A graphite caricature of writer Melanie Waldor. Melanie is shown in a side profile with exaggerated buck teeth messy upswept hair and eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Tony Johannot

Caricature of Mélanie Waldor

Maker

Tony Johannot (French, 1803-1852)

Title

Caricature of Mélanie Waldor

Year

ca. 1830-1840

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

pencil

Supports

Dimensions

20 x 13.2 cm (7 7/8 x 5 3/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed on the window mount: "Quand mamame Valdor a Paul Foucher s'accroche montrant la tartre de ses dents / Alf. Musset"

Erased graphite inscription: "Daumier"

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

69.113

Type

Exhibition History

Drawing Closer
Four Hundred Years of Drawing from the RISD Museum
Mar 12, 2022 – Sep 04, 2022

Label copy

A woman is depicted in profile with an elaborate coiffure, a sloping forehead, and large irregular teeth. The artist and illustrator Tony Johannot deployed the harsh strategies of caricature to make this cruel joke at the expense of Mélanie Waldor, a woman of letters and a member of the artist’s social circle. The verses added below the image are from a poem that also ridiculed Waldor. While privately circulated, this caricature may be evidence of a broader backlash against women writers in France in the 1830s.

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Tony Johannot (French, 1803-1852)
Caricature of Mélanie Waldor, ca. 1830-1840
Graphite on wove paper
20 x 13.2 cm (7 7/8 x 5 3/16 inches)
Museum Works of Art Fund 69.113

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