La Mort dans de Poirier; La Légende du Bonhomme Misere. (Death in the Pear Tree; Legend of the Poor Old Man)

Alphonse Legros

Death hovers in a pear tree, stealing fruit. An old man below to left looks up in apparent astonishment. This image was done as illustration to the legend of 'Bonhomme Misère.'

Master-print dealer James Goodfriend describes this work: "The legend of the Bonhomme Misère is a French folk tale. The peasant, Misère, has as his only valued possession a pear tree. He gives lodging one night to two mysterious travelers, Peter and Paul, who grant him in return the rather odd gift that whoever climbs into his pear tree will be stuck there.

When Death approaches, the old man inveigles him into the tree, where he is forced to stay, and thus Misère (misery or poverty) remains forever among the living. It should be noted that the circular structure in the background is not a Ferris wheel but a device used in rock quarrying in the nineteenth century."

The impression bears the address of Cadart and is presumably not from the 1880 re-issue by Hamerton.