Lutteurs (The Wrestlers), from "Le Monde Illustré"

Alexandre Falguière|Auguste Joliet|Etienne-Gabriel Bocourt

May 22, 1875 · Wood engraving · Drawings and Prints

Falguière had worked mainly as a sculptor—he won the prix de Rome for sculpture in 1859—before submitting "Lutteurs," as his first major canvas to the Salon in 1875, earning a second class medal for the work. Critics were split in their opinions of the painting according to their position relative to realism; some saw the subject as unworthy, while others saw it as representative of modern life. This wood engraving published in "Le Monde Illustré" is representative of how major artworks at the annual Salon circulated visually among a public that may or may not have visited the exhibition in person.

Artist

Alexandre Falguière|Auguste Joliet|Etienne-Gabriel Bocourt

Date

May 22, 1875

Medium

Wood engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Donato Esposito, 2016