Monnier, Henri Bonaventure

Henri Monnier, (born June 8, 1805, Paris, Fr.—died Jan. 3, 1877, Paris), French cartoonist and writer whose satires of the bourgeoisie became internationally known.

Monnier studied art with A.-L. Girodet-Trioson and Antoine-Jean, Baron Gros, and was influenced by the work of Honoré Daumier. By 1828 he had established himself as an illustrator and in the 1830s began his satirical writings.

Monnier, obsessed with the pettiness and mediocrity of middle-class life, created the characters Monsieur and Madame Joseph Prudhomme as ideal representatives of the complacent French bourgeoisie. He used them to attack the pretensions and follies of his era in cartoons, stage comedies, and novels. He even portrayed Prudhomme on the stage himself and dressed the part in private life.