The Swallow and the Little Birds

"The Swallow and the Little Birds" is a fable about a swallow and a group of little birds. The swallow tells the little birds about its long and adventurous journey, and they are impressed by the stories of the places and experiences the swallow has had. The little birds express their desire to travel and see the world, but the swallow warns them that the world can be dangerous, and that there are many predators and obstacles that they may encounter. The little birds do not take the swallow's warnings seriously and decide to embark on their journey anyway. They soon realize that the swallow was right, and they are met with many dangers and difficulties, including a hawk that attacks and kills some of them. The swallow comes to their aid and helps them to escape from the hawk. The moral of the story is that it is important to listen to the wisdom of those who have more experience and knowledge, and that taking unnecessary risks can lead to danger and harm.

Artist: Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard Grandville
Print Type: Wood Engraving
Date: C1841
Dimensions: 9 1/2 x 5 3/4"
Subject: Fantasy - Fables

Notes & Literature: Jean Ignace Isidore Gerard was a 19th century French illustrator and caricaturist who published under the pseudonym of Grandville. He has been called "the first star of French caricature's great age", and Grandville’s book illustrations described as featuring "elements of the symbolic, dreamlike, and incongruous, and they retain a sense of social commentary." "His perverse vision sought the monster in everyone and took delight in the strangest and most pernicious transfigurement of the human shape ever produced by the Romantic imagination. The anthropomorphic vegetables and zoomorphic figures that populated his cartoons anticipated and influenced the work of generations of cartoonists and illustrators from John Tenniel, to Gustave Doré, to Félicien Rops, and Walt Disney. He has also been called a "proto-surrealist" and was greatly admired by André Breton and others in the movement

Condition Report: Foxing. Verso blank.

Subject References: French Animal Fables France Life Lessons Stock ID 170