Excusez du peu (1852)

Dated 1852, "Excusez du peu" is an artwork by Edmé Jean Pigal. Background on Illustration: The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are often described as a golden age of book and magazine illustration. Printing methods such as woodcut, engraving, lithography, and photomechanical reproduction each shaped how illustrators worked. About the period around 1852: The first half of the nineteenth century moved from Neoclassicism to Romanticism, which placed emotion, nature, and the sublime at the centre of painting. Landscape gained new prestige through groups such as the Barbizon painters in France and the Hudson River School in the United States, and by mid-century Realism turned to ordinary people and everyday labour. It is listed in the Illustration collection. The image is in portrait orientation.

Buying "Excusez du peu" means getting a digital file, not a physical print: Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI, delivered by email once payment is confirmed. A 300 DPI file is intended for printing at home or at a local print shop, where you can choose a matte, satin, or fine-art paper to suit the room. A portrait format suits narrow wall spaces, hallways, and the area beside a door or window. A simple frame with a mat often helps an image settle comfortably into a room. Choosing a standard frame size and printing to fit it often saves the cost of custom framing. Screens and printers render colour differently, so a small test print is a sensible way to check tones before committing to a large size. Hang the print away from direct sunlight, which over the years can fade any printed colour.

French, 1798–1873

If you like the visual language of Edmé Jean Pigal, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.