Artwork
Pifferaris
Pifferaris is a print by the Impressionist artist Charles Jacque. It dates from 1864 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1864 by French painter and engraver Charles‑Émile Jacque, *Pifferaris* is a print that depicts a brief scene of street musicians before a row of aged buildings. The work belongs to the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Subject & Meaning
The image presents three itinerant performers: two with small flutes and a third with a long wooden pipe, all dressed in wide‑brimmed hats and striped trousers, one bearing a sack. The caption “Pifferaris” suggests a reference to real‑world street players, emphasizing everyday life.
Technique & Style
Executed with loose, sketchy lines, the print captures a fleeting moment with rapid strokes that suggest movement and spontaneity. The handling of light and form reflects Jacque’s background in detailed map engraving, translated here into a more informal, observational approach.
History & Provenance
Jacque, a member of the Barbizon School, spent seven years in the French army where he trained as a map engraver before turning to pastoral subjects alongside contemporaries such as Jean‑François Millet. *Pifferaris* entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings as part of its 19th‑century print collection.
Context
The work aligns with the Realist tendency of mid‑19th‑century French art to portray ordinary people and daily activities. By focusing on street musicians, Jacque extends the Barbizon School’s rural focus to an urban setting, documenting a slice of contemporary social life.
Artist & collection
Artist
Charles-Émile Jacque (23 May 1813 – 7 May 1894) was a French painter of Pastoralism and engraver who was, with Jean-François Millet, part of the Barbizon School. He first learned to engrave maps when he spent seven years in the French Army.
"Les Scélérats!..."
The Dancing Dog
Beggars Receiving Alms at the Door of a House
On the Fortifications at Saint-Ouen
Street Vendor Selling Spectacles at the Door![[Merchant in his stall with children playing], by Auguste Brouet](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/auguste-brouet--merchant-in-his-stall-with-children-playing--87482c59251c2c9c-w320.webp)
[Merchant in his stall with children playing]
Street Vendor Selling Spectacles at the Door
The Reluctant Scholar
The fiddler and the hurdy-gurdy boy
A Courtyard in Paris
Tinkers
Begging for Alms