Claude MONET (1840 1926) - Lot 166

Claude MONET (1840 1926) Caricature of a Woman, c.1857 Black pencil and white chalk highlights on gray paper 24 x 16 cm Signed lower left "O. Monet". Our drawing and the following one are part of a series of some twenty caricatures of similar similar in size and technique to ours (see D. Wildenstein, Claude Monet Catalog Raisonné, T. V, 1991, no. D451-D470, repr, pp.134-139). They were probably made around 1857. They are the earliest known drawings by Claude Monet. Monet was then was then 16-17 years old, and still signed his works "O. Monet", the "O" of his first name first name Oscar. Sixteen of his early drawings belonged to the Billecocq family, friends of Monet's parents. Monet's parents. The touching, energetic lines of his caricatures bring us into contact with the youth and enthusiasm of one of Monet's greatest artists. of one of the most revolutionary artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Monet was 16-17 years old and still called Oscar. He was just starting out in art, and shone among his with small caricatures. This would be his first feat of arms, and he soon began quickly began selling his caricatures in 1858-59 to friends and family and to the society. Sunstain to edges. Traces of wetness at the top. Glued at all four corners We enclose a notice of inclusion in the catalog raisonné of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute n°24.01.16/21738