Anon. Diners at Cafe de Grignon, Paris

An original 1820s watercolour painting Diners at Cafe de Grignon, Paris.

A charming drawing in brown ink and wash illustrating a rare interior scene at the celebrated Cafe de Grignon located on the Passage Vivienne. The cafe was one of what became an old guard of eateries frequented by the new bourgeoisie. It formed part of the fashionable new Galerie Vivienne, an arcade of stylish shops, book- and printseller, which opened to the public in 1826. Benefitting from an exceptional location between the Palais Royal, the Bourse and the boulevards, the galerie was considered the most elegant and luxurious in Paris. Here the leisurely scene is animated by colourful costumes and convivial interactions.

On watermarked J Whatman Turkey Mill wove paper.

This drawing is one of a charming set of four scenes of French society in the 1820s that we have for sale, executed by an English hand. Following the end of Robespierre’s Reign of Terror in 1794, French society began to stabilise and Parisians engaged in a new consumer culture. The artist captures a sense of fun and recreation in the everyday life that was newly playing out in Paris's urban spaces. The new bourgeoisie was reinventing the lifestyle of leisure in the city's streets, galleries and gardens. The artist also suggests that this conviviality extends to Paris's street sellers, newly profiting from this urban development, and to the local inhabitants of Dieppe, a newly popular seaside retreat away from the capital.