GAVARNI, Paul
(b. ca. 1804, Paris, d. 1866, Paris)

What a Dreadful Salon

1839
Lithograph
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

The emergence of illustrated journals after 1830 provided a site for caricaturists. Paul Gavarni, a bon vivant, exhibited a strong sympathy for the raffish society that he represented, something that comes out in the charm and elegance of his graphic style. He was very much the aesthetic bohemian.