Dandy With A Cigar - Monet started his artistic career as a caricaturist in his home town. His caricatures were displayed in the local frame shop, Where they attracted much attention because he frequently used well-known and therefore recognisable people from Le Havre as his subjects.Thanks to the success of these caricatures, Monet was able to save enough money to study art in Paris.
DANDY AU CIGARE (c. 1857-58)
Musee Marmottan. Courtesy of Giraudon
The frame shop manager also displayed landscapes by the then more famous artist Eugene Boudin (1824-98). This effected an introduction between the two artists, and Boudin took Monet painting with him on many occasions. Boudin believed that an artist should have a full experience with his art and complete the entire landscape outdoors. This was unheard of before Boudin and became known as plein-air technique. Monet embraced this concept wholeheartedly, and it became an important feature of his work throughout his career.
Dandy au Cigare is a typical caricature, complete with exaggerated features and the recognisable accessories of a dandy. The oversized cigar distorts the face, rendering the man ridiculous. In the more serious Portrait de Poly (1886), Monet retains some sense of the caricature that is especially obvious with the treatment of the sitter’s large red nose. Notice this dandy has a similar affliction.