Le BEAU NARCISSE. Il était jeune et beau, de leurs douces haleines, Les zéphirs caressaient ses contours pleins d'attraits, Et dans le miroir des fontaines Il aimait comme nous à contempler ses traits. Quatrain intime de Mr. Narcisse de Salvandry.
Le BEAU NARCISSE. Il était jeune et beau, de leurs douces haleines, Les zéphirs caressaient ses contours pleins d'attraits, Et dans le miroir des fontaines Il aimait comme nous à contempler ses traits. Quatrain intime de Mr. Narcisse de Salvandry.
Title (alt.):
THE HANDSOME NARCISSUS. He was young and beautiful, with his sweet breath, Zephyre caressed his charming form, And in the mirror of the springs of the river He loved to contemplate his face forever. Intimate quatrain by Mr. Narcisse de Salvandy. Charivari
Description:
Narciss is looking into the water to see his image. His thin body does not quite correspond to the classical Greek image of beauty, and he should actually be rather frightened than overjoyed when looking at himself. During the 1840's, a quarrel between painters of the classic and romantic schools had fully flared up. Delacroix asked the "loaded" question: "Who is going to liberate us from the old Greeks?" Daumier succeeded to answer it his own way by showing historic personalities such as Hercules, Pygmalion or Agamemnon in absurd situations.
Copyright restrictions may apply. For permission to copy or use this image, contact the Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department, Brandeis University Libraries. The following credit line must be included with each item used: Benjamin A. and Julia M. Trustman Collection of Honoré Daumier Lithographs, Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis University.
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Place of origin:
Paris
Notes:
4th state.
Published in: Le Charivari, September 11, 1842.
Notes (acquisition):
Donated by: Benjamin A. and Julia M. Trustman, 1959.
