Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
J. J. Grandville carefully drew this group of insects dancing and playing musical instruments so that they are both true to nature and a satirical representation of contemporary society. They stand on their hind legs, and their closed wings echo the silhouettes of the dresses and coats common in 1800s fashion. One of the best-known illustrators from the early 1800s, Grandville was recognized for his fantastical illustrations, often featuring animals acting like humans. This design is one of more than 50 illustrations he published in the periodical <em>Le Magasin pittoresque</em> (The Picturesque Store).
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
166623
label
An Insect Ball
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
166623
contentType
drawing
title
An Insect Ball
description
J. J. Grandville carefully drew this group of insects dancing and playing musical instruments so that they are both true to nature and a satirical representation of contemporary society. They stand on their hind legs, and their closed wings echo the silhouettes of the dresses and coats common in 1800s fashion. One of the best-known illustrators from the early 1800s, Grandville was recognized for his fantastical illustrations, often featuring animals acting like humans. This design is one of more than 50 illustrations he published in the periodical <em>Le Magasin pittoresque</em> (The Picturesque Store).
date
1835
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79997126
creators
29702
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 12.5 x 21.3 cm (4 15/16 x 8 3/8 in.)
cul
France, 19th century
accession
2008.345
Source extras
tec
pen and black ink with watercolor
tombstone
An Insect Ball, 1835. Jean-Jacques Grandville (French, 1803–1847). Pen and black ink with watercolor; sheet: 12.5 x 21.3 cm (4 15/16 x 8 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Muriel Butkin, 2008.345
supportMaterials
description
beige wove paper
collection
DR - French
inscriptions
inscription
signed, lower left, in black ink: J. J. Grandville 1835; verso, upper right, in graphite: No 33 [underlined]; upper right, in graphite: 8
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
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 30, p. 70-71
creditline
Bequest of Muriel Butkin
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:36:17.664000
sourceId
166623
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - French
med
pen and black ink with watercolor
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
57ae42c3b9e11101