Paul Verlaine at the Corner of Rue St. Jacques and Rue Soufflot
1886
Ferdinand Bac captured the famous French poet Paul Verlaine in this lively 1886 caricature, depicting him standing sternly at the corner of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue Soufflot in Paris. Dressed in a towering top hat and a heavy coat with a fluffy fur collar, Verlaine looks every bit the grumpy, imposing literary figure, complete with a magnificent mustache and beard. Bac's sketchy, energetic lines bring a sense of movement and personality to the poet, freezing a moment of Parisian street life from the late 19th century.
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