Mister Vulture

J. J. Grandville

1840 · Pen and ink · Drawings and Prints

In 1839, the editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel conceived of a book project expressly as a vehicle for J. J. Grandville’s illustrations. A collection of short stories by a variety of authors, "Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux: Etudes de mœurs contemporaines," (Scenes from the private and public life of animals: Studies of contemporary customs) offers a satirical critique of human society from the point of view of animals. In the first story, a hare finds lodging with a lowly government clerk. Here, Grandville depicts the poor clerk’s landlord, a portly Mr. Vulture, who clutches a rent receipt in his hand. The locked coffer at lower right also signals the greed of the property owner.

Artist

J. J. Grandville

Date

1840

Medium

Pen and ink

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Schlossberg, 2019