Grands Sauteurs!, from "La Caricature"
1823–60
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
Image: 7 9/16 × 9 15/16 in. (19.2 × 25.2 cm) Sheet: 10 1/4 × 13 7/16 in. (26.1 × 34.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1985
Accession Number
1985.1082.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps’s *Grands Sauteurs!* appeared in the French satirical journal *La Caricature* during the turbulent years of the July Monarchy. Created as a lithograph—a medium prized for its speed and wide circulation—this print exemplifies how artists used the press to reach a broad public with witty social commentary. Decamps, best known today for his Orientalist paintings, here turned his sharp eye toward the spectacle of street performers, capturing the energy of acrobats and musicians in mid-leap. The title, translating roughly to “Great Leapers!,” playfully highlights the exag...
About the Artist
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps · 1803–1860
Comment on works: genre