Artist: T. A. Steinlen Swiss (1859-1923)
Title: Passe la mi-careme
Plate: LR S2
from "Le Rire"
Original page from the satirical weekly magazine, Printed in Paris 05/21/1896 no.72.
Presented in 16 x 20 in. acid free, archival museum mat, with framing labels. Ready to frame. Shipped boxed flat via Fedex.
Certificate of Authenticity.
Sheet Size: 9 in x 12 in 23 cm x 31 cm
Price: $225.00
The title reads "Passe la mi-careme" which roughly translates to "Past halfway, this pregnancy." Two young laundress girls carry their heavy loads. The red haired girl suggests sarcastically to the brunette girl, who appears to be well along in her pregnancy, "Fat chance a student will come and help us with that load!"
"The years around the turn of the century in Paris were the great periods of the 'artist-reporter' those painters who found their inspiration in the events of every-day life. One of the very greatest of these was Steinlen. With an eye for movement and gesture, with the ability to translate the scenes of the cafes, bars and street corners into pictorial composition, in his drawings he created a pattern of expressive shape, swift shading and telling details of facial expression which is redolent with the whole atmosphere of the period...During the 1880's his frequent illustrations for 'Le Rire' and 'Gil Blas' made him amongst the best known artists of his generation. Much of his strength and effectiveness of his work derives from the fact that, like Daumier, he was able to combine a clear sense of style with humour and social understanding " (Weston No.5 1984, 28)