Alexandre Dupendant Vision of Peace; Figure on Coast

An original c.1870 gouache painting – Alexandre Dupendant, Vision of Peace; Figure on Coastal Rocks.

An imaginative work in gouache by the French caricaturist and satirical illustrator—and Parisian bohemian—Alexandre Dupendant (1833–1884).

Unusually for this satirical artist, the subject appears to show a heavenly vision peace and calm. This is one of a small group of paintings by Dupendant that we have for sale, which includes a complementary pair that depicts a vision of Hell, with Satan and ghouls.

Working during the Paris Commune, Alexandre Dupendant often painted political or military figures and scenes, including episodes from the Franco-German War of 1870. His work is likened to the caricatural style of Honoré Daumier (1808–1879).

Biographical record of Dupendant is scant. He worked as a lithographer in Paris but is said to have been better known as a local bohemian, an ardent Communard and a cartoonist. He was apparently a regular at a bar in the Latin Quarter called Père Lunette, which notoriously served the lowest in society alongside socialists and anarchists, and where the walls were famously adorned with cartoons and caricatures.