"The Bell Ringer" from The Complete Works of Béranger 1836

This print, “The Bell Ringer” comes from a set of illustrations made by J. J. Grandville for a collected edition of the songs of French poet Pierre-Jean de Béranger. The print medium itself is lithography, a process that democratized image-making in the 19th century. Grandville’s compositions rely on draftsmanship, pure and simple. With careful hatching and cross-hatching, he coaxes a full range of tones from what is, after all, only black ink on white paper. Look at the strained expression on the bell ringer’s face, and the way the artist uses line to suggest his vigorous movement. We see the same quality in the faces of the onlookers. But perhaps the most interesting material aspect of this print is its context: part of a mass-produced book. Here, Grandville put his artistry in the service of making Béranger’s poetry more widely available. It is a great example of how art can be integrated into the very fabric of everyday life.