Paul Gavarni (1804-1866) - Dessin original préparatoire à une lithographie - NO RESERVE

Original drawing by Paul Gavarni (1804-1866), executed in pencil, with watercolor and white gouache on paper, constituting a preparatory study for a lithograph.
This sheet offers a particularly interesting testimony of the creative process of one of the great observers of 19th-century Parisian society. Gavarni lays out his characters with a deliberately free and quick drawing, before defining the volumes with delicate strokes of blue and brown watercolor and strong highlights of white gouache.
The work is signed at the bottom left and bears, at the bottom of the sheet, a charming caption in the artist's own hand: 'Caroline, if I haven't become a colorist since I met you, it's not your fault; have you shown me so many colors!'.
The combination of the preparatory drawing, the color, and this autograph caption gives the sheet artistic and documentary interest, allowing direct insight into how Gavarni developed his compositions destined for lithography. The work is presented under a mat.
State of conservation: old paper showing foxing, stains and desiccation marks, as well as two long old cuts traversing the sheet and the composition. Some rubbing and signs of handling are also visible. These defects, significant but clearly documented by photographs, do not detract from the overall legibility of the drawing and its handwritten caption.