2-730-822 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Head of a Young Man (Study for LOiseau de passage), 1853. Paul Gavarni made this drawing as a study for LOiseau de passage (The Bird of Passage), one of the lithographs in a series on Parisian courtesans that he produced for the newspaper Paris . The lithograph's title, LOiseau de passage , must refer to the young man since messieurs de passage were casual lovers a courtesan might take on to supplement her protector's regular support. This drawing was once part of the important collection of the artist's work amassed by the writers Edmond (1822-1896) and Jules (1830-1870) de Goncourt. The Goncourts believed Gavarni captured the essence of 19th-century life, and they cited this particular drawing in their Journal des Goncourt , where they called it "the study of this cruel redhead."