The image depicts two individuals shown from head to toe. On the left, a person standing upright with their body facing forward but the head turned to the right, and hands behind their back. This person is wearing a helmet, long coat, and boots. On the right, another person standing with a slightly hunched posture, looking intently towards the person on the left. This person has more pronounced facial features with an open mouth and squinted eyes, wearing a spiked headdress, long robe, and bare feet. The surroundings are minimal with indistinct shapes resembling stones or rubble at the ankles of the second person, and an undefined form to the right of them. The background is a blank, textured surface, and the entire scene is sketched with loose, expressive lines.
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The image depicts two individuals shown from head to toe. On the left, a person standing upright with their body facing forward but the head turned to the right, and hands behind their back. This person is wearing a helmet, long coat, and boots. On the right, another person standing with a slightly hunched posture, looking intently towards the person on the left. This person has more pronounced facial features with an open mouth and squinted eyes, wearing a spiked headdress, long robe, and bare feet. The surroundings are minimal with indistinct shapes resembling stones or rubble at the ankles of the second person, and an undefined form to the right of them. The background is a blank, textured surface, and the entire scene is sketched with loose, expressive lines.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

-Qu'est-ce vous voulez? -Les "louis" de 1871

Jean-Louis Forain

Date
c. 1914/1919
Medium
brush and black ink and black crayon on laid Van Gelder paper
Dimensions
overall: 43.5 x 57.5 cm (17 1/8 x 22 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1943.3.4100
Credit line
Rosenwald Collection
Time span
1901 to 1925
Department
CG-E

Subjects and terms

  • French
  • Impressionist
  • World War I
  • military
Provenance

Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA; gift to NGA, 1943.

Inscription

"forain" lower right margin, graphite, artist's hand. " -Qu'est-ce vous voulez? / -Les "louis" de 1871" lower left margin, graphite, artist's hand. "A 2276" lower right margin, graphite, unknown hand. Verso: none.

Marks

"LRJ" verso, black stamped ink, (Lugt 1760b). "National Gallery of Art" verso, black stamped ink, (Lugt 1932d).

Watermarks

[Fortune figure] / "VAN GELDER ZONEN"

NGA object ID 7219. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.