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: 18. 3cm
width: 16cm
description:
colored print
marks, inscriptions, hallmarks:
title of the work - above the image: little human felicities
legend - under the image: youth. /. . . . . A crazy mistress, of frank friends and the love of songs braving the world and the fools and the wise, without future, rich in my spring nimble and joyful, i climbed six floors. . Béranger. Inscription concerning the author - under the image on the left: henry monnier under the image on the right: imp. Delpech lith
iconographic description:
two lovers stand embraced in an artist's attic. Plaster models (reliefs, body parts) populate the walls. An easel, a stove and a small bed furnish the room. The artist is sitting on a box, his companion is standing between his arms, she caresses his face. A window is covered with fabric. 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: "let the ignorant know it! if the artist does not rush into his work, like curtius into the abyss, like the soldier into the redoubt, without thinking; and if, in this crater, he does not work like the miner buried under a landslide; if he finally contemplates the difficulties instead of conquering them one by one, to the example of these lovers of fairies, who, to obtain their princesses, fought against resurgent enchantments, the work remains unfinished, it perishes in the depths of the workshop, where production becomes impossible, and the artist witnesses the suicide of his talent. [excerpt from la cousine bette, by honoré de balzac]
themes / subjects / places represented:
subject of society, customs, artist's studio, lover, model, stove, easel, bed
institution: maison de balzac
inventory number: bal91. 92. Unknown date
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