Caricature of a Man with a Big Cigar

Caricature of a Man with a Big Cigar is an early, spirited drawing by Claude Monet French, 1840-1926, executed between 1855 and 1856. This piece provides a rare glimpse into the formative years of the artist, created long before his pivotal role in the Impressionist movement. During this period of his youth, Monet gained local notoriety in Le Havre for producing satirical portraits and caricatures, often displaying them in local frames or storefronts.

Unlike the celebrated oil paintings Monet would later produce, this drawing employs black, white, and colored chalks applied dynamically onto blue wove paper. Created when the artist was only fifteen or sixteen, the spirited caricature genre was a popular satirical and social observation tool in 19th-century France. The subject, a man confidently holding an oversized cigar, is rendered with quick, decisive lines and bold contrasts, utilizing the natural blue paper tone as a middle ground. The dramatic highlights achieved through the white chalk contrast sharply with the dark outlines defining the subject's exaggerated features and posture.

Monet’s skillful application of the chalk medium demonstrates his early mastery of figure studies and draftsmanship, skills he honed through observing and lampooning local figures. This historical drawing is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As significant works such as the Caricature of a Man with a Big Cigar transition into the public domain, high-quality prints and reference images are readily available for study, offering invaluable insight into the developmental path of one of France's most renowned artists.