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Jean-Louis-André-Théodore Géricault

The Organ Grinder, ca. 1820

Now On View

Description

Maker

Title

The Organ Grinder

Year

ca. 1820

Medium

Pen and ink over graphite on laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

20.3 x 15.9 cm (8 x 6 5/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Stamped with unidentified collector's mark "P. H." (Lugt 2084) and collector's marks of Aimé-Charles-Horace His de la Salle (Paris, 1795-1878; Lugt 1332)

Partial watermark: shield topped by a crown and a crescent?

Type

Credit

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

31.239

Projects & Publications

Publications

Selection V

French Watercolors and Drawings, ca. 1800-1910

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Drawing Closer

March 12 - September 4, 2022

A man with a street organ strapped on his back relieves himself in public. A well-dressed woman, a beggar, and even a little dog turn their heads away in apparent disgust at the undignified spectacle. The French painter Théodore Géricault made this quick sketch while visiting London. Like many other visitors at the time, he was shocked by the sordid living conditions poor people endured in the British capital. While Géricault’s sketch is imbued with a gentle note of humor and perhaps a less subtle sense of French superiority, it also shines a critical light on social inequity.

French Drawings in the Time of Degas

August 19, 2005 - January 22, 2006

Géricault’s representions of contemporary experience, drawn largely from direct observation, emphasized the human element. This drawing probably dates from Géricault’s trip to London, where he spent his days sketching his impressions of street life with incisive realism. He was interested, paradoxically, both in street derelicts and in the modern and fashionable aspects of an industrialized London.

Degas owned a small group of equestrian lithographs by Géricault that influenced his early study of racehorses and racing scenes. Degas drew repeatedly after Géricault’s equestrian images in preparation for his own pictures of racetracks.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is The Organ Grinder with the accession number of 31.239. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.