Les Communeux par H. Nérac; Le Canard A Trois Becs

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.

Place of Origin

Paris, France (printed)

Date

1871 (printed)

Artist/maker

Xiat, H (caricaturist)
Jailly (printer)

Materials and Techniques

Hand-coloured lithograph on paper

Marks and inscriptions

'COMMUNEUX PAR H. NÉRAC.'
'LE CANARD A TROIS BECS'
'TABLEAU DE FAMILLE'
'Comite Central / Internationale / Commune'
'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'
'H. Nérac'
'No. 1'

Dimensions

Height: 31.4 cm, Width: 17.7 cm

Descriptive line

'Le Canard A Trois Becs'. Satirical illustration by H. Xiat (H. Nérac) showing a duck with three heads. Hand-coloured lithograph, France, 1871.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

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.
The full text of the entry is as follows:

'113
LE CANARD A TROIS BECS
TABLEAU DE FAMILLE

Nérac, H. (‘Xiat’)
Plate 1 from a series of 6 entitled LES COMMUNEUX PAR H. NÉRAC. Signed H. Nérac. Lettered 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 and within the design Comite Central Internationale Commune. Numbered No. 1. Lithograph, coloured by hand. 12 3/8 x 7 in. (31.4 x 17.7cm.). E.1447-1962

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.'
Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1962. London: HMSO, 1964.
The full text of the entry is as follows:
"'FAUSTIN' (pseudonym of Faustin BETBEDER) (born 1847), and other Artists
Caricatures, broadsheets and illustrations (2235) relating to Napoleon III, the Imperial Family, the fall of the Second Empire, the Siege of Paris and the Commune, by 'Faustin' and other artists, 1870-1. In 10 volumes, each half-bound in red leather, gold tooled and stamped with imperial emblems, title etc.
Many lettered with names of artists and printers and with captions.
Lithographs, etchings, mostly coloured by hand. Various sizes
E.43-2277-1962
Among the artists represented in this collection are:
ANDRIEUX, Clément Augustue (1829-1880)
BALLIN, Auguste (born 1842)
BAR, G. (1807-post 1870)
BEAUVERIE, Charles Joseph (1839-1924)
'BERTALL' (pseudonym of Albert d'ARNOUX) (1820-1882)
BOUTET, Henri (1851-c.1920)
'CHAM' (pseudonym of Amédée Charles Henri, Comte de NOÉ) (1819-1879)
CHOUBRAC, Alfred (1853-1902)
COINDRE, Victor (born 1816)
DAUMIER, Honoré (1808-1879)
DAUMONT, Émile Florentin (1834-c.1904)
DEMARE, Henri (1846-1888)
'DRANER' (pseudonym of Jules RENARD) (1833-1898)
FRONDAT, Napoléon Charles Louis de (born 1846)
'GÉDÉON' (pseudonym of Gédéon BARIL) (born 1832) '
'GILL', André (pseudonym of Louis Alexandre GOSSET) (1840-1885)
HADOL, Paul (1835-1875)
HUMBERT, Albert (1835-1886)
'JOB' (pseudonym of Jacques Marie ONFRAY de Bréville) (1858-1931)
KLENK, Paul (born 1844)
LADREYT, Eugène (born 1832)
LALANNE, Maxime (1827-1886)
LE PETIT, Alfred (1841-1909)
LEVY, Alphonse Jacques (1843-1918)
MAILLY, Hippolyte (born 1829)
'MARTIAL' (pseudonym of Adolphe Martial POTÉMONT) (1828-1883)
'MOLOCH' (pseudonym of B. COLOMB) (1849-1909)
'MONTBARD' (pseudonym Charles Auguste LOYE) (1842-1905)
MORLAND, Valère Alphonse (born 1846)
MOYSE, Édouard (born 1827)
'PÉPIN' (pseudonym of Georges LABADIE) (1844-1918)
PIERDON, Francois (1821-1904)
'PILOTELL' (pseudonym of Georges LABADIE) (1844-1918)
REGAMEY, Félix Élie (1844-1907)
ROCHEBRUNE, Octave Guillaume de (1824-1900)
SCHÉRER, Léonce (1827-1876)
SCHOMMER, François (1850-1935)
'TELLIAP' (pseudonym of (?) Fernand PAILLET) (1850-1918)
VERNIER, Charles (1831-1887)
VEYRASSAT, Jules Jacques (1828-1893)
YON, Edmond Charles Joseph (1836-1897)"

Exhibition History

The Franco-Prussian War and The Commune in Caricature 1870-71 (Victoria and Albert Museum 27/05/1971-10/10/1971)

Labels and date

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]

Materials

Paper

Techniques

Lithography; Hand-colouring

Subjects depicted

Duck; Sash; Collars (neckwear); Torch (lighting device)

Categories

Prints; Caricatures & Cartoons

Collection code

PDP