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Source Description
Paul Gavarni made this drawing as a study for <em>L'Oiseau de passage</em> (The Bird of Passage), one of the lithographs in a series on Parisian courtesans that he produced for the newspaper <em>Paris</em>. The lithograph's title, <em>L'Oiseau de passage</em>, must refer to the young man since messieurs de passage were casual lovers a courtesan might take on to supplement her protector's regular support. This drawing was once part of the important collection of the artist's work amassed by the writers Edmond (1822–1896) and Jules (1830–1870) de Goncourt. The Goncourts believed Gavarni captured the essence of 19th-century life, and they cited this particular drawing in their <em>Journal des Goncourt</em>, where they called it "the study of this cruel redhead."
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
166631
label
Head of a Young Man (Study for L'Oiseau de passage)
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
166631
contentType
drawing
title
Head of a Young Man (Study for L'Oiseau de passage)
description
Paul Gavarni made this drawing as a study for <em>L'Oiseau de passage</em> (The Bird of Passage), one of the lithographs in a series on Parisian courtesans that he produced for the newspaper <em>Paris</em>. The lithograph's title, <em>L'Oiseau de passage</em>, must refer to the young man since messieurs de passage were casual lovers a courtesan might take on to supplement her protector's regular support. This drawing was once part of the important collection of the artist's work amassed by the writers Edmond (1822–1896) and Jules (1830–1870) de Goncourt. The Goncourts believed Gavarni captured the essence of 19th-century life, and they cited this particular drawing in their <em>Journal des Goncourt</em>, where they called it "the study of this cruel redhead."
date
1853
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79997151
creators
6851
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 23.6 x 16.6 cm (9 5/16 x 6 9/16 in.)
cul
France, 19th century
accession
2008.352
Source extras
tec
graphite and red chalk with stylus heightened with white on off-white woven paper
tombstone
Head of a Young Man (Study for L'Oiseau de passage), 1853. Paul Gavarni (French, 1804–1866). Graphite and red chalk with stylus heightened with white on off-white woven paper; sheet: 23.6 x 16.6 cm (9 5/16 x 6 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Muriel Butkin, 2008.352
supportMaterials
description
beige wove paper coated with a light gray ground, mounted along right edge to multi-ply board
collection
DR - French
inscriptions
inscription
across bottom, in graphite: Etude pour l'Oiseau de passage (Planche 20 des Partageuses.); verso, lower right, in graphite: 38-40; lower left, in graphite: gris bleu / noir; on secondary support, lower right, in graphite: jeunehomme / couché; verso of secondary support, upper right, in graphite: Helleu; center right, in black chalk: Vente goncourt / [illegible]; lower left, in blue ink: Etude pour "oiseau de passage", planche 20 des Partageuses / provient du grenier - Vente Goncourt. Collection de peintre Helleu / Racheté à Mlle ["lle" underlined] Paulette Helleu 1933.
citations
citation
Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. <em>French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin</em>. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
page_number
Referenced: cat. no. 37, p. 84-85, Reproduced: p. 85
creditline
Bequest of Muriel Butkin
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:36:21.963000
sourceId
166631
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - French
med
graphite and red chalk with stylus heightened with white on off-white woven paper
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
7890d7e9347527b0