The Comedy of Death
1854
Lithograph in black on ivory China paper laid down on white wove paper
21.9 × 15 cm (8.6 × 5.9 in)
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Not currently on view
In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026
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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG
Rodolphe Bresdin was a reclusive, highly individual artist who focused his career as a printmaker and draftsman on intricate compositions of exotic, mysterious, and even macabre subjects. Following the 1848 Revolution, Bresdin left Paris to travel around France on foot, settling in Toulouse from 1853 to 1857. It was there that he created this print, possibly inspired by Théophile Gautier's 1838 poem of the same title.
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