspired the two artists in parallel on numerous subjects as we can see in the following extract: "the first day of the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one emptied his cones of sugared almonds, four o'clock struck, there was a crowd at the palais-royal, and the restaurants began to fill up. " [extract from gambara, by honoré de balzac]
themes / subjects / places represented:
social subject, morals, restaurant, frying pan, meal
institution: maison de balzac
inventory number: bal91. 95. Unknown date
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