{"product_id":"les-metamorphoses-du-jour-34","title":"The Milkman by J.J. Grandville","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis delightful hand-colored lithograph from J.J. Grandville's celebrated series 'Les Métamorphoses du Jour' transforms a mundane grocery transaction into biting social commentary. A pig-headed woman in peasant dress requests medicine from a duck-headed grocer, who reminds her this is not a pharmacy: the caption reads 'Give me a half-ounce of emetic for our lady who has taken ill, in a little paper' followed by 'This is not a pharmacy.' The gentle absurdity masks sharp observation of class pretensions and social confusion in nineteenth-century France.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrandville (1803-1847) pioneered the use of animal-human hybrids to satirize bourgeois society, creating a visual language that influenced artists from John Tenniel to Max Ernst. This plate comes from the 1854 Gustave Havard edition, published seven years after the artist's death, with scholarly commentary by the noted art critic Charles Blanc.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe careful hand-coloring brings warmth to the scene, with the woman's pink skirt and yellow kerchief contrasting against the muted browns of the grocer's shop. Labeled drawers for pepper, chicory, coffee, and cassonade evoke the sensory richness of a period épicerie. A distinguished example of French satirical illustration at its finest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 6.5\" x 10.0\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArtist:\u003c\/strong\u003e J.J. Grandville (Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Very Good\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Authentic Vintage Posters","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44903054803059,"sku":"AP7552","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0088\/3005\/8556\/files\/2026-04-28-13-55-43-01.jpg?v=1777411989","url":"https:\/\/www.authenticvintageposters.com\/products\/les-metamorphoses-du-jour-34","provider":"Authentic Vintage Posters","version":"1.0","type":"link"}