Metzmacher GA Print · Carlson Fable Collection

Title: Metzmacher GA Print
Description: 1890? "The Grasshopper and the Ant." Print of an original painting titled “The Grasshopper and the Ant” by E. Metzmacher. 11” x 16”. $17.85 from Paula Carlson, May, '05.

The owner’s name is given as L. Hawk and the work was copyrighted by Gravure Goupil & Co. Hawk’s collection is given as in New York. The print’s date is unknown, but the original painting was completed in 1869 and was signed by the artist himself in the bottom right corner. Painted in the image are two women, a dog, and several doves. An American collector and an American publisher have picked up the French tradition of sympathy with the mendicant artist, here harassed by the dog as well as the ant-like housewife. The dog and the doves find shelter here, but the artist finds nothing but rejection. I have found a trace of a second Metzmacher "Cigale." It seems to show the grasshopper after her rejection. An image of this now unavailable painting is below.
Source: $17.85 from Paula Carlson, May, '05.
Date: 1890?
Subject: Printed Materials See all items with this value; Prints See all items with this value; The Grasshopper and the Ant See all items with this value