Coming soon: New Bourgeois art exhibition

By Erin Mae Szrankowski
Collegian Editor
Feburary 27, 2008

The La Salle Art Gallery, for those who do not know, is located on the ground floor of Olney Hall. Once one descends the steps and enters through corridor, one witnesses various pieces of art, ranging from 15th century all the way to the 19th century. It is astonishing to see how many pieces of art can be found in our own Olney basement. There are Austrian, French, Italian and other continental stylings of art. Besides paintings, there are relief pieces, wooden statues, sculptures and tribal masks from Africa.

Down the hall, next to the 19th century art room, is the newest exhibition in the gallery. The exhibition, “The Buffoonish Bourgeois: Caricatures and Satire of the Upper Middle-Class Businessman in 19th Century France” lasts from March 5 to May 30.

This collection will be featured in the freshly remodeled Special Exhibitions Gallery. People who have seen the gallery before remodeling will be in for a nice surprise.

The gallery will also be hosting special events to correspond with this temporary exhibition. Phillip Dennis Cate and Jane Voorhees will present a lecture about “Politics, Sex and Censorship in France 1830-1900” March 11 at 12:30 p.m. March 13 there will be a curator-lead gallery tour at 12:30 p.m. Then, March. 20, Rutgers University Ph.D. candidate Florence Quideau will host “Phrenology and Physiology in Daumier's Oeuvre.”

Two of the artists presented at the exhibition are Honoré Daumier and Paul Gavarni. In all, there are 38 different pieces. One illustration was borrowed from the Zimmerli art museum in New Brunswick, NJ. The earliest piece is from 1828 and the latest is from 1902. Most of the illustrations originate between the 1830 to the 1850.

This Bourgeois exhibition is a showcase of “art and text,” said Carmen Vendelin, assistant curator of arts, “[One] must read the text to understand the joke.” Within each illustration is a picture depicting the middle-class or the “Bourgeois,” who made their money off the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. Vendelin also said the businessmen and ordinary people were made fun of because it, “became illegal to depict politicians.”

These illustrations also correspond with how people act in today’s society. Vendelin states “[the Bourgeois] faced the same sort of things people worry about today,” like keeping up appearances, for instance.

By the end of the 19th century, the early humorous illustrations became more critical of society and less funny.

“The Buffoonish Bourgeois” is a good way to learn about 19th century French satire and the culture that surrounded it. As well as culture and history, as an added bonus, the art gallery is free for all students.

szrankowskie1@lasalle.edu