Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case GG, Shelf 208

Le Vieux Singe Savant

Print
1870-1871 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Satirical print depicting Adolphe Thiers as having the body of a monkey. Thiers sits on a lecturn stirring a solution in a glass that he is holding, with a crown on the end of his tail. In the background there is a cockerel and a wolf. Print from a set of caricatures, broadsheets and illustrations in ten volumes. Each volume is half-bound in red leather, gold tooled and stamped with imperial emblems, title etc.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLe Vieux Singe Savant (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Hand-coloured lithograph on paper
Brief description
'Le Vieux Singe Savant'. Satirical illustration by Faustin Betbeder depicting Adolphe Thiers as having the body of a monkey. Hand-coloured lithograph, France, 1870-1871.
Physical description
Satirical print depicting Adolphe Thiers as having the body of a monkey. Thiers sits on a lecturn stirring a solution in a glass that he is holding, with a crown on the end of his tail. In the background there is a cockerel and a wolf. Print from a set of caricatures, broadsheets and illustrations in ten volumes. Each volume is half-bound in red leather, gold tooled and stamped with imperial emblems, title etc.
Dimensions
  • Height: 32.4cm
  • Width: 24.1cm
Dimensions from: Lambert, Susan. The Franco-Prussian War and The Commune in Caricature 1870-71. catalogue of a collection of prints in the possession of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1971.
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Le Vieux Singe Savant. Madre, Editeur, rue du Croissant 20. Lith. Barousse, à Paris Va-t' -il être plumé ce pauvre coq gaulois!...' (Lettered)
  • 'Versailles' and 'Mes Bons Messieurs Je vous affirme que je suis Républicain et que j'adore Votre Vile Multitude! . . . . .' (Lettered within the design)
  • 'Faustin' (Signed)
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Lambert, Susan. The Franco-Prussian War and The Commune in Caricature 1870-71. catalogue of a collection of prints in the possession of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1971.
  • Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1962. London: HMSO, 1964.
Collection
Accession number
E.1150-1962

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdFebruary 6, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest