Gezin aan tafel c. 1870 - 1894

Gustave Joseph Chéret made this pen and ink drawing, called "Family at the Table," sometime in the late 19th century. It shows a man, a woman, and a child sitting together eating. The image is drawn in a very loose style and while this adds a sense of spontaneity, it obscures details, like class status, that would help us know more about the social circumstances of the figures. We can’t know for sure if this is a scene from Cheret's everyday life or a genre scene inspired by observation. Cheret was a lithographer and poster designer in France. His commercial work was intertwined with the theatre culture of Paris, and his posters were considered ‘art for the street.’ The loose, sketch-like style seen here may have been part of Cheret’s commercial method, as he would have had to work quickly to meet deadlines. As art historians, we can look at the social and cultural context of the sketch to better understand it and how it comments on the structures of its time. By researching 19th-century French dining habits, we can learn more about this informal family meal.