Provenance
Sold by Henri Cottereau, Paris, to Carter H. Harrison (1860–1953), Chicago, winter 1927–28 [according to Carter H. Harrison, “A brief statement of where and how I acquired the various items in the collection of drawings I have given to the Art Institute . . . ,” Oct. 18, 1934, curatorial object file]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.
Accession Number
15800
Medium
Black and white chalks on blue laid paper
Dimensions
61.2 × 45.2 cm (24 1/8 × 17 13/16 in.)
Classification
charcoal
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
Claude Monet's "Caricature of Léon Manchon" (1858) is a charcoal drawing with black and white chalks on blue laid paper, depicting a local Le Havre resident. Léon Manchon was one of the subjects of the teenage Monet's caricature practice, his features exaggerated for comic effect in the tradition of Honoré Daumier and other 19th-century caricaturists. The blue laid paper is a support Monet frequently used for these early drawings, its color providing a mid-tone that allowed the black and white chalks to create effective modeling. This caricature dates from 1858, when Monet was 18 years old and still two years away from his fateful meeting with Boudin that would turn him toward landscape painting. At this stage, Monet's artistic identity was that of a local caricaturist, and he had no thought of becoming the revolutionary painter who would change the course of art. These early works are a valuable record not only of Monet's development but also of the characters and types that populated mid-19th-century Le Havre.
Cultural Impact
Monet's caricatures are essential documents of his artistic formation, showing the foundation of draftsmanship upon which his revolutionary Impressionist style was built.
Why It Matters
This caricature of Léon Manchon captures the young Monet's sharp eye and quick hand, the exaggerated features revealing the future master of light and atmosphere in embryonic form.
