GASTON LE BEUZE (c.1930-1960) - Receive artist alerts » - More items from this artist »

Watercolour on paper

Signed and dated G. Le Beuze Paris-1943 lower left

34.20cm wide    26.60cm high    (13.46 inches wide  10.47 inches high)

During the German Occupation, restrictions were controlled by Hermann Goering and issued by the French municipalities. Most of the food was rationed and distributed on a monthly basis in exchange for ration cards or tickets, assigned to the public according to their status.

In A La Vraie Galette, Gaston Le Beuze’s bright humour mocks the corruption that arose from this system through black market profiteers. The pancake seller’s sign reads: Galettes sans tickets la pièce 1Fr, 50 Il ne sera plus fourni de papier. Les clients seront servis sans emballages. Faites l’appoint. Merci (Pancakes no ticket 1,50 francs each. No paper given. Clients will be served without wrapping. Please give the exact change. Thanks). Profits were often outrageous (1), aimed at other war profiteers, who made their fortunes through collaboration. Two men in the queue read Paris-Soir and La Gerbe, both newspapers that promoted Nazi propaganda. The high bourgeoisie are equally ridiculed in this work; the autocratic lady holds a purse embroidered with a coronet which seems to be stuffed with money. In the background, a well-dressed Parisian female shares the sidewalk with a German soldier (with obvious connotations) and the shelter sign (Abri) places the scene in its historical context.


1. For example a litre of milk officially cost 4,60 francs and on the black market could cost up to 30 francs