"All that remains is to close the blessed trunk!" from the Little Miseries of Human Life

Art Historical Context

This delightful wood engraving, titled *"All that remains is to close blessed trunk!"* from the series *Little Miseries of Human Life*, was created in 1843 the renowned French caricaturist J.J. Grandville, in collaboration with Paul-Émile Daurand-Forgues (Quichon), and engravers Henri Fournier. 11¼ × 7½ inches, it captures a comically exasperated moment of domestic chaos, featuring men and women wrestling with beds and luggage—an everyday frustration elevated to absurd hilarity. Grandville, a master of 19th-century satire, belonged to the Romantic era's caricature tradition, where wood engravings like this one enabled sharp social commentary through intricate, reproducible details. Published amid France's burgeoning illustrated press, the print pokes fun at the "little miseries" of bourgeois life, reflecting the era's growing fascination with humor in mundane struggles. The medium's fine lines and tonal depth allowed for expressive faces and dynamic action, making it ideal for mass distribution in books and periodicals. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Mrs. Yvonne Möen Cumerford, 1965), this piece exemplifies how Grandville's whimsical exaggeration turned trivial annoyances into cultural touchstones, inviting viewers to laugh at shared human follies.

About the Artist

Paul-Emile-Daurand Forgues|Quichon|J. J. Grandville|Henri Fournier (French|French|French) · 1813 | |1803 –1883 | |1847

French, Paris 1813–1883 Cannes| |French, Nancy 1803–1847 Vanves