Author(s):
monnier, henry bonaventure (paris, 07–06–1799 - paris, 03–01–1877 — 3–6–1877), designer
senefelder et cie, designer-lithographer
production date: in 1827
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: 20. 8cm
width: 26cm
description:
colored print
marks, inscriptions, hallmarks:
title of the work - under the image: we cannot feed all our cousins. Cannot feed all one's cousins. Author inscription - below the image on the right: senefelder lith. Inscription concerning the author - under the image on the left: henry monnier
iconographic description:
a middle-aged man with drawn features presents himself, his hat in hand, to a wealthy bourgeois. The latter, with his legs apart and a cane in his hand, mimes surprise. 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: "although the pawnshop had always appeared in my mind as one of the gates of the penal colony, it was still better to carry my bed there myself than to ask for alms. The look of a man from whom you ask for money does so much harm! certain loans cost us our honor, like certain refusals pronounced by a friendly mouth take away one last illusion from us. " [excerpt from la peau de chagrin, by honoré de balzac]
themes / subjects / places represented:
subject of society, morals, top hat, cane, poverty - misery, salvation - reverence, bourgeois
mode of acquisition: purchase
institution: maison de balzac
inventory number: bal2013. 38. Date: En 1827.
Loading...
