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The Relics
About the Artwork
Grandville was known for the many illustrations he contributed to books and periodicals, often in a creative, fantastic style. This drawing relates to an image that appeared in an 1835 edition of the popular songwriter Pierre Jean de Béranger’s complete works. It accompanied the lyrics to a macabre song entitled Les Reliques, written in the voice of the skeleton who appears in the image.
Inscriptions
Verso, of original backing, at center, in black ink: “Les Reliques / Dessin original de / J.J. Grandville / (1803 – 1847)”; at left center, in pencil: “53”
Provenance
Shepherd Gallery, New York, NY September 1975: Mr. Noah L. Butkin [1918-1980] 1980-2005: Mrs. Muriel Butkin [1915-2008] December 3, 2018: the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Jean-Jacques Grandville (French, 1803–1847)
- Date
- c. 1835
- Medium
- pen and brown ink, brown ink wash, heightened with white and red-orange gouache with scoring on wove paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 11.8 x 9.4 cm (4 5/8 x 3 11/16 in.); Mounted: 20.6 x 16.5 cm (8 1/8 x 6 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Bequest of Muriel Butkin
- Accession no.
- 2018.1065
More by Jean-Jacques Grandville in museum collections
Man in a Nightshirt Reaching for a Bottle Labeled "Fountain of Youth"
Jean-Jacques Grandville1803–47 · Drawing
Illustration for Jérôme Paturot à la recherche d'une position sociale (Jérôme Patruot in Search of a Social Position), by Louis Reybaud, Paris, 1846
Jean-Jacques Grandvilleca. 1846 · Drawing
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-00011333
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