The Inscription of the Sketch in the 19th-Century French Journal: Michelet, Delacroix and the Goncourt Brothers

I examine the changing referents and meanings associated with the "sketch" ("esquisse," "croquis"), as found in the journals of Michelet, Delacroix and the Goncourt Brothers, in order to help identify the place the sketch occupied in the cultural life of 19th-century France. My study illustrates how the sketch and the journal, modes of self-expression traditionally reserved for the private use of their creators, both moved into the public domain during this historical period. I argue that the sketch and the journal allow us to trace a gradual renegotiation between private and public space and the movement of these artistic and literary practices from the periphery towards the center of cultural life in France. (WG)