Henry Mirande (1877-1955), Self-portrait, Charcoal On Paper

Henry Mirande (1877-1955)
Self-portrait, circa 1940
Graphite pencil and charcoal on paper Signed “HM” lower right and signed with the stamp on the back
Hardly legible annotation upper right: “Le voyage et la morcure du temps / Etude – Italian head / (…) »
62 x 50 cm
Provenance: family of the artist

Painter and illustrator born in Nice in 1877, Henry Mirande (ill.1) is mainly known for his illustrations published in popular satirical magazines at the beginning of the 20th century century such as Le Rire (1894-1971), L'Assiette au beurre (1901-1936) or La Grisette, for which he produced the cover of the first issue published in 1894. Henry Mirande thus produced delightful nervous line drawings accompanied by legends always very fine offering a humorous criticism of the mores of his contemporaries. The artist also teaches graphic arts at the Académie Julian in Paris.

In the 1920s and 30s, Henry Mirande was entrusted with the illustration of several literary works, including François Mauriac's novel, Le Baiser au lepreux (1922), in a 1925 edition by Émile-Paul Frères in Paris comprising ten eight original lithographs. Henry Mirande ended up putting an end to the collaborations with the periodicals which had kept him alive until then to retire humbly to his studio in Montmartre. He thus concentrates on his art in isolation, for nearly twenty years, and produces a more personal work. It is in this context, secluded on his mound, that Henry Mirande produced an important series of self-portraits never exhibited, painted and drawn, to which belong the sheets that we present. He stages himself in his studio and represents himself in a clownish way in various expressions which prove to be very touching.

We recognize, in his sometimes enigmatic annotations, the humor that characterizes him. Curator and art critic Robert Rey (1888-1964) organized the first monographic exhibition of works by Henry Mirande at the Galerie Stiébel in Paris in 1954, a year before the artist's death. A posthumous exhibition will take place in Brussels in 1957 at the Europe gallery.

© A. BIOT-WORMS