116/?

About this artwork

annotatie, recto rechtsonder, handgeschreven: ‘270’

Art Historical Context

**Victor Adam's "116/?" (1847)** This intriguing lithograph, titled "116/?," comes from hand of French artist Victor Adam1801–1865 a master of 19th-century printmaking known for capturing the vibrancy of Parisian life. Created in 1847, during the bustling era of the July Monarchy in France, the work measures 483 mm high by 317 mm wide—a substantial size for a print that would have been both accessible and visually striking. Lithography, the medium here, revolutionized art dissemination in the mid-1800s by allowing artists to produce multiple detailed impressions from a single stone, blending drawing's spontaneity with the precision of printing. The technique's significance lies in its affordability, making high-quality images available beyond elite collectors to a growing middle class eager for contemporary scenes. Adam, proficient in this method, often depicted theater, military motifs, and urban energy, reflecting Romanticism's flair for drama and everyday heroism. A handwritten annotation—"270"—inscribed on the lower right recto adds a layer of mystery, likely an inventory or catalog mark from its institutional history, inviting us to ponder its place in a larger series hinted at by the enigmatic title. Step into the virtual gallery and imagine this print adorning a 19th-century salon, bridging art and popular culture with elegant efficiency. (198 words)

About the Artist

Victor Adam · 1801–1866

Victor Adam was born in Paris in 1801 and built a prolific and commercially successful career as one of the leading lithographers and illustrators of nineteenth-century France. He received a conventional academic training in painting, but it was the new medium of lithography — still in its first decades of widespread use when Adam came of age — that provided the ideal vehicle for his gifts: a faci...