Description
The subject here-a man who raises livestock and happens to be a captain as well-is one in a long line of Parisian characters that Gavarni chronicled in his career. This sheet once belonged to the collection of the artist's watercolors made for the important Parisian publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel. Composed of about 200 sheets executed mostly in 1859-60, Hetzel's collection was a rare ensemble of the artist's best work in the medium.
Provenance
Pierre-Jules Hetzel [1814-1886], Paris (?-1884); (Hotel Drouot, Hetzel sale, Paris, 26 May 26, 1884, no. 45) (1884); (Hotel Drouot, Paris, December 3, 1925, no. 23) (1925); (Yvonne Tan Bunzl, London) (By 1975); (Paris art market, sold to Shepherd Gallery, New York) (1976); (Shepherd Gallery, New York, sold to Muriel Butkin, Shaker Heights, OH) (1976); Muriel Butkin [1916-2008], Shaker Heights, OH, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1976-2008); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2008-)
Accession Number
2008.411
Medium
watercolor (mixed with white gouache in places) over graphite, heightened with white gouache
Dimensions
Sheet: 29.4 x 21 cm (11 9/16 x 8 1/4 in.); Secondary Support: 38 x 29.4 cm (14 15/16 x 11 9/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Bequest of Muriel Butkin
Tags
Drawing Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Watercolor Graphite & Pencil Gouache French
Background & Context
Background Story
Paul Gavarni (1804-1866) was a French artist known for the characterfully observed, precisely composed drawings of Parisian life that make him one of the most accomplished caricaturists of the 19th century. The Suburbs: Stock Raiser and Captain from probably 1859-60 depicts a stock raiser and captain in the suburbs in the characterfully observed, precisely composed manner that distinguishes Gavarni's best work from the more general caricature of his contemporaries. Gavarni was known for his characterfully observed, precisely composed drawings of Parisian social types that capture the personality and mannerisms of his subjects with remarkable precision, and The Suburbs shows the French caricature tradition at its most accomplished.
Cultural Impact
The Suburbs: Stock Raiser and Captain is important in the history of French caricature because it demonstrates the characterfully observed, precisely composed manner that Gavarni brought to the depiction of Parisian social types as one of the most accomplished caricaturists of the 19th century. Gavarni's characterfully observed, precisely composed drawings of Parisian social types—capturing the personality and mannerisms of his subjects with remarkable precision—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in French caricature, and the 1859-60 drawing shows this tradition at its most characterfully observed.
Why It Matters
The Suburbs: Stock Raiser and Captain is Gavarni's characterfully observed French caricature: Parisian social types rendered in the precisely composed manner of one of the most accomplished caricaturists of the 19th century. The 1859-60 drawing shows French social observation at its most characterfully composed.
