Dubbed the King of Caricature for his witty images and playful use of animals in human clothing, and a politically engaged artist devoted to the republican cause, Grandville increasingly turned to book illustration after 1835 when state suppression of humorous political images was at its height.
This drawing is a study for one of Grandville's illustrations for "Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux," published in Paris in 1842 by Pierre-Jules Hetzel (vol. 1, p. 25). This two-volume book was conceived as a vehicle for Grandville's illustrations, set to text by various authors, including Balzac. But Grandville's images were the star, with their social commentary veiled by the use of animals in fantastic and bizarre settings. In this illustration, a hungry Kingfisher and Frog approach the hive home of an unsuspecting bee couple. It appears as a tailpiece in a long essay by L'Heritier de l'Ain "Peregrination memorable du doyen des crapauds" (The Dean of Toads Memorable Peregrination). A sizable cache of Grandville's drawings for this enormously popular work was sold with his estate sale in 1853, although some, such as the present sheet, which lacks the estate's dry stamp, were among those retained by the publisher.
Signed in pen at lower right, "J.J. Grandville".
Hetzel, Pierre-Jules, 1814-1886, former owner.
Tang, Henry S., former owner.
Tang, Henry S., Mrs., former owner.