SICARD François

Drawing Album

Paris circa 1890. Oblong 8vo full violet calf. Set of gilt fillets framing the covers with gilt scrollwork decoration spine with raised bands adorned with gilt floral motifs and fillets gilt edges blunted corners weakened hinge rubbing & small losses. Dimensions: 19.2 x 24.8 cm.

Album containing 30 drawings sketches & notes by the artist François Sicard 1862-1934 who dedicated part of his youth to newspaper caricature. Many of his works are today in museums: Orsay Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Genève. Lot of the drawings in our album were designed for the famous newspaper Le Charivari with several mentions at the top of the sketches. Various mentions suggest that some drawings were accepted or rejected by the newspaper which boasted of "publishing a new drawing every day". A sheet which we count as 1 drawing is dedicated to "A Day in the Life of a Society Woman" in 12 vignettes. This format corresponds to page 3 of Le Charivari of that time where there was regularly a series of 12 or 16 humorous sketches with commentary depicting picturesque scenes of Parisian life. At the end of the album 2 larger format drawings bearing the stamp "Atelier François Sicard" are in a different style: they depict full-length women in the manner of Goya.
An important testimony on Le Charivari & the work of a caricaturist in the 19th century.

Manuscript, Drawings