Cham

Caricature of Monsieur Prudhomme

Maker

Cham (French, 1818-1879)

Title

Caricature of Monsieur Prudhomme

Year

after 1848

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

null

Dimensions

8.4 x 16.7 cm (3 5/16 x 6 9/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

"Joseph! Je t'en supplie ne cherche pas a comprendre la question du Sleswig Holstein, je prefere encore que tu te remettes a fair tourner les tables cela t'abrutissait moins!" Inscribed on verso: "Nume

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

70.160

Type

Exhibition History

Draw Me a Story
Illustration from the Permanent Collection
Apr 14, 2006 – Jul 23, 2006

Label copy

Monnier’s character, the pompous Monsieur Prudhomme, became so popular that other artists drew their own versions of him. Cham was a prolific illustrator for the French humor magazine Le Charivari. This sketch of Monsieur Prudhomme was likely drawn in preparation for a lithograph. The artist would have further developed his rendering as he worked on the lithographic stone. In the sketch, Prudhomme and his wife discuss the “Schleswig question,” an international dispute over the sovereignty of the Schleswig-Holstein territories (claimed by both the Germans and the Danes) that began in 1848.

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

Cham (French, 1818-1879)
Caricature of Monsieur Prudhomme, after 1848
Pen and ink and graphite on off-white, light-weight wove paper
8.4 x 16.7 cm (3 5/16 x 6 9/16 inches)
Museum Works of Art Fund 70.160

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