"Le Tigre: 'Taissez-vous imbécile, vous allez faire peur aux dames'." Original ink drawing. Signed.
Circa 1920s-1930s. Original ink drawing. 25 x 32 cm. A tiger berates an elephant driver with 2 female passengers for yelling at him... "Charléno aka Carlo is regarded as one of the two or three most talented and striking artists who provided illustrations to the French erotic book trade in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s. His work is held in the highest esteem along with that of Cheri Herouard and another more mysterious illustrator called ‘Wighead.’ Carlo is celebrated for his strong lines and forms, which are nonetheless coupled with the most delicate treatment of fabrics such as lace and satin and, most importantly, a unique and bold imaginative vision......
Surprisingly, though, despite his popularity with the book buying public at the time, and the subsequent collectability of his illustrations, very little is known about Carlo; all that can be stated with any confidence is the dates when he was active: between about 1910 and the mid-1930s. Readers may sometimes see these given as birth and death dates of 1900 to 1930; this can be disregarded. Whoever our artist was, he must have been born around 1890, if not earlier, to become old enough and skilled enough to find employment by the second decade of the twentieth century. We simply don’t know why his output ceased in 1936...."
Provenance: Jacques Cathy - Né en 1906 à Lezay (Deux-Sèvres), Jacques Cathy a exercé d’abord la profession de caricaturiste à l’hebdomadaire « Le Rire ». Il a rejoint vers 1927 l’équipe du Cabaret « La Vache Enragée » conduite par Roger Toziny. Jacques Cathy poursuit sa carrière de chansonnier après le décès de Toziny en 1939 et après la guerre il conduit parallèlement une carrière d’acteur dans le cinéma... Jacques Cathy était le 3ème Maire de La Commune Libre de Montmartre à partir de l’élection en 1949...
Final provenance: Les Collections Aristophil - 164 bis avenue Charles-de-Gaulle 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine. Item #16-6449
Price: $750.00