Laugh Lines

Widely researched, and lavishly illustrated, Laugh Lines, makes both a challenging and inspirational reading. Supported by ample studies of the abundant primary sources, from Baudelaire and Champfleury to Grand-Carteret and Duret, as well as archival material in the Bibliothèque Nationale, the book straddles several areas: reproductive technologies, the practices of physiognomy, photography, Salon history, as well as into cultures of art viewing and the perception of laughter in nineteenth-century France. The book’s unquestionable strength are visual analyses. Langbein takes the readers on captivating journeys, which move with confidence between the original works by Delacroix, Ribot and many lesser-known artists, and the ‘hyperactive lines’ of the rapidly drawn caricatures by Cham and Bertall, sometimes including also polite reproductive engravings of the same paintings for comparison. * Katarzyna Murawska-Muthesius, Journal of Art Historiography * Laugh Lines makes a significant contribution to our understanding of cultural and artistic changes in France from the 1840s to 1880s. It offers an important corrective to the historiography on caricature and modernist painting, and illuminates shifting relations between visual art, literature, and journalism. * Jillian Lerner, Instructor in Media History, Emily Carr University of Art & Design, Canada * In this enthralling study of nineteenth-century Salon caricature, distinctive but neglected artists like Bertall and Cham benefit from being compared with Daumier and Nadar in a wide-ranging historical analysis which explores the extensive variety of printmaking techniques available at the time. * Stephen Bann, Emeritus Professor of History of Art, Bristol University, UK * Julia Langbein’s engaging and impeccably researched volume enriches our comprehension of the spatial and social dynamics of Salon spectatorship. It will become required reading for anyone interested in art headquartered in nineteenth-century Paris. * Hollis Clayson, Bergen Evans Professor Emerita in the Humanities and Professor Emerita of Art History, Northwestern University, USA *