Author(s):
monnier, henry bonaventure (paris, 07–06–1799 - paris, 03–01–1877 — 3–6–1877), designer
bove, jean marie joseph, designer-lithographer
giraldon and bovinet, editor
other title: the puppets (title of the series)
dating in century: 19th century
type(s) of object(s): graphic arts, print
name(s): print
materials and techniques: lithography, vellum paper, watercolor
dimensions - artwork:
height: 24. 2cm
width: 32cm
dimensions - picture:
height: 17. 8cm
width: 20cm
description:
colored print
marks, inscriptions, hallmarks:
title of the work - above the image: the puppets
legend - under the image: the last day of widowhood
inscription concerning the author - under the image on the left: henry monnierunder the image on the right: imp lith de bove
registration concerning the test - under the image, under the caption: published by giraldon bovinet, passage vivienne n°26, in paris - & at london frith street, soho square n°54
iconographic description:
four people are in a room furnished with a sleigh bed, a large screen, a bench and a psyche. The floor is littered with objects: painting, cushions, hat boxes. A lady helped by two servants adds a colored scarf to her black outfit. An elegant young man, seated nonchalantly, observes her through a telescope. 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: "monsieur ferraud was, at the time of count chabert's death, a young man of twenty-six years old, without fortune, gifted with pleasant shapes, who was successful and whom the faubourg saint-germain had adopted as one of its glories; but madame la comtesse chabert had been able to make such good use of her husband's estate, that after eighteen months of widowhood she had approximately forty thousand pounds of income her marriage with the young count was not accepted as news, by the cliques of the faubourg saint-germain happy with this marriage which responded to his ideas of fusion, napoleon returned to madame chabert the portion which the taxman inherited from the colonel's estate; the young man, she had also been seduced by the idea of entering this disdainful society which, despite its degradation, dominated the imperial court. " [excerpt from le colonel chabert, by honoré de balzac]
themes / subjects / places represented:
social subject, morals, women's fashion, screen, bed, mourning
institution: maison de balzac
inventory number: bal98. 70. Unknown date
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