Drawing for title page "Le Petit Journal" 1830 - 1899

Hubert Clerget created this drawing for the title page of "Le Petit Journal" using graphite and gray wash. The drawing presents a neoclassical structure framing a modern scene. The composition is meticulously arranged with the building, figures, and decorative elements all balanced. Clerget employs the visual language of neoclassicism—architectural symmetry, balanced masses, and allegorical figures to represent the modern phenomenon of mass media. Note how the title of the newspaper arches above the building, supported by allegorical figures, while columns adorned with "RF" flank the scene, grounding the ephemeral news within the solidity of the state. The muted gray palette gives a sense of somber grandeur. However, the sketch-like quality of the drawing undermines any sense of monumentality. The composition uses established forms to convey a sense of modernity and immediacy. It’s in this tension between form and function that Clerget’s work invites a reconsideration of how the classical and the contemporary might inform each other.