"My hero was good at hanging" from Scenes from the Private and Public Life of Animals 1832 - 1852

J.J. Grandville made this lithograph, "My hero was good at hanging," as part of his series, "Scenes from the Private and Public Life of Animals." In this print, we see a fox dressed in human clothes, a common anthropomorphic representation used in France at this time to satirize social and political life. Consider the setting, with its neoclassical architecture, and the fox’s attire. These elements combine to create a commentary on the social climbing and moral compromises within the French middle class. Grandville worked during a time of significant social and political upheaval in France, the period after the French Revolution of 1830, marked by rising class tensions, and he used his art to critique the establishment. To understand Grandville’s imagery, one must consult sources from the popular press of the 1830s and 40s, where caricature flourished. It is through this kind of research that we can truly understand the visual language of critique in the 19th century.