Honoré Daumier, Gavarni, J.J. Grandville, Henri Monnier, Charles-Joseph Traviès — these artists mocked the tumultuous political and social climate in France of the 1800s, evading censorship and facing imprisonment. An unprecedented opportunity will soon be available to view their works as they appeared to the journal-reading public of the time. From September 2 to October 10, 2008, the Clark Humanities Museum of Scripps College will run “The Politics of Satire in 19th Century France,” an exhibit of the college’s collection of French caricatures of the era.
The exhibit will present original lithographs published in two of the most influential journals of the time, the weekly La Caricature (1830-1835) and the daily Le Charivari (1832-1895), donated by C. Jane Hurley Wilson ’64. Never before on display at Scripps, 40 images lead viewers into the chaotic world French citizens experienced in the aftermath of the 1830 Revolution and throughout the July Monarchy. Humorous, cynical, and compelling, the caricatures existed both as art and as mass media.
“This is one of the very few times Southern Californians will have a chance to see such images,” commented Mary Davis MacNaughton ’70, Scripps professor of art history and director, Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery. MacNaughton, along with Professor Heidi Brevik-Zender, directed the organization of the show. “There are not many collections of these lithographs in the area, and they are rarely on display.”
Curators of the exhibit, Marin Sarvé-Tarr ’08 and Anne Marshall ’08, selected pieces according to themes, such as social parody that emerges as political commentary. Sarvé-Tarr and Marshall will speak about the exhibition during the opening reception on Thursday, September 11, 2008, from 4 to 6 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public.
The Clark Humanities Museum is located in the Humanities Building of Scripps College at 10th Street and Columbia in Claremont. The museum is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, please contact Professor Eric Haskell.