An Insect Ball (1835): Art, History and Details

An Insect Ball (1835) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jean-Jacques Grandville (French, 1803–1847).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

J. J. Grandville carefully drew this group of insects dancing and playing musical instruments so that they are both true to nature and a satirical representation of contemporary society. They stand on their hind legs, and their closed wings echo the silhouettes of the dresses and coats common in 1800s fashion. One of the best-known illustrators from the early 1800s, Grandville was recognized for his fantastical illustrations, often featuring animals acting like humans. This design is one of more than 50 illustrations he published in the periodical Le Magasin pittoresque (The Picturesque Store).

Object facts

• Title: An Insect Ball
• Date: 1835
• Creator attribution: Jean-Jacques Grandville (French, 1803–1847)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: pen and black ink with watercolor
• Dimensions: Sheet: 12.5 x 21.3 cm (4 15/16 x 8 3/8 in.)
• Collection: DR - French
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2008.345

Collection credit

Bequest of Muriel Butkin

Further reading listed by the museum

• Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.