"Praise of Chicken" from The Complete Works of Béranger

Art Historical Context

Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings Prints department will delight in "Praise of Chicken," a wood engraving from 1836, featured in *The Complete Works of Banger*. Created by the celebrated French caricaturist J. J. Grandville, contributions from designer Lacoste and printers Fournier & Perrot in Paris, it illustrates a poem by lyricist Pierre Jean de Béranger. Béranger, a master of satirical chansons during France's turbulent post-Napoleonic era, often infused his works with humor and social commentary, making this ode to the humble chicken a playful gem from the Romantic period's vibrant print culture. Wood engraving, the medium here, revolutionized 19th-century illustration by allowing intricate, durable blocks that produced sharp, detailed reproductions for books. Grandville's signature style—fantastical anthropomorphism and satire—likely transforms the fowl subject into a droll, human-like figure, capturing the era's fascination with caricature amid political upheaval following the 1830 July Revolution. Measuring just 8⅝ × 5½ inches, this intimate sheet exemplifies how prints democratized art, bringing Grandville's imaginative world to wide audiences. Acquired through The Elisha Whittelsey Fund in 1959, it highlights the Met's commitment to preserving ephemera that reveal everyday cultural wit. A testament to French graphic artistry, "Praise of Chicken" invites us to savor the absurd joys hidden in the ordinary.

About the Artist

Pierre Jean de Béranger|Lacoste, Paris|Fournier & Perrotin|J. J. Grandville (French|French) · 1780 | –1857 |

French, Paris 1780–1857 Paris|French