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: 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: 25. 8cm
width: 34. 8cm
dimensions - picture:
height: 17. 2cm
width: 16. 8cm
dimensions - mounting:
height: 50cm
width: 40cm
description:
colored print
marks, inscriptions, hallmarks:
title of the work - above the image: administrative morals
number - above image, right: 8
caption - under the image: four o'clock. / departure of employees, forgetting until the next day of all bureaucratic matters. Inscription concerning the author - under the image on the left: henry monnier. Under the image on the right: i. Lith de delpech. Iconographic description:
a compact crowd of men dressed as office workers (top hat, drab overcoat, umbrella under arm and buttoned jacket) hurries to descend a wide pillared staircase and leave a large hall (of a bank? of a ministry?). 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 heart of the poor supernumerary beat when he saw the imposing lupeaulx that a ministerial car often took away at half past four, while he unfurled his umbrella under the door of the ministry to go to the marais. The secretary-general on whom his fate depended, who with a word could give him a place worth twelve hundred francs (yes, twelve hundred francs was all his ambition; at that price, his mother and he could be happy!) well, this secretary-general did not know him! les lupeaulx hardly knew that there was a sébastien de la roche, and if the son of la billardière, the rich supernumerary of baudoyer's office, was also under the door, des lupeaulx never failed to greet him with one. Friendly whim. Mr. Benjamin de la billardière was the son of a minister's cousin. " [excerpt from the employees, by honoré de balzac]
themes / subjects / places represented:
social subject, morals, office worker, stairs
institution: maison de balzac
inventory number: bal91. 32. Date: Unknown.
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