Gavarni - I Hit Jalouret!

GAVARNI (Paris, 1804 - Paris, 1866)
I hit Jalouret!
Ink, watercolor and gouache highlights on paper
34x27 cm / 50x40 cm framed
Signed lower left “Gavarni”.
Inscription at the bottom right: “J'ai enfoncé Jalouret!” »

Sold framed
History: Sale after the death of Mme Lecreux, Drouot, November 6, 1941: 7,200 francs

Characteristic of Gavarni's production, this charged portrait should be compared to other works such as “Don't talk to him about artists! »[1], which also represents a full-length bourgeois, in the same posture, standing, hands in his pockets and paunchy stomach. The character of Jalouret, mentioned in the title, inspired several watercolor compositions at Gavarni[2] and seems to correspond to the type of bohemian, abhorred by the bourgeois. In our watercolor, the latter rejoices at having defeated the said Jalouret, proudly declaring to have hit him.

Despite his satisfied air and this belligerent boasting, he inspires a certain sympathy with his red and mocking face. Hector Brame also summarizes Gavarni's art by evoking “the work of an artist whose sensitivity reaches genius, […] of an observer without gall and without bitterness; [who] loves and has translated the spirit of Paris, Paris which lives above all on little slanders, adorable slanders, draft novels, vaudevilles, taunts…”[3]

[1] Preserved at the Thomas Henry museum in Cherbourg -en-Cotentin, this lithograph forms a tasty pair with its counterpart entitled “Don’t talk to him about the bourgeois!” ".
[2] A watercolor entitled “Jaloret, you are a prank!!! » was part of the collection of Prince Soutzo, sold at auction on February 29, 1876.
[3] Hector Brame, “Foreword”, Watercolors and drawings by Gavarni […] whose sale will take place Hôtel Drouot, Room n°10 on Friday July 2, 1926, p.6.