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Head of a Young Man (Study for L'Oiseau de passage)
by Paul Gavarni
About the Artwork
Paul Gavarni made this drawing as a study for L'Oiseau de passage (The Bird of Passage), one of the lithographs in a series on Parisian courtesans that he produced for the newspaper Paris. The lithograph's title, L'Oiseau de passage, must refer to the young man since messieurs de passage were casual lovers a courtesan might take on to supplement her protector's regular support. This drawing was once part of the important collection of the artist's work amassed by the writers Edmond (1822–1896) and Jules (1830–1870) de Goncourt. The Goncourts believed Gavarni captured the essence of 19th-century life, and they cited this particular drawing in their Journal des Goncourt, where they called it "the study of this cruel redhead."
Inscriptions
across bottom, in graphite: Etude pour l'Oiseau de passage (Planche 20 des Partageuses.); verso, lower right, in graphite: 38-40; lower left, in graphite: gris bleu / noir; on secondary support, lower right, in graphite: jeunehomme / couché; verso of secondary support, upper right, in graphite: Helleu; center right, in black chalk: Vente goncourt / [illegible]; lower left, in blue ink: Etude pour "oiseau de passage", planche 20 des Partageuses / provient du grenier - Vente Goncourt. Collection de peintre Helleu / Racheté à Mlle ["lle" underlined] Paulette Helleu 1933.
Provenance
Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, Paris (Lugt and Lugt Suppl. 1089, lower right, in black ink); [their sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris (30 April-1 May 1897), lot 7]. Paul-César Helleu (1859-1927) (according to inscription on verso of mount); Paulette Helleu (according to inscription on verso of mount). [B. G. Verte (Georges Martin du Nord), Paris]; [from whom purchased in 1973 by Shepherd Gallery, New York]; purchased in 1974.
Exhibition history
French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Paul Gavarni (French, 1804–1866)
- Date
- 1853
- Medium
- graphite and red chalk with stylus heightened with white on off-white woven paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 23.6 x 16.6 cm (9 5/16 x 6 9/16 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Bequest of Muriel Butkin
- Accession no.
- 2008.352
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-00011489
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