Souvenir. Pervenche / Recollection. Perriwinkle

About this artwork

blad: hoogte 362 mm x breedte 276 mm

Art Historical Context

Achille Devéria's *Souvenir. Pervenche Recollection. Perinkle* (1831–1832) is a lithograph measuring 362 mm high by 276 mm wide, capturing the Romantic spirit of early 19th-century France Devéria, a prominent French artist known for his elegant portraits, fashion illustrations, and literary scenes, excelled in lithography—a revolutionary printmaking technique invented around 1798. This medium allowed artists to draw directly on limestone with greasy crayon, producing soft, expressive lines and tones that mimicked drawing, making high-quality reproductions affordable for a growing middle-class audience. Created during the height of Romanticism, the work evokes nostalgia through its title, pairing "Souvenir" (memory) with "Pervenche" (periwinkle), a small blue flower symbolizing tender recollections, fidelity, and the fleeting joys of youth in Victorian-era floral language. Lithography's popularity in the 1830s enabled such intimate, poetic images to circulate widely in albums and salons, bridging fine art with popular culture. This piece exemplifies how Devéria blended technical innovation with emotional depth, offering viewers a poignant "recollection" preserved in stone—a testament to lithography's role in democratizing art during a transformative era.

About the Artist

Achille Devéria · 1800–1857

Achille Jacques-Jean-Marie Devéria (1800–1857) was a French painter and lithographer whose prolific output and sophisticated portrait work made him one of the most important visual chroniclers of French Romantic culture. Born in Paris on February 6, 1800, Devéria came of age during the Restoration period and became closely associated with the Romantic movement that dominated French arts and letter...