Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard
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Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard (13 September 1803 – 17 March 1847), who worked under the pseudonym J. J. Grandville, was a French caricaturist and illustrator best known for drawings populated by anthropomorphic animals, and for later book illustrations that influenced generations of comic and fantasy artists.[1]
Early life and career
Born in Nancy, Grandville moved to Paris at the age of 21 and adopted the pseudonym "Grandville," taken from his grandparents' stage names.[1] He began his career publishing lithographic series such as Les Tribulations de la Petite Propriété and Les Plaisirs de Tout Âge, before his best-known early work, Les Métamorphoses du jour (1829), established his signature technique of giving animals human bodies and clothing to satirize contemporary society.[1]
Later work
From the mid-1830s Grandville moved increasingly from caricature toward book illustration, contributing regularly to La Caricature and Le Charivari while also illustrating literary classics including Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, and La Fontaine's fables.[1]
Influence
Grandville's fusion of satire and fantastical imagery is credited with influencing later illustrators and cartoonists including John Tenniel and Gustave Doré, and, in the 20th century, Max Ernst, who incorporated Grandville's cut-out imagery into his 1934 graphic novel Une Semaine de Bonté.[1]