J.J. Grandville

Jean Ignace Isidore Gerard (1803-1847) was a prolific French illustrator and caricaturist who published under the pseudonym Grandville. His exceptional imagination, coupled with astute and pointed powers of observation, drove his unparalleled artistic production. Only a single line of the human physiognomy, a simple detail of clothing or other object of daily use, was sufficient to capture an entire character, a whole manner of being, or a complete personality. His brilliant satirical drawings would serve as inspiration not only for a subsequent generation of illustrators but in particular for the surrealists and contemporary artists since. This massive tribute covers all aspects of Grandville's work.