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Les Communeux par H. Nérac

Print
1871 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Jailly (printer)
Xiat, H (caricaturist)
Place of origin
Paris (printed)

Satirical print showing a duck with three heads, lettered in turn 'Comite Central', 'Internationale' and 'Commune'. A flaming torch is tied to the body of the duck with a red sash. 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
Caricatures & Cartoons
Prints
Object type
Print
Titles
  • Les Communeux par H. Nérac (series title)
  • Le Canard A Trois Becs (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Hand-coloured lithograph on paper
Paper
Lithography
Hand-Colouring
Brief description
'Le Canard A Trois Becs'. Satirical illustration by H. Xiat (H. Nérac) showing a duck with three heads. Hand-coloured lithograph, France, 1871.
Physical description
Satirical print showing a duck with three heads, lettered in turn 'Comite Central', 'Internationale' and 'Commune'. A flaming torch is tied to the body of the duck with a red sash. 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: 31.4cm
  • Width: 17.7cm
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
  • 'COMMUNEUX PAR H. NÉRAC.' (Series title, lettered above design.)
  • 'LE CANARD A TROIS BECS' (Title, lettered above design, below series title)
  • 'TABLEAU DE FAMILLE' (Lettered below design)
  • 'Comite Central / Internationale / Commune' (Lettered within the design)
  • 'Jailly Dessinr. Impr. Editr., 7 et 9 Rue Oberkampf, Paris. / Dépôt chez Defôret et César, 64 Rue Neuve des Petits Champs. / Tirage spécial sur papier de luxe pour les amateurs' (Lettered below design)
  • 'H. Nérac' (Signed, right of design - on the duck's wing)
  • 'No. 1' (Numbered above top-right corner of design)
Gallery label
H. Nérac "Xiat" A visual pun on the double meaning of 'canard', either a duck or a hoax. The different constituents of the Commune - the Comité Central, Marx's International and the followers of Delescluze and Blanqui - are uncomfortably fitted into the same body, around which is tied the uniting red sash of the communards. Bickering between these different factions contributed considerably to the downfall of the Commune. Lithograph, coloured by hand. From a series of 6. E.1447-1962(27/05/1971-10/10/1971)
Subjects depicted
Duck
Torch (Lighting Device)
Sash
Collars (Neckwear)
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, V&A, 1971
  • Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1962. London: HMSO, 1964.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.1447-1962

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Record createdFebruary 11, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O187290/les-communeux-par-h-nérac-print-xiat-h/
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