Gringoire

Art Historical Context

Created in 1889, this lithograph titled "Gringoire" was produced by K. Maurer after a design by G. Clausse. Printed in black wove paper, the modest sheet measures just 18.9 by 12.1 centimeters, a scale typical of book illustrations or affordable collectible prints of the period. Lithography, invented in the late 18th century, used a prepared stone surface to capture fine lines and subtle tones, allowing skilled printers to reproduce images in multiples and thereby expand art’s reach beyond original drawings or paintings. The title most likely refers to Pierre Gringoire, the poet-character in Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame). Hugo’s romantic medieval tale remained enormously popular throughout the 19th century and inspired countless visual interpretations. This 1889 print therefore participates in a lively tradition of literary illustration, translating a well-known fictional figure into an intimate, graphic form that could be enjoyed by a wide audience. Now in the National Gallery of Art thanks to a gift from The Atlas Foundation, the work also illustrates the collaborative nature of 19th-century printmaking, in which a lithographer such as Maurer translated another artist’s conception for broader circulation. It offers visitors a compact window onto the era’s fusion of literature, popular culture, and reproductive techniques.