The Relics

c. 1835

The Relics, c. 1835. Jean-Jacques Grandville (French, 1803–1847). Pen and brown ink, brown ink wash, heightened with white and red-orange gouache with scoring on wove paper; sheet: 11.8 x 9.4 cm (4 5/8 x 3 11/16 in.); mounted: 20.6 x 16.5 cm (8 1/8 x 6 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2018.1065 Grandville was known for the many illustrations he contributed to books and periodicals, often in a creative, fantastic style. This drawing relates to an image that appeared in an 1835 edition of the popular songwriter Pierre Jean de Béranger’s complete works. It accompanied the lyrics to a macabre song entitled Les Reliques, written in the voice of the skeleton who appears in the image. This drawing illustrated Les Reliques, a song written in the voice of the skeleton seen in the image.