"It is good that he caoxes and flatters her in front of her husband." from the Little Miseries of Human Life
Medium
Wood engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 1/4 × 7 1/2 in. (28.5 × 19 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Yvonne Möen Cumerford, 1965
Accession Number
65.570.61(37)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This 1843 wood engraving, titled “It is good that he caresses and flatters her in front of her husband,” belongs to the series *Little Miseries of Human Life*, a witty exploration of everyday social awkwardness. Designed by the celebrated French caricaturist J. J. Grandville and engraved by Auguste Barbant, Henri Fournier, and others, the print captures the subtle tensions of 19th-century French society under the July Monarchy. Grandville’s sharp eye for human folly turns an ordinary domestic scene into a gentle satire on flattery, jealousy, and polite hypocrisy. Wood engraving, with its cris...
About the Artist
Auguste Barbant|Henri Fournier|J. J. Grandville|Paul-Emile-Daurand Forgues (French|French|French|French) · 1838 |1803 |1813 | –1900 |1847 |1883 |
French, born Paris 1838|French, Nancy 1803–1847 Vanves|French, Paris 1813–1883 Cannes|