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- Charles Philipon
- Also known as
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Charles Philipon
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primary name: Philipon, Charles
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other name: Philippon, Charles
- Details
- individual; printmaker; publisher/printer; French; Male
- Life dates
- 1806-1862
- Biography
- Caricaturist, lithographer and publisher. Pupil of Gros. He made lithographic satires for a short period. Under the regime of Charles X until the Revolution of 1830 the political caricature was prohibited by the censorship and therefore Philipon's work focused more on social classes and Parisian types. In November 1830 he started publishing 'La Caricature', devoted to political satire. In 1832 he published the 'Charivari'. In business with his brother-in-law Gabriel Aubert (q.v.) with whom he founded the famous publishing house Maison Aubert; set their shop in Passage Véro-Dodat in 1829; moved to Place de la Bourse in 1841, by which time the biggest print publishing house in Paris.
'La Caricature' was published from 1830 to 1835; in 1838 the publication of 'La Caricature Provisoire' began; after 35 issues (Nov 1838-June 1839), the title reverted back to 'La Caricature'. King Louis Philippe (q.v.) was a frequent target to Philipon, who was brought before the justice several times; during a trial (nov. 1831) he famously represented the king as a pear (his argument being that anything can look like the king), an image that was subsequently used to represent the king in satirical prints. Philipon was also arrested and in 1832 was twice emprisoned in Sainte-Pélagie's prison (hence his address appearing as "Ste Pelagie" on some prints)
- Bibliography
- Edwin de T. Bechtel, 'Freedom of the Press: l'Association mensuelle: Philipon vs. Louis-Philippe', New York, 1952.
James Cuno, 'Charles Philipon, La Maison Aubert and the Business of the Caricature in Paris 1829-41', in: 'The Art Journal', 43, n.4, (Winter 1983), pp.347-354.
Beatrice Farwell, 'The Charged Image: French Lithographic Caricature 1816-1848', Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California, 1989, pp.119-126.
Elise K. Kenney and John M. Merriman (ed.), 'The Pear: French Graphic Arts in the Golden Age of Caricature', exhibition catalogue, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Mass., 1991.
David S. Kerr, 'Caricature and French Political Culture, 1830-1848: Charles Philipon and the Illustrated Press', Oxford, 2000