Artwork

Frédéric Mistral: Mémoires et Recits by Frédéric Mistral: figures at outdoor table/ man playing drum and bust of a woman (insert after p. 136)

Auguste Brouet , 1937

Frédéric Mistral: Mémoires et Recits by Frédéric Mistral: figures at outdoor table/ man playing drum and bust of a woman (insert after p. 136) is a work on paper by Auguste Brouet. It dates from 1937 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1937 by French printmaker Auguste Brouet, this portfolio illustration is part of the book *Frédéric Mistral: Mémoires et Récits*. The work is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection and depicts a lively street tableau centered on an outdoor table where a drummer performs.

Subject & Meaning

The composition gathers a small crowd around a makeshift table, the drummer occupying the focal point while onlookers sit on nearby benches, conversing or observing. Beneath the main scene, two inset studies—a man bearing a basket and a bust‑like portrait of a woman—introduce a quieter, more intimate counterpoint to the public festivity.

Technique & Style

Executed in fine pen and ink, Brouet’s drawing balances detailed architectural elements—weathered shutters, leafy trees, and stone facades—with swift, expressive line work that conveys movement in the drummer’s arms and the bustling figures. The inset sketches are rendered with a lighter hand, emphasizing their subsidiary, reflective nature.

History & Provenance

The illustration was produced for the 1937 edition of Mistral’s memoirs and later entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings, where it remains accessible to scholars and the public as an example of early‑twentieth‑century French illustration.