Charles Leandre - Young Woman In A Landscape With Cupid And Little Monkey - Lithograph

1907
Signed and dated in the plate at the bottom right
Exhibition: Cabourg, Villa du Temps retrouvé, March 4 – November 12, 2023

Originally from Normandy, Charles Leandre trained in Paris and settled in Montmartre. A versatile artist with a unique universe and a fruitful career, he stands out in particular in the genres of portraiture, humorous drawing and caricature, expressing himself in painting, pastel, sculpture and engraving. In this last field, he obtained a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1900, then, in 1921 at the Salon des Artistes français, the medal of honor.
His lithographic production includes several fans, made in particular for celebrations. This one is distinguished by its red blood print. In the central part stands a small plump winged cherub, holding an arrow in his left hand, Cupid, behind his back. Standing in front of a stele crowned with a basin from which two garlands of flowers extend on either side, the god of love looks in the direction of a young woman and turns his back on a monkey who stretches his hands towards him.
This lithograph could be an allusion to the situation of Charles Leandre, torn between the temptations of carnal love and his affection for Zaza, a little monkey who shared his life for 25 years and to whom he was extremely attached. Her jealousy was notorious, particularly towards her female models whom she greeted “with the most discordant cries”[1].
[1] Emile Langlade, “Charles Leandre”, Artistes de mon temps, volume 2, Arras, Éditions INSAP, p. 112.