Author(s):
monnier, henry bonaventure (paris, 07–06–1799 - paris, 03–01–1877 — 3–6–1877), designer
bernard, charles louis (paris, 29–06–1769 - paris, 11–09–1848), designer-lithographer
giraldon and bovinet, editor
other title: recreation (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: 23. 2cm
width: 31. 4cm
dimensions - image:
height: 18. 2cm
width: 22. 3cm
description:
colored print
marks, inscriptions, hallmarks:
watermark - p & c horne
title of the work - above the image: recreations
wet stamp - t. H. : monogram a m and 2 r next to each other?
number - above image: pl. 7
caption - in the image on the left: the badly kept girlin the image on the right: a chorein the image on the left, bottom: a young manin the image in the center, bottom: self-esteem flattered. In the image on the right, bottom: satisfaction
inscription concerning the author - under the image on the right: litho by bernardunder the image on the left: henry monnier del
registration concerning the test - under the image: in paris, at giraldon bovinet passage vivienne n°
iconographic description:
composition in five sketches. On the left, top: two young women walk side by side. One is small with round cheeks, a drawing board under her arm and a small basket in her hand, dressed like a peasant girl. The other is tall and draped in a hat lined with black fur, her face entirely hidden by a veil. In the left part at the bottom: a portrait of an old man with sunken eyes (belying the legend "a young man"). On the right side, above: a matron pushes a young man towards her daughter with an unsightly face. In the right part at the bottom: a corpulent woman blushes as she lowers her eyes and twists her fingers, and in the bust five men gaping and posing with an expression of bliss. 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: "if mariette was horribly ugly and thirty-six years old, she had inherited several quarters of land. For seventeen years in the service of madame de watteville, who esteemed her highly because of her devotion, her probity, her seniority in the house, she had undoubtedly saved, invested her wages and her now, at the rate of around ten louis per year, she must have, counting the interest on the interests and her inheritance, around fifteen thousand francs. In jérôme's eyes, fifteen thousand francs changed the laws of optics: he found mariette to have a pretty figure, he no longer saw the holes and the seams that a horrible small pox had left on her flat and dry face; the lawyer savaron had brought him closer to the hôtel de rupt, he made regular bee of the devout chambermaid who was as stiff, as prudish as her mistress, and who, like all ugly old maids, showed herself to be more demanding than the most beautiful people. " [excerpt from albert savarus, by honoré de balzac]
themes / subjects / places represented:
subject of society, morals, salute - reverence, veil, caricature - humorous drawing
institution: maison de balzac
inventory number: bal91. 46. Date: Unknown.
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