Les-Parents-Terribles series: Jacques Maubourj et's son the viscount 1852 - 1853

Paul Gavarni created this lithograph, titled "Les-Parents-Terribles series: Jacques Maubourj et's son the viscount," as part of a series exploring social types. The composition, rendered in stark black lines against a white ground, captures a scene of weary dissipation. The figure's heavy-lidded eyes and slumped posture, combined with the almost frantic hatching around his form, evoke a sense of moral and physical exhaustion. Gavarni masterfully employs line to convey texture and depth, from the disheveled hair to the rumpled clothing. Observe how the lines both define the figure and seem to trap him within his surroundings, underscored by the barely-there presence of other figures in the background. The semiotic weight here rests not just on what is depicted, but how. The rough, almost chaotic lines may reflect a broader cultural anxiety about social decay and moral bankruptcy. The composition invites us to question the values and structures that produce such visible distress.