Caricature of Jules Didier c. 1858

This is a caricature of Jules Didier made with graphite on paper by Claude Monet. Likely done in the late 1850s, this kind of work was made to be published in Parisian journals and entertain the public. Monet was only a teenager when he made this, but already the politics of imagery were on his mind. Caricatures played a key role in 19th-century French society, often used to mock political figures and social norms. Here, we see a skewering of Didier, whose head sprouts a large butterfly. The inscription on the image, 'L'homme Papillon' or 'The Butterfly Man' suggests the sitter was considered flighty or unserious. This may have been a comment on the social hierarchy and perhaps even the institutions of art at the time. Understanding these kinds of social and institutional contexts requires that the historian consult journals and newspapers of the era, scrutinizing caricatures for their content and meaning. What seems like a simple drawing can reveal complex social dynamics.