Artwork

Rébus: "Béranger ne fut véritablement fort, car il n'eut jamais la clef des champs" (Rebus: "Beranger was not really strong, for he never had the key of the fields")

Rébus: "Béranger ne fut véritablement fort, car il n'eut jamais la clef des champs" (Rebus: "Beranger was not really strong, for he never had the key of the fields") is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Charles Meryon. It dates from 1863 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1863, this etching on d&c blauw paper presents a sequence of six small images that function as a visual puzzle.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1863, this etching on d&c blauw paper presents a sequence of six small images that function as a visual puzzle. Each vignette contains a distinct object—a bird, three posts, a table with a sign, a piece of cured meat, a mushroom‑shaped form, and a hammer—arranged to suggest a rebus, a play on words popular in 19th‑century French culture.

Subject & Meaning

The title, a French rebus, translates to “Beranger was not truly strong, for he never had the key of the fields.” The individual pictures act as cryptic clues that, when interpreted together, resolve the phrase. The work therefore invites viewers to decode layered meanings, reflecting the artist’s fascination with linguistic riddles and the interplay between image and text.

Technique & Style

Executed entirely in etching, the piece showcases Charles Meryon’s precise line work and stark contrasts, hallmarks of his practice after he abandoned colour due to his colour‑blindness. The fine incisions on the smooth d&c blauw paper create a clear, almost graphic quality, emphasizing the symbolic nature of each element while maintaining the atmospheric mood typical of his Parisian series.

History & Provenance

Meryon produced the work during the later phase of his career, a period marked by increasing mental instability that culminated in his confinement and death in 1868. The etching was likely circulated among his close circle of fellow artists and collectors before entering museum holdings, though specific acquisition records remain sparse.

Context

Rebus puzzles were a popular pastime in mid‑19th‑century France, appearing in newspapers and salons. Meryon’s choice to embed such a puzzle within an etching aligns with contemporary interests in wordplay and the intellectual amusements of the bourgeoisie, while also echoing his broader preoccupation with the hidden narratives of urban life.

Artist & collection

Artist

Charles Meryon

Charles Meryon (sometimes Méryon, 23 November 1821 – 14 February 1868) was a French artist who worked almost entirely in etching, as he had colour blindness.