The Nadars, a photographic legend

The Nadars

fr

Paul Gavarni (1804-1866)

Benjamin Roubaud (1811-1847), around 1860-1880

Caricature published in The Charivari Pantheon (1839-1841)
Lithography, 35.5 cm.
BnF, Prints and Photographs Department, STORAGE ZF-279-4
© Bibliothèque nationale de France
Along with Grandville and Daumier, Gavarni was one of the most prolific illustrators of his day. He did fashion illustrations in watercolor for the newspaper La Mode. In 1831, Balzac wrote flattering articles about him and gave him a reference for the newspaper La Caricature. Gavarni often worked in series, including a Physiognomy of the Population of Paris, as well as a series of lithographies devoted to the people of London, which he had visited. Late in life, he retired to Auteuil, where he passed away in 1866.