{"product_id":"french-chaplain-lithograph-bigorre","title":"French chaplain lithograph Bigorre","description":"\u003cp\u003eBefore Paul Gavarni became famous for drawing Paris, he was up in the Pyrenees drawing shepherds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis hand-colored lithograph was published in 1829, when Gavarni was only 25. It shows a shepherd from the canton of Lannemezan in Bigorre, at the foot of the French Pyrenees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd he is fantastic. Huge hat, heavy white cloak, walking staff, sturdy shoes - and just enough red in his cheeks and lips to make him feel unexpectedly alive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis was plate 23 in a set of 24 lithographs devoted to the people and traditional dress of the French and Spanish Pyrenees. The captions were printed in both Spanish and French: \"Pastor del Canton de Lannemezan \/ Pâtre du Canton de Lannemezan\" - shepherd of the Canton of Lannemezan. The image was lithographed by Lemercier and published by Rittner in Paris and London. The Bibliothèque nationale de France describes the series as a very rare early work by Gavarni, with period hand-coloring.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat I love about this is that nobody was trying to preserve a king, a general or some rich guy in a powdered wig. They were preserving the look of an ordinary shepherd in a particular corner of France almost 200 years ago - his clothes, his tools, even the way he stood.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat little moment somehow made it all the way to us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCONDITION: Good antique condition, especially for its age. The sheet remains attractive and the hand-coloring is strong. There is light overall age toning with scattered small foxing and spotting, most noticeable in the margins and lower portion of the sheet. Minor handling wear and faint marks are present, along with light edge and corner wear. Reverse is largely clean with a few small spots and faint handling marks. No major tears, paper losses or repairs are visible. Unframed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarelight Archives","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54313325429100,"sku":"EPH-00205","price":85.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1007\/3538\/5964\/files\/907b7196-69e9-5de6-9cfa-f59bdc7fdb2f.jpg?v=1788732191","url":"https:\/\/rarelightarchives.com\/products\/french-chaplain-lithograph-bigorre","provider":"Rarelight Archives","version":"1.0","type":"link"}