| Absinthe & Art VI - Anti-Absinthe Caricatures |
| Original pen and watercolour sketches by graphic artists for anti-absinthe propaganda, produced between around 1905 and 1915, including a fine pastel sketch by Mathieu. |
| An original maquette in ink, pencil and watercolor, for a still undocumented anti-absinthe poster or journal illustration. The artist is apparently Emile Decoeur (1876 - 1953), better known for his art nouveau influenced ceramic works. |
| Click here to buy a reproduction print of this drawing. |
Signed "Mathieu 1912", this striking pastel measures 60
x 50cm and shows a finely sketched man with three
drinks: le blanc, le rouge and la verte.
More information on the iconography of this work is
urgently required:
I can find no reference to the artist anywhere, nor can I
identify the subject. Of course it may just be a generic
working man, but I don't think so - it has the feel of a
specific person - perhaps an artist, a writer, a union
leader, a campaigner of some sort? The anti-alcohol
message (if that's what it is) is also too subtle to be
generic - if it was, it would typically be harder hitting, with
all the emphasis on l'enfer, and none on le paradis.
Also interesting is the contrast between the very finely
worked face and the crudely drawn glasses.
It's been suggested the figure represents Zola's
Coupeau, anti-hero of L'Assommoir.
If you can shed any light at all on these questions,
please email Oxygénée.
x 50cm and shows a finely sketched man with three
drinks: le blanc, le rouge and la verte.
More information on the iconography of this work is
urgently required:
I can find no reference to the artist anywhere, nor can I
identify the subject. Of course it may just be a generic
working man, but I don't think so - it has the feel of a
specific person - perhaps an artist, a writer, a union
leader, a campaigner of some sort? The anti-alcohol
message (if that's what it is) is also too subtle to be
generic - if it was, it would typically be harder hitting, with
all the emphasis on l'enfer, and none on le paradis.
Also interesting is the contrast between the very finely
worked face and the crudely drawn glasses.
It's been suggested the figure represents Zola's
Coupeau, anti-hero of L'Assommoir.
If you can shed any light at all on these questions,
please email Oxygénée.
| An striking original maquette by Alloton in ink and watercolor, for a still undocumented anti-absinthe poster or journal illustration. |
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