Caricatures by Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926), starting from top left: Caricature of Auguste Vacquerie, c. 1859 (cat. 1); Caricature of Léon Manchon, c. 1858 (cat. 2); Caricature of a Man in a Small Hat, 1855/56 (cat. 3); Caricature of a Man with a Big Cigar, 1855/56 (cat. 4); Caricature of Mario Uchard, c. 1858 (cat. 5); Caricature of Eugène Marcel, 1855/56 (cat. 6); Caricature of a Man Standing by a Desk, 1855/56 (cat. 7); Caricature of a Man with a Large Nose, 1855/56 (cat. 8); Caricature of Henri Cassinelli (“Rufus Croutinelli”), c. 1858 (cat. 9); Caricature of Jules Didier (“Butterfly Man”), c. 1858 (cat. 10).
Caricature of Auguste Vacquerie[1]
c. 1859
Graphite with erasure on tan wove paper; 284 × 176 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.897
Caricature of Léon Manchon[2]
1858
Charcoal, with stumping and heightened with white chalk, on blue laid paper (partially discolored to yellowish gray); 612 × 452 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.8
Caricature of a Man in a Small Hat[3]
1855/56
Graphite on commercially prepared cream wove card (discolored to tan); 198 × 149 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.892
Caricature of a Man with a Big Cigar[4]
1855/56
Black and red chalk, with touches of colored chalks, on blue wove paper (discolored to blue-gray), laid down on cream wove paper, laid down on blue wove paper; 598 × 385 mm (primary/secondary/tertiary supports)
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.890
Caricature of Mario Uchard[5]
c. 1858
Graphite with touches of erasure and stumping on tan wove paper; 320 × 245 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.891
Caricature of Eugène Marcel[6]
1855/56
Graphite, heightened with white chalk, on gray wove paper; 239 × 136 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.896
Caricature of a Man Standing by a Desk (recto)[7]
1855/56
Graphite on commercially prepared ivory wove card (discolored to tan); 203 × 166 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.894R
Sketch of a Male Head in Profile (verso)
1855/56
Graphite on commercially prepared ivory wove card; 202 × 165 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.894V
Caricature of a Man with a Large Nose[8]
1855/56
Graphite on greenish-gray wove paper; 248 × 152 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.895
Caricature of Henri Cassinelli (“Rufus Croutinelli”)[9]
c. 1858
Graphite on commercially prepared tan wove card; 130 × 85 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.893
Caricature of Jules Didier (“Butterfly Man”)[10]
c. 1858
Charcoal, heightened with white chalk, with smudging, on blue laid paper (discolored to light brown); 616 × 436 mm
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison Collection, 1933.889
Early Caricatures
Biting and amusing by turns—and visually surprising, given the Impressionist touch for which the artist is best known—Monet’s caricatures form an idiosyncratic chapter of his oeuvre. He drew them as a youth and, significantly, they are probably the first works for which he received payment. For many years, art historians and dealers tended to dismiss the drawings, considering them somewhat anecdotal. However, as James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall argue in a recent publication, the caricatures reveal much of the artist’s early interests and ambitions.[11] They are visually engaging and, quite tellingly, help to situate the artist at a particular historical moment.1
The first mention of the caricatures in print appeared in 1883, in an article by the critic, printmaker, and collector Philippe Burty, who wrote positively about Impressionist art. Burty explained how, on leaving school, the young artist tired of helping out in his father’s business.[12] In order to earn money of his own, “Monet drew caricatures with huge heads (like those made fashionable by Daumier’s Representatives Represented) of the regulars at the harbor cafés, the brokers and captains of the casual trade. He would supply himself with vellum, pencils, and penknives at Boudin’s stationary store. The owner . . . even framed these caricatures [to sell in his shop], appreciating their allure while finding the drawing technique somewhat insufficient.”[13]2
Burty’s allusion to The Representatives Represented was astute. Typically, Daumier had not distorted the features of the figures he depicted to any great extent; but he had given them disproportionately large heads for their bodies (see fig. 1).[14] Quite logically, if Monet awarded his figures a similar physique, he may have hoped for comparable success. In the 1850s, when the young artist made his caricatures, Daumier’s work was popular and accessible.3
Fig. 1
Honoré Daumier (French, 1808–1879). [Marc-Denis] Larabit. From Les Représentans Représentés (The Representatives Represented), first series, La Assemblée Constituante (The Constituent Assembly), 1848–49. Lithograph on newsprint; 36.2 × 23.5 cm (14 1/4 × 9 1/4 in.). Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Pinsof, 00.301.18.
That images such as The Representatives Represented circulated readily in the mid-nineteenth century is unsurprising. There were plenty of outlets for satirical art. Cheaper methods of reproduction had led to a proliferation of new periodicals in France. Popular ones—such as L’illustration—printed more than one hundred thousand copies per week.[15] There were journals and magazines for all social classes and political persuasions, and it was typical for a bourgeois family to enjoy such publications. Prompted by material of this kind, the young artist made copies after some of the leading caricaturists of the day (including Nadar, Étienne Carjat, and Paul Hadol).[16] Concurrently, he made original caricatures, perhaps commissions from the local figures they parody. However, since some authors consider that the copying process constituted an apprenticeship of sorts, it seems logical to address Monet’s drawings that fall into that category first.[17]4
It was Pierre Georgel who first recognized, in 1968, that one of the Art Institute’s caricatures, Auguste Vacquerie (cat. 1 [D505]), was not an original composition but a visual quotation from the ambitious Panthéon Nadar of 1854 (see fig. 2).[18] This well-known work featured representations of around three hundred figures from French cultural life.[19] Among its line-up were such notables as Honoré de Balzac and Alexandre Dumas. On other occasions, most probably around the same time, Monet copied different figures from the Panthéon. His portrait-charge of the journalist Théodore Pelloquet, now in the Musée Marmottan Monet, is one such example (see fig. 3).[20]5
Fig. 2
Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon; French, 1820–1910), Panthéon Nadar, 1854. Lithograph; 81.9 × 114.9 cm (32 1/4 × 45 1/4 in.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, A. Hayatt Mayor Purchase Fund, Marjorie Phelps Starr Bequest, 1993.1079. Image copyright: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY. Auguste Vacquerie appears in the lower right corner.
Fig. 3
Claude Monet (French 1840–1926), after Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon; French, 1820–1910). Théodore Pelloquet, 1858. Black pencil on brown paper; 32 × 24 cm (12 5/8 × 9 7/16 in.). Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris. Giraudon/Bridgeman Images.
The young artist evidently admired Nadar’s idiosyncratic arrangement of heads—he mimicked the domino-like composition in his Petit Panthéon théâtral (fig. 4)—but in this particular instance he had motives other than emulation. One of the figures portrayed, Auguste Vacquerie, was a writer from Le Havre who had proven himself a loyal follower of Victor Hugo in the most literal of terms. When Hugo left France to avoid arrest, having criticized Napoleon III, Vacquerie went with him to the Channel Islands. Nonetheless, though physically estranged from France, Vacquerie’s local reputation ensured he remained topical in his hometown. Indeed, Monet had particular cause for interest, as his father had ties with the Vacquerie family.[21] Coupled with the comic appeal of the writer’s features (Vacquerie—by his own admission—had a rather large nose), it is clear he made a particularly compelling subject (see fig. 5).[22]6
Fig. 4
Claude Monet (French 1840–1926). Little Theatrical Pantheon, c. 1869. Pencil heightened with gouache; 34 × 47 cm (13 3/8 × 18 1/2 in.). Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris. Bridgeman Images.
Fig. 5
Charles Hugo (French, 1827–1871), Auguste Vacquerie, 1853. Salted paper print, 9.9 × 7.9 cm (3 15/16 × 3 1/8 in.). National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, purchased 1998, 39631. Photo © National Gallery of Canada.
This would suggest that, as much as he chose his models for aesthetic reasons, Monet’s selections were personality driven. Nadar had depicted the playwright Mario Uchard (see fig. 6) and even photographed him in later years (see fig. 7); but Monet took his portrait-charge of Uchard (cat. 5 [D499]) from a caricature by Carjat.[23] Of course, convenience may have shaped the choice, and Monet could simply have seen the work as it appeared in the right-wing newspaper Le gaulois.[24] But, beyond that, it is possible he appreciated Carjat’s visual description of this controversial character. Uchard had recently satirized his personal life in a play staged at the Théâtre Français; the actress Madeline Brohan (his partner, whom it portrayed in an unflattering light) was absent at the time. In view of his notoriety, then, the caricature’s confrontational stance in the portrait-charge seems entirely appropriate.[25] A monocle draws attention to his unflinching gaze. By choosing an image of a press-worthy literary figure to hone his talent, Monet may well have hoped that his own caricatures might one day find publishers. As it happened, he would have to wait until 1860 before one of his drawings appeared in print.[26]7
Fig. 6
Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon; French, 1820–1910). Mario Uchard, 1850. Charcoal drawing on brown paper; 31.8 × 24 cm (12 1/2 × 9 7/16 in.). Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département Estampes et Photographie, RESERVE BOITE FOL-NA-88.
Fig. 7
Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon; French, 1820–1910). Mario Uchard, 1900. Photograph after a glass negative; 22.5 × 16 cm (8 7/8 × 6 5/16 in.). Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département Estampes et Photographie, FT 4-NA-235.
The practice of copying caricatures did serve a more pressing purpose in that, most probably, it informed how Monet described physiognomic detail. For instance, the thick fringe that curls around Uchard’s face—made with heavy continuous lines—is similar to that which appears in Caricature of Léon Manchon, a highly worked original Monet caricature in the Art Institute’s collection (cat. 2 [D481]). In both instances, he placed a blunt line below the lower lip, a shorthand of sorts for shadow.8
When it came to making original caricatures, as in this instance, Monet probably knew his subjects personally. At Le Havre’s Société des Amis des Arts, where he showed his first documented painting, Manchon (see fig. 8) was treasurer. Tellingly, the framed pictures and portrait bust in the background of the image might refer to that context, as they suggest the staging of an exhibition. The signs, however, allude to the sitter’s work as a notary. “Grocer’s shop for sale” reads one; another alludes to his availability for weddings and a range of payment options.[27]9
Fig. 8
Claude Monet (French 1840–1926). Caricature of Léon Manchon, c. 1858. Charcoal and pastel on tan paper; 56 × 42 cm (22 1/16 × 16 9/16 in.). Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen. © Agence La belle vie / Musée de la ville de Rouen.
A variant of this composition exists in the collection of the Beaux-Arts in Rouen and indicates how, on occasion, Monet experimented with different versions of the same caricature. It is difficult to tell in this instance which of the drawings came first but, given the higher degree of resolve in the costume of the Rouen figure and the confident white highlights, it seems likely that it developed from the Art Institute version. Nonetheless, it is likely he was pleased with both, since he cared to sign each one.10
Of all Monet’s caricatures, copied or original, Caricature of Jules Didier (cat. 10) is the most fanciful. A bearded head, tethered by a female centaur, sits atop a winged insect body; the arrangement is particularly curious. Daniel Wildenstein identified Didier (fig. 9) as its subject. This now-forgotten academic painter won the Prix de Rome in 1857 and apparently specialized in landscape scenes. However, the rationale for the peculiar iconography remains a mystery, and so the issue continues to attract debate.[28] Notably, for instance, Didier’s conventional works—a few of which remain in the collection of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris—shed no light on the peculiar iconography.[29]11
Fig. 9
Felix Braquemond (1833–1914). Jules Dider, 1853. Etching; 34.5 × 26.3 cm (13 5/8 × 10 3/8 in.). S. P. Avery Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.
The poster in the background of Caricature of Jules Didier seems to relate to a fair or circus of some kind. It mentions a “Canon-man” and a “Butterfly man”: a line-up that, according to one recent reading, might cast the mention of ticket prices in the image (“prix des places”) as a snide reference to Didier’s popular success. Reined in by the classical beast, so the argument follows, the butterfly artist cannot fly free to fulfill his creative potential.[30] However, unless further material comes to light to substantiate Monet’s thoughts on Didier, this thesis will remain speculative.12
Other caricatures Monet created at this moment, the identities of the sitters often unrecorded, lack the nuanced detail of those with professional precedents. The lines of Caricature of a Man with a Large Nose (cat. 8 [D492]) are lighter and less decisive than those in the works after Nadar and Carjat, for instance, while the description of the figure’s clothing is relatively vague. The execution of Caricature of a Man in a Small Hat (cat. 3 [D496]) and Caricature of Eugène Marcel (cat. 6 [D491]) also seem relatively casual. The trousers of the former are shaded with rough diagonal pencil strokes; his right hand—which clutches an instrument of some kind—is barely resolved. Perhaps for the sake of speed, in the latter he hid the subject’s hand in the pocket of his coat. In Caricature of a Man Standing by Desk (cat. 7 [D497]), meanwhile, the artist left his revisions of the jacket shape in evidence, and the furniture looks anything but steady.13
Arguably, with its touches of color, Caricature of a Man with a Big Cigar (cat. 4 [D490]) is the most compelling of the anonymous group. It is more finely detailed than many of Monet’s original compositions and, unusually, makes use of red chalk in areas that include the figure’s ruddy cheeks and the creases of his brow. The lines of the sitter’s suit are sharp and his collar consists of a few clean touches of white. However, if the execution of Caricature of a Man with a Big Cigar is sensitive, the overall effect is comic. The subject has overly long legs. His curved eyelashes border on the feminine.14
The body language Monet described in the last of the Art Institute’s original caricatures, Caricature of Henri Cassinelli (“Rufus Croutinelli”) (cat. 9 [D495]) stands in stark contrast to the elegant pose of the figure in Dandy with a Cigar (fig. 10). Here the subject’s entire demeanor is pitiful: from his downcast eyes to his hand in pocket—even his waxed mustache seems to droop despondently. This dejected character was apparently a fellow applicant for municipal funding whom Monet satirized in a portrait-charge. In a play on the word croute, as in “daub,” he renamed his huddled rival “Rufus Croutinelli.” Henri Cassinelli was a bad painter, he implied, whose appearance was as hopeless as his art.[31]
15
Fig. 10
Claude Monet (French 1840–1926). Dandy with a Cigar, c. 1857. Pencil heightened with gouache on gray paper; 24 × 16 cm (9 7/16 × 6 5/16 in.). Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris. Bridgeman Images.
Though Monet used his image to mock Cassinelli’s artistic struggle, this was also a difficult period in his own professional development. At this stage, though his caricatures brought him notoriety, they also proved a hindrance. In response to Monet’s own grant application, the authorities cast doubt on his aptitude for more serious artistic endeavor. “Through caricature . . . ,” read their report, “Monet has already found the popularity that comes so slowly to serious works. But with his precocious success is there not a danger, that in following the facile path of his pencil the young artist might be kept from the more serious and thankless studies that alone justify municipal liberality? Time will tell.”[32]16
Clearly, as history has proven, Monet had the last laugh. In later life, with discernable glee, he boasted of his youthful commercial prowess: “At fifteen, all of Le Havre knew me as a caricaturist . . . the plentiful commissions . . . prompted me to make an audacious decision that, of course, would scandalize my family. I took payment for my portraits. Depending on the look of a person, I’d charge them between ten and twenty francs for their portrait, and the scheme served me marvelously. My clients doubled in a month. I was able to set a fixed price of twenty francs without slowing down orders at all. If I’d have carried on, today I’d be a millionaire.”[33]17
Quite reasonably, doubts have been raised as to just how much money Monet could have earned through his efforts; there are evident inconsistencies in the artist’s recollections of his early career, and he tended to exaggerate his talent.[34] Nonetheless, poetic license aside, the caricatures give reliable insight into the artist’s beginnings in Le Havre. The Art Institute’s group—one of the most significant in a single public collection—are representative of their range and complexity.
Nancy Ireson18
Caricature of Auguste Vacquerie, 1859 (Cat. 1)
Technical Summary
Claude Monet’s Auguste Vacquerie was drawn in graphite on tan wove paper. The artist used fine graphite lines to establish the general form and define facial details but then developed the figure further with dark, dense lines, particularly in the hair and eyes, and broad areas of shading to create volume (fig. 1.1). Some areas capture the slight surface texture of the wove paper, most noticeably in the face. Touches of erasure were used to create highlights along the nose and the coat collar (fig. 1.2).
19
Fig. 1.1
Detail of Caricature of Auguste Vacquerie (1859) showing the dark graphite lines used to define the eyes. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.897.
Fig. 1.2
Detail of Caricature of Auguste Vacquerie (1859) showing touches of erasure that strengthen highlights in the figure’s collar and along his nose. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.897.
Media and Support
Support Characteristics
Primary paper type
Cream, moderately thick, slightly textured wove paper.[35]20
Furnish
Even, appears short-fibered.21
Formation
Slightly irregular formation overall, with pulp clumps.22
Other characteristics
All edges of the sheet exhibit some degree of irregularity.23
Dimensions
284 × 176 mm24
Preparatory Layers
No artistic surface alterations or coatings are visible in normal conditions or under magnification. There is a pale-yellow visible-light fluorescence under UV illumination that is characteristic of a light gelatin surface sizing.25
Media Characteristics
Graphite was used overall. The graphite appears quite soft, as it is dark in color, has high light reflectance in oblique illumination, and exhibits little surface deformation in the sheet. Dense graphite lines establish the general form and define facial details and hair. Light shading with the side of the graphite stick or pencil creates volume in the figure. Some broad areas of shading pick up the fine texture of the wove paper.26
Touches of erasure sharpen highlights in the face, particularly along the nose and coat collar (fig. 1.3).27
There is no drawing on the verso.
28
Fig. 1.3
Detail of Caricature of Auguste Vacquerie (1859) showing touches of erasure that create highlights, as in this detail of the figure’s collar. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.897.
Compositional Development
No revisions or changes are visible in the composition in normal conditions or under magnification. Some lines have been reinforced with a second stroke in the same graphite.29
Surface Treatment
No fixatives or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification.30
Condition History
The drawing was removed from a cream card mount, bordered with blue paper, as noted in the conservation report.[36] All edges of the sheet are trimmed slightly irregularly. The paper appears to be discolored overall, although it is not possible to determine the original color. There is a slightly lighter band along the left edge that is approximately 10 mm wide.31
A few scuff marks are visible overall, particularly at the upper right near the figure’s ear, at the lower center area, and across the center left side. There is light surface soiling and stray graphite medium around the perimeter of the sheet.32
Thinned spots in the paper sheet appear overall; they are most visible along the left side on the verso when viewed in transmitted illumination. A few faint stains and small surface abrasions are visible.
Kimberly Nichols
33
Caricature of Léon Manchonm, c. 1858 (Cat. 2)
Technical Summary
Claude Monet’s Caricature of Léon Manchon was drawn in charcoal on blue laid paper. The slightly toothy surface of the sheet captured the charcoal, allowing the artist to create rich, velvety passages in the figure’s head. White chalk was used along the front of the face to establish highlights, and the blue tonality of the paper establishes a middle value in the composition. There is selective stumping in the nose, chin, eyes, and side of the face that creates shading and modeling in the head (fig. 2.1). Stumping also appears to have been used in the figure’s coat for tonal variation. The background elements are defined with fine charcoal lines.53
Fig. 2.1
Detail of Caricature of Léon Manchon (1858) showing selective stumping in the nose, chin, eyes, and side of the face that create shading and modeling in the face. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.888.
Signature
C. Monet (recto, bottom left, in black chalk).54
Media and Support
Support Characteristics
Primary paper type
Blue (discolored to yellowish gray), moderately thick, slightly textured laid paper.[41]55
Watermark
MFDT, vertical, lower center.56
Chain line orientation and frequency
Horizontal, 28–29 mm57
Laid line frequency
90–100 mm58
Furnish
Ivory, dark-blue, medium-blue, and red fibers.59
Formation
Slightly uneven; in transmitted illumination, the paper is thicker at the center left, top, and bottom.60
Other characteristics
The left and top edges are cut straight. There is a deckle edge at the right and bottom.61
Dimensions
612 × 452 mm62
Preparatory Layers
There are no artistic surface alterations or coatings visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification. Under UV illumination, there is a pale-yellow visible-light fluorescence overall on the recto of the paper that is characteristic of a light gelatin surface sizing.63
Media Characteristics
Charcoal was used to create the image overall. There is selective stumping in the nose, chin, eyes, and side of the face that create shading and modeling in the head. Stumping also appears to have been used in the figure’s coat for tonal variation. Passages of white chalk along the front of the face establish highlights.64
There is no drawing media on the verso.65
Compositional Development
No revisions or changes, other than intended experimentation with coloring, are visible in the composition in normal conditions or under magnification.66
Surface Treatment
No fixatives or coatings are visible under normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification.67
Condition History
The paper has discolored to a yellowish gray in the image area due to excessive light exposure through a former window-mat opening. There are also light-reddish-brown foxing spots throughout. Undulations are visible overall within the image, which are most pronounced at the top corners. Moderate deformation of the paper sheet is visible around the perimeter, corresponding to an approximately four-centimeter-wide band of adhesive residue around the perimeter on the verso of the sheet; this adhesive reemits a bright-yellowish-white visible-light fluorescence under UV illumination. A small area of this adhesive is also visible at the center top edge on the recto. The undulations and the deformation are likely the result of a former mounting. There are numerous losses and tears around the edges that may have occurred during removal from the former mount; the largest losses, with associated skinning, are visible at the center top and center bottom edges. The deckle edge along the right and bottom is darkened due to penetration of the adhesive into the paper.68
There is a scratch across the figure’s proper left eye that removed some of the charcoal media. Some light transfer of media is visible overall.
Kimberly Nichols
69
Caricature of a Man in a Small Hat, 1855/56 (Cat. 3)
Caricature of a Man with a Big Cigar, 1855/56 (Cat. 4)
Caricature of Mario Uchard, c. 1858 (Cat. 5)
Technical Summary
Claude Monet’s Mario Uchard was drawn in graphite on tan wove paper. The artist used fine graphite lines to establish the general form and define facial details. Broad passages of graphite were applied to create the hair, and light parallel strokes were drawn to render the shading in the figure. Some areas captured the fine texture of the wove paper; this is most noticeable in the crook of the proper left arm (fig. 5.1). Touches of erasure sharpen highlights in the face, particularly along the left side, accentuating the wrinkles below the eye, and along the nose (fig. 5.2). Added modeling in the face was created with a stump.
173
Fig. 5.1
Detail of Caricature of Mario Uchard (1858) showing light graphite strokes in the figure’s proper left arm that reveal the wove mold pattern in the paper. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.891.
Fig. 5.2
Detail of Caricature of Mario Uchard (1858) showing touches of erasure used to create fine highlights along the wrinkles just below the figure’s eye. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.891.
Media and Support
Support Characteristics
Primary paper type
Tan, medium-thick, smooth wove paper.[53]174
Furnish
Uniform, without visible inclusions or colored fibers.175
Formation
Even, machine made.176
Other characteristics
All edges of the sheet exhibit some degree of irregularity; the top and right edges appear to be edge torn rather than cut.177
Dimensions
320 × 245 mm178
Preparatory Layers
No artistic surface alterations or coatings are visible in normal conditions or under magnification. There is a light-yellow visible-light fluorescence under UV illumination that is characteristic of a light gelatin surface sizing.179
Media Characteristics
Graphite was used throughout. Fine lines establish the general form and define facial details, and broad passages, lightly drawn, create the hair and shadows in the figure. Areas of shading pick up the fine texture of the wove paper.180
Touches of erasure were used to sharpen highlights in the face, particularly along the left side, to accentuate the wrinkles below the eye and along the nose. Further modeling in the face was created with a stump.181
There is no drawing on the verso.182
Compositional Development
No revisions or changes are visible in the composition in normal conditions or under magnification. Some lines have been reinforced with a second stroke in the same red chalk.183
Surface Treatment
No fixatives or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification.184
Condition History
The drawing is in good condition overall. The sheet is slightly discolored, particularly within the image area and corresponding to the opening of a former window mat. In addition, there is faint mat burn within the image area. Faint foxing spots are visible around the perimeter on the recto. The paper is slightly worn along the edges, and there is a diagonal crease and associated partial breaks across the bottom right corner.185
Dark-brown ink inscriptions on the verso have formed light-brown halos along the ink lines. It is unclear whether localized degradation of the paper support, slight migration of the ink, or fixing of the ink caused the halos.
Kimberly Nichols
186
Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks
Verso
Inscription
Location: center top
Method: brown ink, in a different hand
Content: [Arthur Neyer?] for Claude Monet (fig. 5.3)214
Inscription
Location: on top of inscription Arthur, center top
Method: brown ink, in a different hand
Content: Mario Uchard (fig. 5.3)
215
Fig. 5.3
Digital manipulation of image inscription on verso of Caricature of Mario Uchard (1858) that reveals the overlapping inscriptions, Arthur Neyer [?] and Mario Uchard. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.891. Interactive image.
Stamp
Location: center
Method: brown ink
Content: The Art / Institute of / Chicago216
Mark
Location: center
Method: graphite
Content: 37 × 28217
Mark
Location: lower left
Method: graphite
Content: 33.891218
Mark
Location: lower left
Method: graphite
Content: Mario Uchard219
Mark
Location: lower right
Method: graphite
Content: 63 [Alflriuerl?]220
Examination Conditions and Technical Analysis
Raking Visible Light
Paper support characteristics identified.221
Transmitted Visible Light
Paper mold characteristics identified.222
Ultraviolet-Induced Visible Fluorescence (365 nm)
Light surface size detected overall.223
Binocular Microscopy (80–100×)
Media identified.224
Image Inventory
The image inventory compiles records of all known images of the artwork on file in the Imaging Department and in the conservation and curatorial files in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago (fig. 5.4).
225
|
Location/Negative # |
Format |
Purpose |
Date |
Lighting, Notes |
|
D14447 |
Color slide |
|
Unknown |
Copy of E9044 |
|
C17316 |
8 × 10 negative |
|
c. 1944 |
|
|
C41634 |
8 × 10 negative |
|
Nov. 24, 1975 |
|
|
E9044 |
CT |
|
c. 1988 |
|
|
51009 |
Digital |
Rapid imaging |
Sept. 29, 2006 |
|
|
G43498 |
Digital |
OSCI |
Oct. 25, 2013 |
|
|
G46308 |
Digital |
OSCI |
Oct. 25, 2013 |
Verso |
Image inventory, cat. 5.
Caricature of Eugène Marcel, 1855/56 (Cat. 6)
Technical Summary
Claude Monet created Caricature of Eugène Marcel using soft, broad graphite lines on a slightly textured, gray wove paper. The paper color serves as a middle tone for the composition. The artist worked out the figure with light, quick strokes of graphite, followed by darker, broader lines to more fully establish the form. Touches of white chalk were used to create the man’s shirt. The profile of the figure’s face remains sensitively rendered with fine graphite strokes.226
Media and Support
Support Characteristics
Primary paper type
Gray, moderately thick, slightly textured wove paper.[56]227
Furnish
Uniform, with several wood and fiber inclusions.228
Formation
Even.229
Other characteristics
The edges are irregularly trimmed. The side and top edges are cut, while the bottom edge is torn as if along a straight edge or from a former binding, resulting in several small edge tears.230
Dimensions
239 × 136 mm231
Preparatory Layers
No artistic surface alterations or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification. Under UV illumination, there is a pale-yellow visible-light fluorescence overall on the paper surface that is characteristic of a light gelatin surface sizing.232
Media Characteristics
The composition was drawn using the side of soft graphite to establish the outline and the form of the figure. Tonal effects were created using the side of the graphite in a back-and-forth motion to produce diagonal lines. There are a few areas of smudging of the graphite, although this appears to be offset rather than a result of the artist intentionally smudging the graphite. The point of the graphite was then used to further define the figure’s outline and to establish details. The artist used touches of white chalk to highlight certain areas, such as the collar and shirt of the figure.233
There is a faint profile of a person in graphite on the verso (fig. 6.1).
234
Fig. 6.1
Detail of Caricature of Eugène Marcel (1855/56) showing a small profile drawn on the verso in graphite in reverse orientation to the drawing on the recto. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.896.
Compositional Development
The composition was drawn directly onto the paper support. There is minor reworking at the top of the figure’s forehead, the tip of the nose, and the lips. The curvature of the figure’s forehead was reworked to create a more rounded head, and the tip of the nose was slightly lengthened and reinforced with a darker graphite line. In addition, the top lip was lengthened and extended out, while the bottom lip was redrawn slightly lower and shortened (fig. 6.2).
235
Fig. 6.2
Detail of Caricature of Eugène Marcel (1855/56) showing the artist’s reworking of the figure’s lips. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.896.
Surface Treatment
No fixatives or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification.236
Condition History
The drawing is in very good condition. There is light surface soiling and discoloration overall. Smudges from handling are evident at the upper right and lower right edges. Light discoloration is visible throughout, except along the very edges of the paper, which were protected from light exposure by a former window mat. Along the edges of the overall discoloration there is a faint brown mat burn line. There are many brown foxing spots throughout the sheet on the recto; there are no brown foxing spots visible on the verso. With UV-induced visible fluorescence, hundreds of foxing spots that are not visible in normal conditions fluoresce yellow. There is a faint, vertical graphite line along the right edge of the paper support. Under magnification, the paper fibers are slightly distorted and lifting. The lower right corner appears to be an old repair. The paper used to fill the loss may be of the same manufacture but is slightly lighter in tone. The edge of the repair slightly overlaps the original paper support, and it is reinforced on the verso with a white Japanese paper mend. The media are in good condition with no losses noted. Under magnification there are two small spots of black ink in the figure’s cheek and coat.237
The drawing was treated in 2005 to reduce the appearance of the foxing spots on the recto.[57] The old repair was maintained.
Dawn Jaros
238
Caricature of a Man Standing by a Desk, 1855/56 (Cat. 7)
Technical Summary
Claude Monet created Caricature of a Man Standing by a Desk with graphite on a slightly textured ivory wove card. From the layout of the composition it appears that he worked out the figure with light, quick strokes of graphite, followed by darker, broader lines to more fully establish the form. Horizontal and diagonal lines were selectively used to create shadows in the body of the figure and darker values in the hair and pants. Monet added several dots of graphite throughout the drawing, particularly in the head of the figure. It is unclear whether this was intentional.
256
Signature
Claude Monet (recto, center top edge, in graphite).257
Media and Support
Support Characteristics
Primary paper type
Ivory (discolored to tan), very thick, slightly textured wove card.[60]258
Furnish
Uniform with few fiber inclusions.259
Formation
Even.260
Other characteristics
The corners are all rounded.261
Dimensions
203 × 166 mm262
Preparatory Layers
No artistic surface alterations or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification. Under UV illumination, there is a pale-yellow visible-light fluorescence overall on the paper surface that is characteristic of a light gelatin surface sizing.263
Media Characteristics
The composition was drawn using the fine point of a soft graphite to establish the profile of the figure’s face. Tonal effects were created using the side of the graphite in a back-and-forth motion. The point of the graphite was then used to further define the figure’s outline and to establish details. There are many small dots throughout the figure’s head and body and the desk. It appears that Monet jabbed the graphite into the support in quick, up-and-down movements to create these dots. This type of application of the graphite creates a unique line similar to an engraving line, the bluntness of which tapers at the end. It is unclear whether this was the artist’s intention or an inadvertent application of media. The desk and the vessels on it were minimally modeled using the side of the graphite to create both broad, thick linear marks and faint, back-and-forth strokes. There is minor smudging near areas of dense application of media. This appears to be offset rather than a result of the artist intentionally smudging the graphite to create tone.264
On the verso there is a faint profile of a man’s face in graphite (fig. 7.1). It appears to be very similar to the drawing of the man on the recto.
265
Fig. 7.1
Detail of Sketch of Male Head in Profile (1855/56) drawn in graphite on verso. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.894V.
Compositional Development
The composition was drawn directly onto the paper support. There is minor reworking on the figure’s forehead and the proper right hand and sleeve (fig. 7.2).
266
Fig. 7.2
Detail of Caricature of a Man Standing by a Desk (1955/56) showing the artist’s reworking of the figure’s forehead, proper right hand, and sleeve. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.894R.
Surface Treatment
No fixatives or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification.267
Condition History
The drawing is in very good condition. There is a moderate accumulation of surface soiling and discoloration overall. There are many faint brown foxing spots throughout the card. With UV-induced visible fluorescence, the foxing spots on the recto fluoresce yellow. There are two light-brown water-type stains near the top corners. The edges of the card have lifting paper fibers along with minor fiber abrasions. There are several pinholes throughout the card. One pinhole is located at the center of the top edge along with a pinhole that pierced the verso but did not puncture the other side. One of the pinholes penetrates the tip of the M in the signature. The pinholes near the upper left corner and near the center of the right edge have rust deposits inside the holes. There are two small dents approximately 37 mm from the upper edge and 36 mm from the right edge. Another two similar type dents are located at the lower right corner, approximately 37 mm from the bottom and right edges. The left edge has a small dent at each corner, approximately 35 mm from the top and bottom edges and 35 mm in from the left edge. Dents at the fours corners perhaps indicate the artist’s method of holding down the card while he was drawing. There is a small cluster of dents near the base of the neck. Gray areas at the bottom corners are excess adhesive. There is a small area of paper abrasion at the bottom left corner. On the verso, there is a faint accumulation of surface dirt, and the edges of the paper support are moderately discolored. There are a few golden-yellow foxing spots throughout the card. With UV-induced visible fluorescence, the foxing spots on the verso fluoresce white. Along all edges residual water-soluble adhesive and remnants of green paper are visible. There are several old, white paper hinges at the four corners and at the center of the left and right edges.
Dawn Jaros268
Caricature of a Man with a Large Nose, 1855/56 (Cat. 8)
Technical Summary
Claude Monet created Caricature of a Man with a Large Nose with soft graphite on a slightly textured, greenish-brown wove paper, utilizing most of the sheet. From the layout of the composition, it appears that he worked out the figure with light, quick strokes of graphite, followed by darker, broader lines to more fully establish the form. The side of the graphite was used to carefully model the man’s face and create broad passages of tone in his hat and hair. Shadows were established in the figure’s body using dark, thick strokes of graphite.289
Media and Support
Support Characteristics
Primary paper type
Greenish-brown, moderately thick, slightly textured wove paper.[63]290
Furnish
Uniform with a few fiber inclusions.291
Formation
Even.292
Other characteristics
The edges are all trimmed irregularly. The bottom edge has several paper slivers from when cuts were started and then stopped.293
Dimensions
248 × 152 mm294
Preparatory Layers
No artistic surface alterations or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification. Under UV illumination, there is a pale-yellow visible-light fluorescence overall on the paper surface that is characteristic of a light gelatin surface sizing.295
Media Characteristics
The composition was drawn using the dull tip of a soft graphite pencil to establish the outline and the form of the figure. The artist first quickly sketched in the forms with light graphite lines, and then he selectively reinforced them with darker, thicker strokes. Tonal effects in the face were created utilizing the side of the graphite with light pressure to fill in the broad areas of shading and modeling. There is a slight indentation in the paper support where the artist applied more pressure with his stroke to define the outline of the hat and the tip of the nose. The tonal effects of the body and shadow cast by the body were created with diagonal lines drawn with the side of the graphite in a back-and-forth motion. Monet further detailed the caricature by adding a pattern to the pants with simple perpendicular lines.296
Compositional Development
The composition was drawn directly onto the paper support. There is minor reworking of the figure’s head at the nose and near the proper right eye (fig. 8.1). The artist changed the location of the proper right eye and angled the forehead back to make the head slightly smaller. With magnification there is no evidence of erasure or rubbing in the area of alteration. The artist’s initial sketch was so faint that it did not affect the final rendering.
297
Fig. 8.1
Detail of Caricature of a Man with a Large Nose (1955/56) showing reworking of the figure’s proper right eye. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.895.
The bridge of the sitter’s nose was slightly elevated and exaggerated. The initial outline can be seen below this area of shading. The revision may have occurred late in the drawing stage because the line is dark, which suggests that the artist had been content with the initial sketch, causing him to reinforce the newer line with a longer darker stroke (fig. 8.2). Monet may have applied more shading than initially intended in order to hide the dark line of his preliminary sketch.
298
Fig. 8.2
Detail of Caricature of a Man with a Large Nose (1955/56) showing reworking of the figure’s nose. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.895.
Surface Treatment
No fixatives or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification.299
Condition History
The drawing is in very good condition. There is light surface soiling and discoloration overall. There are stray graphite markings along the top edge and at the lower right corner. Discoloration from light exposure is visible throughout except along the very edges of the sheet, where it was protected from the light by a former window mat. A faint brown mat burn line is visible along the right and lower edges. There are several brown foxing spots throughout the sheet on the recto and verso. With UV-induced visible fluorescence, hundreds of foxing spots that are not visible in normal conditions fluoresce yellow. There is a vertical, incised line 70 mm long running through the figure’s jacket and legs. The lower left and right corners have strong diagonal creases. The edges are all trimmed irregularly. The bottom edge has several paper slivers. On the verso, at the center left edge, the paper tone is lighter, with paper abrasion and thinning.300
The drawing was treated in 2005 to reduce the appearance of the foxing spots on the recto.[64]
Dawn Jaros
301
Caricature of Henri Cassinelli (“Rufus Croutinelli”), c. 1858 (Cat. 9)
Technical Summary
Claude Monet’s Caricature of Henri Cassinelli (“Rufus Croutinelli”) was drawn in graphite on smooth tan card. Some dark graphite lines used to define the figure created a slight deformation in the paper and are highly reflective in specular illumination. Shading with the side of the graphite point creates modeling in the face (fig. 9.1). Highlights result from an absence of media, allowing the light tonality of the paper to show through. Broad passages of crosshatched or intersecting graphite lines suggest patterns in the clothing. There is minimal creation of atmosphere or space other than the suggestion of shadow cast below the figure.
323
Fig. 9.1
Detail of Caricature of Henri Cassinelli (“Rufus Croutinelli”) (c.1858) showing the delicate graphite modeling in the figure’s face. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.893.
Signature
Claude Monet (recto, center top edge, in graphite).324
Media and Support
Support Characteristics
Primary paper type
Tan, thick, smooth wove paper.[67]325
Furnish
Uniform, without visible inclusions or colored fibers.326
Formation
Even, machine made.327
Other characteristics
All edges appear to have been cut down and are slightly irregular. There are approximately six pinholes forming a circular arrangement at the center top.328
Dimensions
130 × 85 mm329
Preparatory Layers
No artistic surface alterations or coatings are visible in normal conditions or under magnification. There is a pale-yellow visible-light fluorescence under UV illumination that is characteristic of a light gelatin surface sizing.330
Media Characteristics
The work was drawn in graphite. The figure is defined with firm, dense lines that create slight deformation in the paper and reflect light in specular illumination. Some shading was created in the face with the side of the graphite point. Broad passages of pattern were created in the clothing with crosshatching or intersecting lines. There is only minimal creation of atmosphere or space other than the shadow below the figure. Faint, ruled graphite lines are visible along the upper right and bottom edges, 2–3 mm in from the edges.331
There is no drawing on the verso.332
Compositional Development
No revisions or changes are visible in the composition in normal conditions or under magnification.333
Surface Treatment
No fixatives or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification.334
Condition History
The drawing is in stable condition. There is light surface soiling and slight transfer of graphite overall. Smudges and faint stains are visible in the upper right corner and at the bottom right edge. There are small spots of foreign material at the upper right corner and the lower right and lower left sides. Specular illumination reveals a short scratch at the lower center. The support has a slight concave curl overall.335
The support is moderately discolored on the verso. There are numerous blue-wove-paper and Japanese-paper remnants around the perimeter on the verso from various hinging and mounting campaigns.
Kimberly Nichols
336
Caricature of Jules Didier (“Butterfly Man”), c. 1858 (Cat. 10)
Technical Summary
Claude Monet created Caricature of Jules Didier with charcoal and touches of white chalk on moderately textured blue laid paper. The paper color provides a middle tone for the composition, with touches of white chalk added as highlights on the face and the insect body and wings. It appears that the artist first worked out the man’s face with light, quick strokes of charcoal and then further developed it with darker, broader lines and shading. In contrast to the complex rendering of the face, the insect’s body and wings are more generally established.369
Signature
O. Monet (recto, lower right corner, in charcoal).370
O. Monet (recto, partially removed, lower right corner, in charcoal).371
Media and Support
Support Characteristics
Primary paper type
Blue, thick, moderately textured laid paper.[70]372
Watermark
MFDT, near the bottom left corner, vertical.373
Chain line orientation and frequency
Horizontal, 28–29 mm374
Laid line frequency
90–100 mm375
Furnish
Ivory, dark-blue, medium-blue, and red fibers.376
Formation
Slightly uneven; in transmitted illumination this handmade paper has many circular thinned areas (often referred to as papermaker’s tears) and clumps of fiber.377
Other characteristics
The sheet has four deckle edges.378
Dimensions
616 × 436 mm379
Preparatory Layers
No artistic surface alterations or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification. Under UV illumination, there is a pale-yellow visible-light fluorescence overall on the paper surface that is characteristic of a light gelatin surface sizing.380
Media Characteristics
The composition was drawn using the tip or edge of a thick charcoal stick to establish the face and the form of the insect body and wings. Some of the charcoal lines have a brownish-black tonality, such as at the back of the man’s head (fig. 10.1). Tonal effects were achieved using the edge of the charcoal stick with straight lines, whether vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. Monet created the extended sideburns using the side of the charcoal in a circular motion. In contrast, the figure’s locks of hair were rendered with long, wavy lines using the tip of the charcoal stick. There are a few areas of smudging of the charcoal along the nose, the bags under the eyes, and the chin, although it is unclear whether this was intentional or rather the unavoidable blending of the media from application. Touches of white chalk were used to highlight areas in the face and on the insect body and wings. The artist used the tip of a thick white chalk to render diagonal and horizontal lines that create tonal effects.
381
Fig. 10.1
Detail of Caricature of Jules Didier (“Butterfly Man”) (c.1858) showing the brownish-black tonality of the charcoal at the back of the figure’s head. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.889.
Compositional Development
The composition was drawn directly onto the paper support. There is minor reworking of the figure’s head, the tip of the nose, and the brow line. There are several strokes in these areas that indicate that the artist was reworking the subject’s profile. These areas were built up slightly, and the nose tip has a minor amount of smudging.382
Surface Treatment
No fixatives or coatings are visible in normal conditions, under UV illumination, or under magnification.383
Condition History
The drawing is in good condition. The sheet has faded overall in the window opening on the recto. There is no fading noted on the verso. The sheet was perimeter mounted to a secondary support with a water-soluble adhesive. Much of the adhesive and paper residues remain on the verso, with a small patch of adhesive on the recto at the center of the bottom edge. With UV-induced visible fluorescence, the adhesive fluoresces pale blue. There are several brown foxing spots throughout the sheet on the recto and verso. With UV-induced visible fluorescence, several foxing spots that were not visible in normal illumination are visible because the paper sizing does not fluoresce. There is a thin band of paper abrasion at the center of the upper edge. There are several tears along the right edge along with another small tear near the top left corner. The tears were repaired using a white Japanese paper with water-soluble adhesive on the verso. There are two areas of paper skinning with associated tears and losses at the bottom edge. The first skinned area is located at the center of the bottom edge, approximately 160 mm from the right edge. The paper was set down and flattened, but the tears were not realigned, leaving visible the blue fibers from the verso. The other area of skinning is much smaller and better realigned. It is located 40 mm from the left edge and 73 mm from the bottom edge. Both skinned areas were reinforced on the verso with a white paper and a water-soluble adhesive. The media are in good condition; there is a vertical band of smudging extending from the center of the subject’s hair down to the legs of the insect body. There is stray black media at the lower left corner.
Dawn Jaros
384
- Caricature of Auguste Vacquerie (D505) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 148, cat. D505 (ill.).
- Caricature of Léon Manchon (D481) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 142, cat. D481 (ill.).
- Caricature of a Man in a Small Hat (D496) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 145, cat. D496 (ill.).
- Caricature of a Man with a Big Cigar (D490) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 144, cat. D490 (ill.).
- Caricature of Mario Uchard (D499) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 147, cat. D499 (ill.).
- Caricature of Eugène Marcel (D491) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 144, cat. D491 (ill.).
- Caricature of a Man Standing by a Desk/Sketch of a Male Head in Profile (D497) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 145, cat. D497 (ill.).
- Caricature of a Man with a Large Nose (D492) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 144, cat. D492 (ill.).
- Caricature of Henri Cassinelli (“Rufus Croutinelli”) (D495) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 145, cat. 9 (ill.).
- Caricature of Jules Didier (“Butterfly Man”) (D515) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 151, cat. 10 (ill.).
- The fullest account of the series is given in “Oscar Monet, Caricaturist,” in James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007). This entry is indebted to that chapter.
- Contradicting some details of Burty’s account, the artist claimed he began to make comical sketches of his teachers on the blue paper of his copybooks. See James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007), p. 11. Interestingly, some of the Art Institute works have blue paper supports, which might suggest that he enjoyed the distinctive properties of the paper: deeply colored, roughly textured, with noticeable (though flattened) fibers.
- Philippe Burty, “The Landscapes of Claude Monet,” La république, Mar. 27, 1883, translated in Charles F. Stuckey, with the assistance of Sophia Shaw, Claude Monet, 1840–1926, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Thames & Hudson, 1995), p. 98; see also James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007), pp. 10–11. Ségolène Le Men has pointed out that, in selling Monet’s caricatures in his shop window, Boudin provided a precursor for the Impressionist practice of selling works that could be seen from the street (in commercial galleries, rather than through Salon systems). Ségolène Le Men, Monet (Citadelles & Mazenod, 2010), p. 38.
- Charles F. Ramus, ed., Honore Daumier: 120 Great Lithographs (Dover, 1978), p. xvii.
- Francis Démier, La France du XIXe siècle, 1814–1914 (Paris, 2000), p. 445.
- James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007), p. 35.
- Rodolphe Walter, “Claude Monet as a Caricaturist: A Clandestine Apprenticeship,” Apollo 103 (June 1976), p. 492.
- On Carter Harrison and the Monet caricatures, see Emily Ziemba, documentation, on file in the Department of Prints and Drawings, Art Institute of Chicago; and Pierre Georgel, “Monet, Bruyas, Vacquerie et le Panthéon Nadar,” Gazette des beaux-arts 72, 1199 (Dec. 1968), pp. 331–32. Originally, the museum thought that the subject of the drawing was Alfred Bruyas, the primary patron of Gustave Courbet.
- On the editions of the print, see Rodolphe Walter, “Claude Monet as a Caricaturist: A Clandestine Apprenticeship,” Apollo 103 (June 1976), p. 491. Presumably because it was contemporaneous with the production of certain of Monet’s caricatures, Walter suggests that the artist knew a 1858 reprint, offered by Le figaro for six francs (or eight including postage).
- Monet copied a total of four figures from the Panthéon. See James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007), p. 40.
- Rodolphe Walter, “Claude Monet as a Caricaturist: A Clandestine Apprenticeship,” Apollo 103 (June 1976), p. 490.
- Auguste Vacqerie, Profils et grimaces (Michel Lévy Frères, 1857), p. 60.
- For a brief biography of Carjat, see the Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, ed. John Hannavy (Routledge, 2013), pp. 273–74. Interestingly, like Nadar, Carjat later turned to photography.
- James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007), p. 58, n. 25.
- On Uchard, see Adolphe Bitard, Dictionnaire de biographie contemporaine français et étrangère (A. Lévy, 1887), p. 265; on Brohan and La Fiammina, see Souvenirs de M. Delaunay de la Comédie Français, ed. Maurice Fleury (C. Lévy, 1901), pp. 10–11.
- James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007), pp. 52–53.
- James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007), p. 49.
- James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007), p. 50. Daniel Wildenstein posits that Monet showed Didier attempting to escape the trappings of marriage. Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 151.
- These include the artist’s winning entry for the Prix de Rome in Historic Landscape Painting. Jules Didier, Jésus et la Samaritaine (1857; École Nationale Supérieure de Beaux-Arts, Paris).
- Alison Mairi Syme, John Singer Sargent and the Queer Flora of Fin-de-siècle Art (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010), p. 4.
- Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 145.
- “Registre des deliberations du conseil municipal du Havre, séance du 18 mai 1859,” fols. 157–62, quoted in Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 1, Peintures, 1840–1881 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1974), p. 6.
- “A quinze ans, j’étais connu de tout Le Havre comme caricaturiste . . . L’abondance des commandes . . . m’inspirent une résolution audacieuse et qui scandalisa, bien entendu, ma famille: je me fis payer mes portraits. Suivant la tête des gens, je les taxais à dix ou vingt francs pour leur charge, et le procédé me réussit à merveille. En un mois ma clientèle eut double. Je pus adopter le prix unique de vingt francs sans ralentir en sien les commandes. Si j’avais continue, je serais aujourd’hui millionnaire.” Monet, in conversation with François Thiébault-Sisson, “Claude Monet: An Interview,” La temps, Nov. 27, 1900, translated in Charles F. Stuckey, with the assistance of Sophia Shaw, Claude Monet, 1840–1926, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Thames & Hudson, 1995), pp. 204–05; and in James A. Ganz and Richard Kendall, The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings (Yale University Press, 2007), p. 11.
- Pascal Bonafoux, Monet (Perrin, 2007), p. 41.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- Kristi Dahm, condition report and treatment record, Mar. 16, 2005, on file in Paper Conservation, Department of Prints and Drawings, Art Institute of Chicago.
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 148, cat. D505 (ill.), and p. 144, cat. D490 (ill.). Also according to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Alfred Dussueil (174 boulevard Pereire) deposited at Durand-Ruel Paris seven 7 [sic] drawings ‘Portraits charge’ on February 2, 1927, which were returned to him on March 14, 1927. However, we have no further information (no image, no dimensions); thus no possibility of identifying these drawings.” See Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 9, 2014, curatorial οbject file, Art Institute of Chicago. In short, of the ten caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, it is impossible to determine which seven were previously owned by Dussueil.
Nevertheless, scholar Géraldine Lefebvre has confirmed that Alfred Dussueil was the second son of Le Havre collector Georges Dussueil (1848–1926). See Géraldine Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 3, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Georges was a collector of modern art and a supporter of the Musée Malraux in Le Havre. In addition, Lefebvre reviewed the documents for the estate of Alfred Dussueil dated 1929 and found no mention of works of art, thereby supporting Wildenstein’s assertion. See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 31, 2014, curatorial object file. Finally, Caricature of Mario Uchard (cat. 5 [D499]) has a mostly illegible graphite inscription on the verso in the lower right, which might be “Al Dussueil” (see cat. 5; Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks). It is therefore possible that, like a number of other caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, this drawing was once owned by Georges Dussueil, passed to his son upon his death in 1926, and was sold to Henri Cottereau at some point between March 14 and November 3, 1927. The number preceded by a D refers to drawings in the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet, vol. 5. - 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, Art Institute of Chicago.
- The gift arrived at the Art Institute on April 29, 1933, according to receipt of object 5463 and permanent receipt 5357, both dated Apr. 29, 1933, on file in Museum Registration, Art Institute of Chicago.
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 148, cat. D505 (ill.); however, the published catalogue does not have a catalogue number 84.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill Press, 1996).
- 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, Art Institute of Chicago.
- There are two versions of this image. The other is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen. See Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 152, cat. D482 (ill.). As Bonafoux does not illustrate the drawing, it is impossible to determine if he refers to the Art Institute’s version.
- It is likewise impossible to determine to which version the author refers.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), pp. 145, cat. D496 (ill.); 144, cat. D490 (ill.). Also according to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Alfred Dussueil (174 boulevard Pereire) deposited at Durand-Ruel Paris seven 7 [sic] drawings ‘Portraits charge’ on 2nd February 1927, which were returned to him on 14th March 1927. However, we have no further information (no image, no dimensions); thus no possibility of identifying these drawings.” See Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 9, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. In short, of the ten caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, it is impossible to determine which seven were previously owned by Dussueil. Nevertheless, scholar Géraldine Lefebvre has confirmed that Alfred Dussueil was the second son of Le Havre collector Georges Dussueil (1848–1926). See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 3, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Georges was a collector of modern art and a supporter of the Musée Malraux in Le Havre. In addition, Lefebvre reviewed the documents for the estate of Alfred Dussueil dated 1929 and found no mention of works of art, thereby supporting Wildenstein’s assertion. See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 31, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Finally, the Caricature of Mario Uchard (cat. 5 [D499]) has a mostly illegible graphite inscription on the verso in the lower right, which might be “Al Dussueil” (see cat. 5; Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks). It is therefore possible that, like a number of other caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, this drawing was once owned by Georges Dussueil, passed to his son upon his death in 1926, and was sold to Henri Cottereau at some point between March 14 and November 3, 1927. The number preceded by a D refers to drawings in the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Wildenstein, Claude Monet, vol. 5.
- 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, Art Institute of Chicago.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 144, no. D490 (ill.). Also according to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Alfred Dussueil (174 boulevard Pereire) deposited at Durand-Ruel Paris seven 7 [sic] drawings ‘Portraits charge’ on 2nd February 1927, which were returned to him on 14th March 1927. However, we have no further information (no image, no dimensions); thus no possibility of identifying these drawings.” See Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 9, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. In short, of the ten caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, it is impossible to determine which seven were previously owned by Dussueil. Nevertheless, scholar Géraldine Lefebvre has confirmed that Alfred Dussueil was the second son of Le Havre collector, Georges Dussueil (1848–1926). See Géraldine Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 3, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Georges was a collector of modern art and a supporter of the Musée Malraux in Le Havre. In addition, Lefebvre reviewed the estate documents for Alfred Dussueil dated 1929 and found no mention of works of art, thereby supporting Wildenstein’s assertion. See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 31, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Finally, the Caricature of Mario Uchard (cat. 5 [D499]) has a mostly illegible graphite inscription on the verso in the lower right, which might be “Al Dussueil” (see cat. 5; Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks). As a result of this research, it is possible that this drawing, in addition to a number of other caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, were once owned by Georges Dussueil, passed to his son upon his death in 1926, and sold to Henri Cottereau at some point between March 14 and November 3, 1927. The number preceded by a D refers to drawings in the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Wildenstein, Claude Monet, vol. 5.
- 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, Art Institute of Chicago.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5 (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 147, cat. D499 (ill.). Also according to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Alfred Dussueil (174 boulevard Pereire) deposited at Durand-Ruel Paris seven 7 [sic] drawings ‘Portraits charge’ on 2nd February 1927, which were returned to him on 14th March 1927. However, we have no further information (no image, no dimensions); thus no possibility of identifying these drawings.” See Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 9, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Géraldine Lefebvre has confirmed that Alfred Dussueil was the second son of Le Havre collector Georges Dussueil (1848–1926). See Géraldine Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 3, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Georges was a collector of modern art and a supporter of the Musée Malraux in Le Havre. In addition, Lefebvre reviewed the documents for the estate of Alfred Dussueil dated 1929 and found no mention of works of art, thereby supporting Wildenstein’s assertion. See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 31, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Finally, the mostly illegible graphite inscription on the verso in the lower right might be “Al Dussueil” (see Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks). It is therefore possible that, like a number of other caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, this drawing was once owned by Georges Dussueil, passed to his son upon his death in 1926, and was sold to Henri Cottereau at some point between March 14 and November 3, 1927.
- 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, Art Institute of Chicago.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- Kristi Dahm, treatment report, June 30, 2005, on file in Paper Conservation, Department of Prints and Drawings, Art Institute of Chicago.
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 144, cats. D490 (ill.), D491 (ill.). Also according to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Alfred Dussueil (174 boulevard Pereire) deposited at Durand-Ruel Paris seven 7 [sic] drawings ‘Portraits charge’ on 2nd February 1927, which were returned to him on 14th March 1927. However, we have no further information (no image, no dimensions); thus no possibility of identifying these drawings.” See Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 9, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. In short, of the ten caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, it is impossible to determine which seven were previously owned by Dussueil. Nevertheless, scholar Géraldine Lefebvre has confirmed that Alfred Dussueil was the second son of Le Havre collector Georges Dussueil (1848–1926). See Géraldine Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 3, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Georges was a collector of modern art and a supporter of the Musée Malraux in Le Havre. In addition, Lefebvre reviewed the documents for the estate of Alfred Dussueil dated 1929 and found no mention of works of art, thereby supporting Wildenstein’s assertion. See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 31, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Finally, the Caricature of Mario Uchard (cat. 5 [D499]) has a mostly illegible graphite inscription on the verso in the lower right, which might be “Al Dussueil” (see cat. 5; Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks). It is therefore possible that, like a number of other caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, this drawing was once owned by Georges Dussueil, passed to his son upon his death in 1926, and was sold to Henri Cottereau at some point between March 14 and November 3, 1927. The number preceded by a D refers to drawings in the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Wildenstein, Claude Monet, vol. 5.
- 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, Art Institute of Chicago.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), pp. 145, cat. D497 (ill.); and 144, cat. D490 (ill.). Also according to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Alfred Dussueil (174 boulevard Pereire) deposited at Durand-Ruel Paris seven 7 [sic] drawings ‘Portraits charge’ on 2nd February 1927, which were returned to him on 14th March 1927. However, we have no further information (no image, no dimensions); thus no possibility of identifying these drawings.” See Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 9, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. In short, of the ten caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, it is impossible to determine which seven were previously owned by Dussueil.
Nevertheless, scholar Géraldine Lefebvre has confirmed that Alfred Dussueil was the second son of Le Havre collector Georges Dussueil (1848–1926). See Géraldine Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 3, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Georges was a collector of modern art and a supporter of the Musée Malraux in Le Havre. In addition, Lefebvre reviewed the documents for the estate of Alfred Dussueil dated 1929 and found no mention of works of art, thereby supporting Wildenstein’s assertion. See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 31, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Finally, the Caricature of Mario Uchard (cat. 5 [D499]) has a mostly illegible graphite inscription on the verso in the lower right, which might be “Al Dussueil” (see cat. 5; Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks). It is therefore possible that, like a number of other caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, this drawing was once owned by Georges Dussueil, passed to his son upon his death in 1926, and was to Henri Cottereau at some point between March 14 and November 3, 1927. The number preceded by a D refers to drawings in the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Wildenstein, Claude Monet, vol. 5. - 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, Art Institute of Chicago.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- Kristi Dahm, treatment report, June 30, 2005, on file in Paper Conservation, Department of Prints and Drawings, Art Institute of Chicago.
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), p. 144, cat. D492 (ill.) vol. 5, and p. 144, cat. D490 (ill.). Also according to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Alfred Dussueil (174 boulevard Pereire) deposited at Durand-Ruel Paris seven 7 [sic] drawings ‘Portraits charge’ on 2nd February 1927, which were returned to him on 14th March 1927. However, we have no further information (no image, no dimensions); thus no possibility of identifying these drawings.” See Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 9, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. In short, of the ten caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, it is impossible to determine which seven were previously owned by Dussueil. Nevertheless, scholar Géraldine Lefebvre has confirmed that Alfred Dussueil was the second son of Le Havre collector Georges Dussueil (1848–1926). See Géraldine Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 3, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Georges was a collector of modern art and a supporter of the Musée Malraux in Le Havre. In addition, Lefebvre reviewed the documents for the estate of Alfred Dussueil dated 1929 and found no mention of works of art, thereby supporting Wildenstein’s assertion. See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 31, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Finally, the Caricature of Mario Uchard (cat. 5 [D499]) has a mostly illegible graphite inscription on the verso in the lower right, which might be “Al Dussueil” (see cat. 5; Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks). It is therefore possible that, like a number of other caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, this drawing was once owned by Georges Dussueil, passed to his son upon his death in 1926, and was sold to Henri Cottereau at some point between March 14 and November 3, 1927. The number preceded by a D refers to drawings in the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Wildenstein, Claude Monet, vol. 5.
- According to Carter H. Harris, “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, Art Institute of Chicago.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), pp. 145, cat. D495 (ill.); 144, cat. D490 (ill.). Also according to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Alfred Dussueil (174 boulevard Pereire) deposited at Durand-Ruel Paris seven 7 [sic] drawings ‘Portraits charge’ on 2nd February 1927, which were returned to him on 14th March 1927. However, we have no further information (no image, no dimensions); thus no possibility of identifying these drawings.” See Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 9, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. In short, of the ten caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, it is impossible to determine which seven were previously owned by Dussueil.
Nevertheless, scholar Géraldine Lefebvre has confirmed that Alfred Dussueil was the second son of Le Havre collector Georges Dussueil (1848–1926). See Géraldine Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 3, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Georges was a collector of modern art and a supporter of the Musée Malraux in Le Havre. In addition, Lefebvre reviewed the estate documents for Alfred Dussueil dated 1929 and found no mention of works of art, thereby supporting Wildenstein’s assertion. See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 31, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Finally, the Caricature of Mario Uchard (cat. 5 [D499]) has a mostly illegible graphite inscription on the verso in the lower right, which might be “Al Dussueil” (see cat. 5; Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks). It is therefore possible that, like a number of other caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, this drawing was once owned by Georges Dussueil, passed to his son upon his death in 1926, and was sold to Henri Cottereau at some point between March 14 and November 3, 1927. The number preceded by a D refers to drawings in the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Wildenstein, Claude Monet, vol. 5. - 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, Art Institute of Chicago.
- Thicknesses and textures refer to samples provided in Elizabeth Lunning and Roy Perkinson, The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book: A Practical Guide to the Description of Paper (Print Council of America/Sun Hill, 1996).
- According to Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Catalogue raisonné, vol. 5, Supplément aux peintures: Dessins; Pastels; Index (Wildenstein Institute, 1991), pp. 151, cat. D515 (ill.); 144, no. D490 (ill.). Also according to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Alfred Dussueil (174 boulevard Pereire) deposited at Durand-Ruel Paris seven 7 [sic] drawings ‘Portraits charge’ on 2nd February 1927, which were returned to him on 14th March 1927. However, we have no further information (no image, no dimensions); thus no possibility of identifying these drawings.” See Flavie Durand-Ruel Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 9, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. In short, of the ten caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, it is impossible to determine which seven were previously owned by Dussueil.
Nevertheless, scholar Géraldine Lefebvre has confirmed that Alfred Dussueil was the second son of Le Havre collector Georges Dussueil (1848–1926); see Géraldine Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 3, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Georges was a collector of modern art and a supporter of the Musée Malraux in Le Havre. In addition, Lefebvre reviewed the documents for the estate of Alfred Dussueil dated 1929 and found no mention of works of art, thereby supporting Wildenstein’s assertion. See Lefebvre to the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 31, 2014, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. Finally, the Caricature of Mario Uchard (cat. 5 [D499]) has a mostly illegible graphite inscription on the verso in the lower right, which might be “Al Dussueil” (see cat. 5; Inscriptions and Distinguishing Marks). It is therefore possible that, like a number of other caricatures in the Art Institute’s collection, this drawing was once owned by Georges Dussueil, passed to his son upon his death in 1926, and sold to Henri Cottereau at some point between March 14 and November 3, 1927. The number preceded by a D refers to drawings in the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Wildenstein, Claude Monet, vol. 5. - 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, Art Institute of Chicago.
Entry by Nancy Ireson; Technical Report by Kimberly Nichols and Dawn Jaros, “Cats. 1–10 Early Caricatures,” in Monet Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago, ed. Gloria Groom and Jill Shaw, rev. ed. (2014; repr., Art Institute of Chicago, 2026), https://doi.org/10.53269/9780865592698/07.
