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Victor Hugo par Faustin

Print
1870-1871 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Lemaine & Fils (lithographer)
Betbeder, Faustin (caricaturist)
Place of origin
Paris (printed)

Satirical print in which Victor Hugo is shown holding a book lettered 'Les Châtiments' under his left arm, and Napoleon III is chained to a cannon ball. Hugo is also holding a large quill pen in his right hand with which he has written the word 'Veritas'. 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
TitleVictor Hugo par Faustin (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Hand-coloured lithograph on paper
Paper
Lithography
Hand-Colouring
Brief description
'Victor Hugo par Faustin'. Satirical illustration by Faustin Betbder in which Victor Hugo is shown holding a book and quill pen, while Napoleon III is chained to a cannon ball. Hand-coloured lithograph, France, 1870-1871.
Physical description
Satirical print in which Victor Hugo is shown holding a book lettered 'Les Châtiments' under his left arm, and Napoleon III is chained to a cannon ball. Hugo is also holding a large quill pen in his right hand with which he has written the word 'Veritas'. 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: 32cm
  • Width: 24.7cm
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
  • 'Victor Hugo par Faustin Lith. Lemaine et Fils, 61, r. de Cléry En Vente ch. Duclaux, 21, pl. du Ch - d'Eau Dépot ch. Madre, 20, r. du Croissant' (Lettered)
  • 'Victor Hugo / Les Châtiments / Veritas / Justicier' (Lettered within the design)
  • 'Faustin' (Signed)
  • 'Va, bandit [the rest illegible] (Lettered in the lower right corner)
Gallery label
(27/05/1971-10/10/1971)
"Faustin" (pseudonym of Faustin Betbeder( (born 1847)

Victor Hugo was expelled from France when Napoleon III came to power and only returned on the fall of the Empire. The book which he carries in the caricature (it has been written with the pen of justice and the ink of truth) is Les Châtiments, verses hostile to the Emperor, which were published in 1853 and banned in France until the relaxation of the press laws in 1868. 20,000 copies had been sold in France by the end of 1870. Napoleon III is dragged to the ground by a cannon ball to which he is chained. The inscription is a quotation from part III of ‘Toulon’ from Les Châtiments.

Lithograph, coloure dby hand. E.995-1962
Subjects depicted
Cannonball
Quill Pen
Book
Hugo, Victor
Literary reference<i>Les Châtiments</i>; by Victor Hugo: Verses hostile to the Emperor, which were published in 1853 and banned in France until the relaxation of the press laws in 1868. 20,000 copies had been sold in France by the end of 1870.
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.995-1962

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Record createdJanuary 28, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O185360/victor-hugo-par-faustin-print-betbeder-faustin/
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