Housed in the Van Gogh Museum is a unique print suite featuring etchings by two prominent late nineteenth-century artists, Jean Louis Forain (1852–1931) and Jean-François Raffaëlli (1850–1924). Acquired by Theo van Gogh around 1885–86, the suite includes ten etchings – six by Forain and four by Raffaëlli – originally featured in Croquis parisiens (Parisian Sketches), a book written by Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848–1907) and published by Henri Vaton in 1880. Huysmans, an important figure in the naturalist literary movement, earned his reputation with early works such as Marthe: Histoire d’une fille (1876) and Les Sœurs Vatard (1879), which dissected the urban environment of Paris and its working class. In his next work, Croquis parisiens, Huysmans sought to further capture modern Paris in all its facets through a series of prose poems, or vignettes.
These texts were complemented by etchings from Forain and Raffaëlli who, like Huysmans, were aligned with the naturalist movement and shared his keen observational eye for the nuances of urban life. Both artists visually extended Huysmans’s prose, illustrating Paris’s diverse social and physical landscapes: Forain focused on his hallmark subjects – the nightlife, bustling cafés and urban entertainments of the city centre – while Raffaëlli turned to his signature theme, the forgotten outskirts and industrial life on the city’s fringes. Far from a typical illustrated book, Croquis parisiens represents a modern fusion of word and image, with each element reinforcing the other to create a richly layered portrait of contemporary Paris. Given the connection between Forain’s and Raffaëlli’s etchings within Croquis parisiens, their work is considered together in this single entry.
Croquis parisiens: The book and concept
Huysmans began work on Croquis parisiens in September 1879, following a commission from publisher Henri Vaton to develop a new book of etchings on Paris. Though not well known today, Vaton is best remembered for Croquis parisiens, which marked a shift from his earlier publishing endeavours combining text and image, such as Voyage au Pays des Peintres (1875–77) which featured Salon reviews alongside autographed reproductive engravings. Unlike those earlier efforts, Croquis parisiens took a more experimental and integrated approach. Instead of simply illustrating the text with reproductions or literal depictions of the book’s content, the book aimed to create an original collaboration between writer and visual artist to evoke the texture of modern Paris. To realise this vision, Vaton turned to Huysmans, whose growing reputation for incisive, naturalistic portrayals of urban life made him an ideal choice.
For Croquis parisiens, Huysmans compiled a blend of new and previously published vignettes, narrated from the naturalist perspective of a flâneur – a detached observer who roams the city, recording its textures, inhabitants and moods without imposing overt moral judgement. These literary ‘sketches’ explore a wide range of urban scenes, from lively dance halls and bustling cafés to quiet suburban streets, offering a broad portrait of the city’s social strata from sex workers to chestnut sellers. The term croquis, or sketch, is particularly apt as Huysmans’s texts read more as open-ended ‘word pictures’ than as fully developed narratives with clear beginnings and endings. By framing them as sketches, he evokes a sense of immediacy and spontaneity that aligns closely with the naturalistic aims of capturing contemporary life.
This concept of the sketch can also apply to the illustrations by Forain and Raffaëlli, making the project a convergence of two forms of sketching: one in words, the other in images. Etchings, often compared to sketches for their spontaneity and directness, were particularly suited to this collaborative framework. Fittingly, Huysmans’s own writing was compared to etchings; in a review, the influential naturalist author and friend Emile Zola (1840–1902) described his prose as ‘etchings captured in just a few strokes’. This parallel underscores the shared artistic vision behind the project: to evoke the essence of contemporary life through swift, evocative impressions, whether rendered in ink or in words.
The modernity of Croquis parisiens also lay in its collaborative development. Rather than a traditional top-down commission, the project appears to have taken shape through a more fluid and participatory process.
Forain and Huysmans
Although Forain may not be as well known today as other Impressionist artists such as his close friend Edgar Degas (1834–1917), he was one of the more prominent to have exhibited with the group. Having participated in four of the eight Impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886 with mainly watercolours and drawings, it was primarily as printmaker and illustrator that he became well established in the last decades of the nineteenth century. His illustrations were often featured in popular newspapers and magazines and were widely celebrated for their sharp humour and witty depictions of Parisian nightlife, earning Forain the nickname ‘Gavroche’, which means ‘street urchin’ or ‘mischievous child’.
The commission for Croquis parisiens likely came to Forain in late 1879, and this was not his first artistic collaboration with Huysmans. Forain had met Huysmans in 1876 when his career in illustration began to take off. Born in Reims in 1852, Forain moved to Paris around 1860, where he briefly studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) before training with the caricaturist André Gill (1840–1885). Initially pursuing painting, he favoured watercolour for its affordability, but persistent financial struggles eventually led him to turn to illustration. To support himself, he contributed drawings and etchings to various publications, debuting in 1876 with a front-page illustration for the satirical paper Scapin. That same year, he crossed paths with Huysmans, while both were working for the small newspaper La Cravache parisienne. As mentioned, in their work they both had a penchant for dissecting urban life with all its excesses and decadence. The two quickly bonded and were known to frequent the Café de la Nouvelle-Athènes, a popular gathering place for artists such as Degas, Raffaëlli and Edouard Manet (1832–1883), as well as contemporary writers such as Zola.
Jean Louis Forain, Rejected Frontispiece for Marthe: Histoire d’une fille, 1879, etching and aquatint on laid paper, 19.2 × 11.8 cm, Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, acquired by the Clark
After their initial meeting, Forain and Huysmans began to collaborate more directly. Following tentative discussions about Forain illustrating some of Huysmans’s contributions to the journal La République des Lettres, Huysmans – who was then preparing to republish his 1876 novel Marthe: Histoire d’une fille, a biographical-style account of a fictional sex worker – likely recommended Forain to his publisher as the book’s illustrator. Forain, who had yet to illustrate a novel, was eager for the task and produced an etching depicting a sex worker adorned in jewellery and wearing nothing but striped stockings, an umbrella in hand (). This design, however, was rejected by the novel’s publisher as too provocative. Ultimately, it was his second version, depicting a less risqué Marthe seated in a low-cut dress holding an empty bottle with a drunken smile (), that was chosen for the novel’s republishing in 1879.
This first collaboration can be seen as an initial effort toward co-creation, in which different media converge in a naturalistic analysis of urban society. The fusion of word and image into a single work resulted in a more comprehensive and layered reflection of their own time. This mode of working, with its emphasis on intermediality, was expanded in Croquis parisiens, but now with the addition of another visual voice, that of Jean-François Raffaëlli.
Raffaëlli and Huysmans
Raffaëlli started work on his etchings for Croquis parisiens in late 1879, as evidenced by the date inscribed on one of his prints, Meagre Meals. While Forain was already an established illustrator when the project began, Raffaëlli was then primarily known as a painter. His involvement in Croquis parisiens marked his first significant foray into illustration. Born in Paris on 20 April 1850, Raffaëlli launched his artistic career in 1870 at the age of twenty when, despite having no formal training, two of his works were accepted into the prestigious Paris Salon. Nevertheless, the following year he began studying under the academic painter Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Over the next decade, he built his reputation through regular exhibitions at the Salon, and later by participating in independent shows. In 1880 and 1881, at the invitation of Edgar Degas, he exhibited in the fifth and sixth Impressionist exhibitions, gaining an association with the avant-garde group.
In the late 1870s his repertoire evolved from conventional landscapes and costume portraits to realism and naturalistic studies of the urban periphery and the industrial outskirts of Paris. His unflinching portrayals of street vendors, vagabonds and suburban landscapes earned him praise for their social insight and modern sensibility – qualities that led to his being dubbed ‘painter of the suburbs’ (‘peintre de la banlieue'). It was during this period that he came to the attention of Huysmans. Although the two had not yet met, their connection began when Huysmans published favourable reviews of Raffaëlli’s two paintings shown at the 1879 Salon in the newspaper Le Voltaire. He described one of his displayed works, The Return of the Ragpickers (La Rentrée des chiffonniers) (1879, location unknown), as possessing a ‘saddened charm’, commending its raw, unembellished portrayal of life on the margins of Paris and its honest reflection of contemporary social and economic realities. Moved by the recognition, Raffaëlli wrote to Huysmans expressing his gratitude, marking the beginning of their friendship and their eventual collaboration.
Raffaëlli and Forain shared a naturalist sensibility that was ideal for Croquis parisiens. Forain was known for his sharp, often satirical depictions of urban society and its nightlife, with cafés, cabarets and theatres; Huysmans later praised him as ‘one of the most uncompromising painters of modern life’. Raffaëlli, by contrast, brought a realist focus to the industrial working class and the suburban fringe. Together, both artists offered complementary views of Paris from its bustling nightlife to its working-class outskirts. The fact that Huysmans and his publisher would opt for two artists, equally responsible for the illustration of the vignettes, is quite remarkable, as such a task was usually bestowed on one artist alone. The choice reveals the intention to offer a kaleidoscopic view of the whole city.
Production and marketing
After the completion of the book’s text and illustrations, Croquis parisiens was printed in Brussels by the Félix Callewaert (père) printing house. The choice to print in Belgium was likely strategic, aimed at bypassing France’s stricter censorship laws. Huysmans had taken a similar approach in 1876 with his novel Marthe: Histoire d’une fille, which was printed by Octavie Callewaert, the printer’s daughter who managed the Brussels workshop. Choosing Callewaert’s press also added a layer of artistic and cultural significance to the project. The workshop was the trusted printer of Belgian artist Félicien Rops (1833–1898), whose work – steeped in themes of eroticism, religious symbolism and the femme fatale – was central to the Decadent and Symbolist movements of the late nineteenth century. The association of Croquis parisiens with Rops’s printer signalled the publication’s modernity, aligning it with the broader visual and literary culture of the period.
Moreover, Croquis parisiens was conceived and marketed not merely as a book but as a luxury object crafted to appeal specifically to bibliophile collectors. Produced in a limited edition of just 545 copies, 525 of these featured eight etchings, four by Raffaëlli and four by Forain. Notably, two of Forain’s original six etchings were omitted from this main edition, likely in order to maintain a balance between the artists. However, a special deluxe edition of twenty copies, printed on fine Japan paper, included all ten etchings – among them a second version of Les Folies-Bergère and Brothel (Maison close) – which were bound separately outside the main text, further enhancing the book’s exclusivity and appeal to collectors. The work’s status as a luxury object is further highlighted by its price – ranging from 15 to 30 francs depending on the edition – while most books at the time typically sold for 1 to 5 francs. The pricing clearly targeted a bourgeois audience of private collectors rather than the general reading public. This is further confirmed by the book’s presence in the private libraries of writers such as Jules Claretie (1840–1913) and Henry Fouquier (1838–1901) as well as bibliophiles like Hector de Backer (1843–1925), president of the Société des Bibliophiles et Iconophiles de Belgique, and various members of French bibliophile societies.
The collector’s edition
Forain’s and Raffaëlli’s etchings for Croquis parisiens were also issued as part of a collector’s edition of prints, which Theo van Gogh acquired around 1885–86. This edition, printed in black ink on high-quality cream-laid Arches paper, includes all six of Forain’s etchings and the four by Raffaëlli. The prints are notably clean and precise, with sharp edges and no smudging – evidence of expert printing, likely by Félix Callewaert (père), the same commercial printer responsible for producing Huysmans’s book. The use of fine paper and the refined execution suggests an ambition to market the set specifically to bibliophile and print collectors. Like the book itself, the print suite was remarkable for featuring the work of not just one, but two, artists.
The Croquis parisiens print set aligned with the trends of modern printmaking and collecting in the 1880s. Driven by two major etching revivals in France – the first around 1860 led by writers and artists such as Manet and Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) and the second in the 1880s – prints transitioned from being viewed primarily as an affordable means of reproducing paintings to being recognized as original, fully realized works of art. It was the decade in which critics championed printmaking as an ideal medium for artistic experimentation, as the process allowed artists to translate their ideas directly from mind to plate. Influential advocates such as Edmond de Goncourt (1822–1896), Philippe Burty (1830–1890), Henri Beraldi (1849–1931) and Roger Marx (1859–1913) fuelled collectors’ enthusiasm through their writings, which appeared in forewords to print albums and exhibition catalogues. To meet growing demand for fine-art prints, dealers increasingly offered special print editions and collector’s albums, often featuring curated selections of original prints in various techniques – etching, engraving, woodcut and lithography – as well as previously published works, from illustrated magazines or from novels such as Huysmans’s Croquis parisiens.
Apart from limiting print runs, dealers and artists enhanced the rarity and appeal of these special editions and albums by offering ‘avant la lettre’ impressions, that is, early versions of a print issued before the addition of any accompanying text. These rare prints were especially valued by collectors as they were often signed and dedicated by the artist. The edition in Theo and Vincent’s collections features an avant la lettre version of the frontispiece for Croquis parisiens, where the original text giving the publication’s title, author and publisher is absent from the column beside the figure. While it is not certain how many of these avant la lettre versions were printed, there are only a few examples in other public collections, including one at the Art Institute of Chicago. Another example was held in the private collection of Roger Marx, a critic and advocate for modern printmaking. The presence of this avant la lettre edition in his personal collection attests to the high regard in which such impressions were held by discerning collectors of the period.
Though not added after printing, Forain’s signature is found inscribed into the printing plate on the frontispiece, along with the etching Street Walker (L’ambulante) and the unpublished Les Folies-Bergère, and thus appears in all known editions. Similarly, Raffaëlli’s contributions in this collector’s edition all bear his signature etched into the plate. Yet unlike Forain’s works, which exist in a single state aside from the frontispiece, Raffaëlli’s etchings appear in multiple states, as he had produced proof impressions while working towards the refined compositions used in the published edition. Both his landscape etchings are known in three states, while the two figure studies exist in two. Earlier proof states feature small differences from the final versions. One such example is the first state of Meagre Meals, which features lighter shading and less cross-hatching in the figure’s trousers and shoes. These earlier proofs are extremely rare and offer a valuable glimpse into the artist’s working process. The impressions in Theo’s collector’s edition are the final states, which appeared in the published book.
Jean-François Raffaëlli, The Blacksmiths, 1884, oil on cardboard mounted on panel, 77 × 57 cm, Musée de la Chartreuse, Douai. Photo: © Musée de la Chartreuse – Hugo Maertens
The acquisition of a suite by Theo
At a time when prints were increasingly recognized as original and collectible, Croquis parisiens stood out to Theo and Vincent, who had long valued graphic art. Vincent began collecting graphic works as early as 1869, primarily photographs and reproductive engravings of contemporary works. In the early 1880s, he expanded his collection to include magazine illustrations, by 1882 compiling over 1,000 images in scrapbooks – with Theo actively supporting his interest. Initially focused on reproductive prints, their interest shifted in the mid-1880s to include original modern prints. The Croquis parisiens suite likely marked one of their first acquisitions in this emerging market, reflecting their growing appreciation for prints as autonomous works of art. They would also collect sixteen prints by Manet around this time. Theo likely acquired the Manet prints and the Croquis parisiens suite either through his network of dealers from his time at Boussod, Valadon & Cie or directly from one of the suite’s two contributing artists.
Theo became acquainted with Raffaëlli – and possibly with Forain – in the mid-1880s. It is likely he encountered Raffaëlli in 1884 while visiting his solo exhibition on the avenue de l’Opéra. That same year, Theo established a professional relationship with him and began representing him at Boussod’s, where he became one of the contemporary artists Theo promoted and sold. Over time, he handled twenty-three of Raffaëlli’s works and played a key role in organizing the artist’s second solo exhibition in May 1890. Theo, however, did not represent Forain during his tenure at the gallery; Forain’s works were only taken on by Boussod’s in 1891, after Theo’s death. Still, he may have met him at the final Impressionist exhibition in 1886. Theo’s strong interest in contemporary art suggests he may have supported or even advocated for Forain’s work.
Moreover, both Theo and Vincent showed a strong and sustained interest in the work of Raffaëlli and Forain – an enthusiasm that likely contributed to their decision to acquire the Croquis parisiens print suite. Their admiration for Raffaëlli began in 1885, when Theo sent Vincent a reproduction of The Blacksmiths (), along with a Raffaëlli exhibition catalogue. The gesture sparked a rich correspondence between the brothers, during which Vincent expressed a strong affinity with Raffaëlli’s portrayals of the urban working class. He praised his honest, unembellished depictions of everyday people in a letter to Theo, stating, ‘Seemingly there’s nothing simpler than painting peasants or rag-pickers and other labourers, but – no subjects in painting are as difficult as those everyday figures!’
It is likely that around this time Theo sought to acquire some of Raffaëlli’s graphic works. With his paintings priced from a couple of hundred to a thousand francs, a print suite would have offered the brothers a more accessible way to collect his art. At the same time, the print suite likely appealed to both Theo and Vincent not only because of their interest in Raffaëlli, but also due to the collaboration with Forain, an established illustrator and etcher, which made the series even more compelling. They were likely drawn to Forain’s illustrative work for its incisive wit and modern sensibilities, as evidenced by their later collection of his satirical magazine Le Fifre in 1889. They also followed his work in the press, as noted in a letter where, after receiving a copy of the illustrated magazine Le Chat Noir from Theo, Vincent describes Forain’s contemporary depictions of women as done in ‘a masterly way’.
Furthermore, Vincent’s strong interest in naturalist literature – whose themes and tone closely mirror those of Croquis parisiens – further explains his and Theo’s appreciation for the project and their motivation to acquire the suite. Vincent was engaged with contemporary naturalist authors such as Zola, the Goncourt brothers, Maupassant and Huysmans, whose works En ménage (1881) and À vau-l’eau (1882) he read. Vincent was drawn to the naturalist aim of portraying life without idealization – an approach Zola famously likened to a form of scientific social observation. This emphasis on everyday subjects, unembellished truth and the beauty that can be found in the day to day resonated with Vincent, who sought to reflect similar qualities in his own art.
Forain’s etchings
Much like Huysmans, who writes from the perspective of a flâneur, Forain and Raffaëlli offer similarly observant perspectives in their etchings, capturing glimpses of Paris’s varied corners and social types with a sharp, documentary eye. The first illustration in Croquis parisiens is Forain’s frontispiece, which depicts the figure of a woman, alone and silhouetted against a dark background, standing beside a large empty column left blank for the insertion of the publication’s title. The depiction of her solitary figure at night suggests that she may be a sex worker. Forain’s signature wit shines through in this portrayal; her awkward, hunched posture and expectant stance add a caricatural quality as viewers are prompted to anticipate her next move. Although the scene’s allusion to sex work aligns with a recurring theme in the book, it is not explicitly referenced in the text. This is true of many other illustrations, reinforcing the idea of the publication as a series of associative ‘correspondences’ between textual vignettes and meaning-laden images.
Forain’s second illustration is titled Les Folies-Bergère after the famous Montmartre cabaret, and it appears in the book before the story of the same name even though this exact scene is not referenced. The scene, which depicts three women and a man in profile, evokes a sense of immediacy, suggesting a swift yet profound encounter – one that strongly implies, rather than rules out, the possibility of an interaction between a sex worker and a client. This interaction is made more explicit in Forain’s third etching, Knotting the Tie (Le noeud de cravate), which depicts a woman wearing a corseted black dress tying the tie of a man in a polka-dotted shirt with a cigarette in his mouth. The etching appears before the vignette titled ‘The Streetwalker’, suggesting that the female figure represents a sex worker and the male figure is her client. The image refers to a specific passage in the poem where the protagonist remembers knotting her customer’s tie: ‘Stupid, moving details come back to her […] his coloured polka-dot shirt, the ties she knotted for himself […]’. Forain based this piece on an 1839 etching by the renowned illustrator Honoré Daumier (1808–1879), part of his satirical series also titled Croquis parisiens for the magazine Le Charivari (). The accompanying caption read: ‘There you are, my dear. And now I bet you’ll be going after other girls’, underscoring the transactional, fleeting nature of the encounter. Daumier’s incisive caricatures of Parisian life served as key models for naturalists like Huysmans and Forain, with Huysmans’s title itself acknowledging the great caricaturist.
The three remaining etchings by Forain – Street Walker (L’ambulante), Les Folies-Bergère and Brothel (Maison close) – echo the themes explored in the first three. Together, his six images serve as both an exposé and a celebration of Parisian nightlife, revealing the extent to which prostitution, in all its forms, permeated every facet of it. By exposing the subversion and decadence of bourgeois Parisian life, Huysmans and Forain recall not only Daumier but also Baudelaire, who in Les Fleurs du mal and Le Peintre de la vie moderne sought to reveal beauty in extravagance and moral decay. Forain’s Croquis parisiens etchings embody this vision, presenting a body of work that is quintessentially modern.
Themes connected to sex work continued to play an important role in Forain’s work, both in his contributions to magazines and in exclusive suites of prints such as the one acquired by Theo. In doing so, he blurred the boundaries between elite and popular culture. By choosing the same themes both for high-end print series like Croquis parisiens and for his magazine illustrations, Forain elevated popular culture into the realm of elite, highbrow collecting. Moving with ease between high and low cultural forms, Forain even self-published a short-lived illustrated magazine, Le Fifre, in which he dedicated an entire section titled ‘L’Amour à Paris’ to sketches on the topic, further cementing his association with the subject matter. Theo van Gogh sent several issues of Le Fifre to Vincent between late March and early April 1889. In his reply, Vincent thanked him and made a revealing remark about the humorous portrayal of Forain’s subjects, stating that they ‘have often had the effect on me that what I manufacture becomes very sentimental in comparison.’ Although Van Gogh’s work was undoubtedly rooted in the depiction of reality, not shying away from a certain naturalistic engagement, Forain deliberately sought out excess, decadence and the corruption of urban life. In doing so, he cynically and mockingly exposed a darker side of human existence – one absent from Van Gogh’s work. With his remark, Van Gogh demonstrated that he was keenly aware of this distinction.
Honoré Daumier, There Sir! ... and then after this, you're going to run off to see the others! ... (from Affectation), 1839, lithograph, 25 × 18.5 cm, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation, Tokyo
Raffaëlli’s etchings
While Forain’s etchings centre on the decadence of the urban centre, Raffaëlli turns our attention to the city’s outskirts. The first of his etchings in Croquis parisiens is The Chestnut Seller, which accompanies a chapter of the same name within the ‘Parisian Characters’ vignettes. This section features emblematic figures of working-class Paris. The chestnut seller is likely modelled on a familiar Parisian type: a Savoyard tradesman who would migrate to Paris from the northern regions during the winter months to make a living. Rather than dramatizing the figure, Raffaëlli depicts him with objective, studied detail. This same approach is evident in his second figure-study etching, Meagre Meals, which appears before the chapter titled ‘Roast Meat: A Prose Poem’. Rather than depicting a merchant or a rural worker from the outskirts of the city, it portrays another Parisian type – a downtrodden man in formal attire, eating alone in an empty restaurant. His stiff posture, downcast eyes and sombre surroundings convey quiet melancholy and alienation. Although this specific moment is not described in the accompanying prose, much like the other etchings it echoes the text’s thematic concerns: the narrator’s reflection on marriage as a possible escape from solitary dinners and the numbing repetition of public meals. Raffaëlli’s image captures not merely a social type but a psychological state, highlighting the quiet weight of routine, loneliness and emotional exhaustion. This sensitivity to inner life and the depiction of downtrodden figures was admired by Theo, who praised Raffaëlli’s work The Absinthe Drinkers () in an 1889 letter to Vincent after visiting the Salon: ‘In the Salon there’s a very fine painting by Raffaëlli – two absinthe drinkers. I find him strongest when he paints these people who have come down in the world.’
In Raffaëlli’s last two etchings in the suite, Lampposts on Montmartre and The City Walls of Northern Paris, there is a stronger focus on landscape. They accompany the chapters ‘The Bievre’ and ‘View from the ramparts of north Paris’, respectively. These landscapes evoke the hazy, bleak, industrial atmosphere of Paris’s suburban areas, reinforcing the marginal and often overlooked character of the city’s outskirts. These are not picturesque views, but meditative records of a city’s edges, where nature meets encroaching urban sprawl – a theme Huysmans explores in depth in his prose, and one that Raffaëlli complements through his art. By turning the viewer’s gaze not only towards the people but also the neglected geographies of Paris, Raffaëlli and Huysmans contribute to a fuller, more complete image of modern life. The hunched man, leaning on a cane while carrying a heavy basket in his other arm, does indeed present a stark contrast to Forain’s depictions of nightlife excess. These works, aimed at bourgeois collectors, guide the viewer into the recesses of the city they might never visit themselves, offering glimpses of a world that can be safely observed from the comfort of a private domestic space. Like the flâneur in Huysmans’s prose, the viewer becomes an armchair flâneur, detached yet attentive, consuming Forain and Raffaëlli’s etchings of modern Paris from the comfort of home or a private library.
The etchings in Croquis parisiens do more than merely accompany Huysmans’s text. They extend its observational gaze into the spirit of the contemporary city and the lives of its inhabitants. Whether capturing the shadowy corners of Montmartre’s nightlife or the quieter margins of Paris’s working-class outskirts, Forain and Raffaëlli invite the reader into an intimate encounter with the modern city, transforming its public, unfamiliar and often overlooked spaces into a series of private, meditative studies.
The second exhibition of the Nederlandsche Etsclub, 1888
In 1888, a couple of years after Theo acquired Forain and Raffaëlli’s etchings, he received a request to lend works for an exhibition of the Nederlandsche Etsclub (Etching Club of Holland) in Amsterdam. The association, which was made up of graphic artists, was hosting its second annual exhibition. Artists Jan Veth (1864–1925), Willem Witsen (1860–1923),
Antoon Derkinderen (1859–1925) and Philip Zilcken (1857–1930) were the organizers. Veth wanted to showcase the etchings and lithographs of the Impressionists to the Dutch public after reading about four lithographic prints by William Thornley (1857–1935) after Degas which were on display at the branch of Boussod, Valadon & Cie gallery managed by Theo. Thereafter he wrote to Theo, hoping to borrow works for his exhibition, stating: ‘Could you not help our young countrymen who always seem to be somewhat in the background? You are entirely at the source for young French art.’ Theo responded to Veth, offering to send fifty etchings and twenty drawings from Boussod’s holdings as well as a selection from his personal collection, including a lithograph by Thornley after Degas, no fewer than five of his etchings by Forain and all four by Raffaëlli. The exhibition opened in June 1888 and as is evident from the exhibition catalogue, thirty-two of Theo’s works were shown, alongside the work of numerous Impressionists.
The exhibition introduced the Dutch public to Impressionist works on paper. Until then, there had been few opportunities for Dutch audiences to see the ‘new’ art from Paris. Contrary to the almost universally hostile reaction to French Impressionist painting in the Netherlands, the graphic works received more mixed reviews. One particularly favourable article by ‘L.S.’ stated: ‘I do not think I am saying too much when I claim that this exhibition is one of the most interesting we have had the opportunity to visit here in a long time.’
Reactions to Forain’s and Raffaëlli’s etchings were also mixed, as reflected in the reviews of two Dutch critics: the previously mentioned L.S., and the more conservative D.V.D.K. (David van der Kellen). The latter was particularly dismissive of Forain’s work, likely due to its frank depictions of Parisian nightlife and sex workers – imagery that may have seemed too provocative and distinctly French for some Dutch audiences. As Van der Kellen remarked, ‘Forain’s airy etchings belong in Paris and not here. His dames du demi-monde will not tempt anyone, any more than the prints themselves will make anyone hanker after “owning” them.’ He was equally critical of Raffaëlli’s work. Referring to three etchings listed in the catalogue (nos. 97–99), he dismissed them outright, writing: ‘The same gentleman [Theo van Gogh] also gave three frames of etchings by Raffaëlli … in my opinion also unfortunate art, which need not serve as an example here.’
The author L.S., however, was far more receptive to the naturalist approach employed by both artists and appreciated the realism conveyed in their works. In a review likely addressing Street Walker (L’ambulante), he highlights Forain’s realism, stating, ‘And here is one of the women from Forain n° 40. She is only drawn with a few lines, in outline. But nevertheless she lives for us, the cynically brutal cocotte with her high-crowned brimmed hat, her piercing gaze, the disdainful smile on her mouth; a floozy, a fruit of today’s depraved Parisian society (she is not Parisienne otherwise), enjoying that society, laughing at it and helping to ruin it even more.’ In a review of Raffaëlli’s etchings L.S. praised the ‘truth and casualness’ of his figures and the emotive power of his etching: ‘… you can’t pass up the two figure studies unless one closes one’s eyes to the unusual art of characterizing powerfully and vigorously with only a few lines ...’.
Theo’s decision to send Forain’s etchings to the exhibition, when asked to submit works that echo his knowledge of modern art in Paris, not only reflects his personal admiration for their naturalist vision but also demonstrates his commitment to promoting modern French art abroad – offering Dutch audiences a compelling and, at times, provocative glimpse into contemporary Parisian life through the sharp eyes of two of its most perceptive observers.
Britney Annan
December 2025