"The head of the young fellow insolently mingled with the candlesticks of the chandelier." 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(9)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This 1843 wood engraving captures a delightfully absurd moment from the series * Miseries of Human Life*, where everyday social blunders are exaggerated for comic effect. The title alone suggests a chaotic party scene in which a young man’s head has become comically entangled with the chandelier’s candlesticks—an image that pokes gentle fun at the awkwardness of 19th-century social gatherings. Created through the precise technique of wood engraving, the print allowed for sharp lines and lively detail that could be widely reproduced in books and periodicals, making satirical imagery accessible ...
About the Artist
Brugnot|J. J. Grandville|Paul-Emile-Daurand Forgues|Henri Fournier (French|French|French|French) · 1803 |1834 | |1813 –1847 |1873 | |1883
French, Nancy 1803–1847 Vanves|French, active 1834–73| |French, Paris 1813–1883 Cannes