Artwork
Le demobilisé
Le demobilisé is an ink drawing by Jean-Louis Forain. It dates from 1916 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1916, *Le démobilisé* is a drawing by French artist Jean‑Louis Forain executed with brush, black ink and black crayon on wove paper. The work presents a solitary figure in a long coat, supported by a cane, standing beside a small child. The composition is rendered in loose, sketch‑like lines that convey a moment of quiet resignation.
Subject & Meaning
The title, translating to “The Demobilized,” identifies the central figure as a soldier returning from the First World War. His posture—leaning on a cane, hat in hand—suggests fatigue and transition to civilian life, while the child’s attentive gaze introduces a domestic, perhaps familial, dimension to the scene.
Technique & Style
Forain employs a combination of brushwork and crayon to produce varied tonalities, relying on cross‑hatching and swift, gestural strokes. The drawing’s unfinished quality emphasizes immediacy, characteristic of Forain’s graphic approach to contemporary subjects.
Context
Produced during the final years of World War I, the work reflects the broader social preoccupations of French artists who documented the war’s impact on everyday life. Forain, known for his satirical and socially aware prints, extends this concern to the personal aftermath of demobilization.
History & Provenance
The drawing remains attributed to Forain’s oeuvre from the 1910s, though specific ownership history prior to its current location is not documented in the available sources.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-Louis Forain (French pronunciation: ; 23 October 1852 – 11 July 1931) was a French Impressionist painter and printmaker, working in media including oils, watercolour, pastel, etching and lithograph.
At the Peace Conference
German Advance
Nach Paris. -moi aussi, chai des enfants
La retour (The Return)
Poilu and Tommy Conversing
Children Looking over the Edge of a Crib
a) C'etait notre maison (recto); b) Refugees in a Landscape (verso)
a) Waiter and Customer (recto); b) Sketch of a Man and Woman (verso)
a) German Soldiers and French Child (recto); b) Woman and Child (verso)
a) Bolo pacha (recto); Study for Bolo pacha (verso)