Alfred Grévin (28 January 1827 – 5 May 1892) was a 19th-century caricaturist, best known during his lifetime for his caricature silhouettes of contemporary Parisian women. He was also a sculptor, cartoonist, and designed costumes and sets for popular theater. He founded with journalist Arthur Meyer the

Musée Grévin The ''Musée Grévin'' (; ) ( en, Grévin Museum) is a wax museum in Paris located on the Grands Boulevards in the 9th arrondissement on the right bank of the Seine, at 10, Boulevard Montmartre, Paris, France. It is open daily; an admission fee ...

, a waxwork museum.

Career

Alfred Grevin - Man Bowing to a Woman - Walters 372806

Alfred Grevin was born in a house in the main street of

Épineuil Épineuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yonne department References

Communes of Yonne {{Yonne-geo- ...

in 1827. He studied natural sciences and drawing at the College of Tonnerre.Les personnalités tonnerroises
His first job was as an apprentice

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

for Paris à Lyon à la Méditerranée railways. In his free time, he would draw for fun. In 1853 he moved to Paris. He put his cartooning talents at the service of the newspaper ''

Le Gaulois ''Le Gaulois'' () was a French daily newspaper, founded in 1868 by Edmond Tarbé and Henry de Pène. After a printing stoppage, it was revived by Arthur Meyer in 1882 with notable collaborators Paul Bourget, Alfred Grévin, Abel Hermant, an ...

'', then headed by Arthur Meyer. He then went on to work for '' Le Journal amusant'' and ''

Le Charivari ''Le Charivari'' was an illustrated magazine published in Paris, France, from 1832 to 1937. It published caricatures, political cartoons and reviews. After 1835, when the government banned political caricature, ''Le Charivari'' began publishing ...

''. To supplement his meager salary as a cartoonist and illustrator, he worked as a theater costume designer, and wrote plays. By 1867 he was able settle in a home in

Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé () is a high-end commune of the Val-de-Marne department in Île-de-France in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. It is one of the smallest communes of the Île-de-France by land area, but i ...

, a
16bis rue de Berulle
Patrimoine de la ville de Saint Mandé
/ref> In 1869 he founded l'Almanach des Parisiennes with

Louis Adrien Huart Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, and in 1875 Grévin designed the 673 costumes for

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...

's opéra-féerie ''

Le voyage dans la lune ''A Trip to the Moon'' (french: Le Voyage dans la Lune) is a 1902 French adventure film, adventure short film directed by Georges Méliès. Inspired by a wide variety of sources, including Jules Verne's 1865 novel ''From the Earth to the Moon' ...

'', and later for Charles Lecocq's opera comique '' The Daughter of Madame Angot'' In 1881, Meyer had the idea, along with Alfred Grévin, to represent the personalities that made the front page of the news section as wax

mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. P ...

s, which allowed visitors – in an era before photography was used in the press – to put a face to the names in the news. This was the beginning of the

, which opened its doors on 5 June 1882 and swiftly became successful. Grévin met

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

on several occasions, whom he wanted to include a portrait of in his collections. Grevin spent the final two years of his life paralyzed, and died of a sudden stroke of apoplexy in 1892 at

References

External links

Les Parisiennes
a collection of Grévin's illustrations
Grévin's illustrations in Le Journal amusant
digital editions from

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

*
Personalities of TonnerreHeritage City of Saint Mandé
*Works by Grévin o
Christie's ArtLiveauctioneers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grevin, Alfred 1827 births 1892 deaths People from Yonne French caricaturists French cartoonists French designers