Paul Gavarni

Original Prints and Drawings

A true Parisian, Paul Gavarni (1804 - 1866) was an astute observer and an acerbic caricaturist of all aspects of the post-Napoleonic French society; close to the Goncourt brothers, praised by Balzac, Gavarni was quite the mondain; he actively took part in the rise of the press, and published regularly in the satirical journals, such as Charivari.

In the history of printmaking, he was only rivalled by Daumier in his early exploration of the possibilities of lithography, then a new medium, and produced over 2700 prints in his career.

(Projets de Bonheur) Armelhaut & Bocher 2146 lithograph, n.d., an exceedingly rare impression of this fine print, on chine appliqué paper Gavarni here captures a Romantic bourgeois idyll, apparently conceived for an editorial project that was never published.

Costume of Brittany (Costume de Bretagne) ink wash drawing in sepia and grey (lavis d'encre), circa 1833-4, signed by the artist, on fine wove paper In the early 1830s, Gavarni spent time chronicling fashion, and traveling across France; he published several accounts of local costume, here Òdepicting a well-dressed Breton gentleman.          next artist  >