I purchased 3 postcards for myself in remembrance of Rose and to help myself get over missing her emails and letters. It's been 2 months since she died and life moves on, only it's smaller now and I miss the highs of opening the mailbox and finding something from her...
So I paid three strangers to send me something, 3 gorgeous postcards. I didn't open them right away, I'm going to savour them on days when I need a little pick-me-up. Like yesterday.
This card was purchased on eBay and is called "Un Jour Maigre" and is dated 1906. What an interesting scene of rats eating mussels, crab and lobster!
The title translates as a lean day, meaning a day of abstinence, or a day when eating meat is forbidden. But these little guys are feasting on shellfish, so I imagine there's a story being told here in regards to fasting days and Christianity.
The artist is Leontine Malbet and I was curious about her. I discovered she was a painter in France, her full name being Aurelie Leontine Malbet (1868-1906). And it turns out she also shared a fascination with rats and mice! These are the images I found online:
What can I say? Very cool! Why would a French lady of that time paint rats and mice? Paris of course is teaming with rats so she may have had some life models to study (although she seems to make her critters all white).
These next three all appeared in the weekly magazine France Illustrée. Again I'm sure there's some social commentary attached to these images.
November 19, 1898
May 13,1893 and January 16 1892
I love this next one. The artist's talent is clear, with the lovely grapes and peaches, and then there are two rats. Why would you paint this? I would love to know! And who would hang it on their wall (besides me)?
I also really like this one. Again, the lovely, ripe peaches, they look delicious... and mice! Lots of mice, enjoying the spilt cream? I wish I had a better picture of this, to see the wee mice in more detail. This image makes it clear that the critters in the other paintings and drawings are rats, these wee guys are darn cute mice.
So, how does a person go about finding out if any other of Aurelie Leontine Malbet rodent paintings were published as postcards? If there's one...???
I'd love to hear from you if you have any insight!
And again, thank you Rose.
