Author(s):
monnier, henry bonaventure (paris, 07–06–1799 - paris, 03–01–1877 — 3–6–1877), designer
delpech, françois seraphin (orléans, 1778 - 1825), printer-lithographer
other title: les grisettes (title of the series)
date of production: 1829
type(s) of object(s): graphic arts, print
name(s): print
materials and techniques: vellum paper, watercolor, lithography
dimensions - artwork:
height: 25. 6cm
width: 35cm
dimensions - picture:
height: 16. 3cm
width: 17. 5cm
dimensions - mounting:
height: 40cm
width: 30cm
description:
plate from the series les grisettes by henry monnier, 1829, in paris, from imp. Lithog. From delpech, quai voltaire n°3
marks, inscriptions, hallmarks:
inscription - above the line in the middle: "grisettes" under the line on the left: "henry monnier" and on the right: "imp. Lith. De delpech"
caption - under the image: toilets, preparations for the walk, boot and shoe shine
iconographic description:
three men and two young women are in a room. They are all busy getting dressed, putting on their hats, polishing their boots, waiting while sitting on the bed until the group is ready. A pitcher in its basin is placed on a chest of drawers on the right of the image. 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: "it is nothing to list these accessories, it would be necessary to be able to paint the excessive pretension that contenson knew how to impress on them. There was something coquettish in the collar of the coat, in the fresh polish of the boots with half-open soles, which no french expression can convey. " [extract from splendors and miseries of courtesans, by honoré de balzac]
themes / subjects / places represented:
subject of society, morals, grisette, boot, domestic interior
mode of acquisition: purchase
institution: maison de balzac
inventory number: bal 98-151. Date: 1829.
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