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Pierrot
by Paul Gavarni
About the Artwork
This drawing, by caricaturist Paul Gavarni, presents a character from pantomime and festival culture. Called Pierrot, he is recognizable by his comically ill-fitting clothes and was popular in performances during Gavarni's lifetime. The artist drew Pierrot several times late in his career, often adding humorous captions, which likely related to his work in printmaking and illustration.
Inscriptions
Inscribed, lower right, in red wash: Gavarni; lower left, in red wash: Les femmes sont farces!
Provenance
?-1923: (Keppel & Co., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH) 1923-: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Miscellaneous Prints and Drawings from the Museum Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 23-October 23, 1924). Drawings in the Classic and Romantic Tradition before 1830. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 7, 1932-January 8, 1933). Exhibition of Drawings from the Museum Collection Supplemented by Loans from Local Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 12-September 15, 1935). Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 28-December 9, 1937). Old Master Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 4-March 26, 1939). Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-October 3, 1940). Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 27, 1941). French Drawings and Watercolors from French Public and Private Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 6-February 15, 1942). Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 17-August 24, 1942). 19th and 20th Century French Art and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Loans. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 1, 1943). Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 11-September 10, 1963). French Watercolors. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI (organizer) (September 29-October 10, 1965). French Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1965-February 16, 1966). Brush Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 3-May 10, 1981). Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 20-June 11, 2023).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Paul Gavarni (French, 1804–1866)
- Date
- c. 1850–60
- Medium
- watercolor heightened with white gouache on off-white wove paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 31.8 x 21 cm (12 1/2 x 8 1/4 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Dudley P. Allen Fund
- Accession no.
- 1923.854
More by Paul Gavarni in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010982
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