Caricature of Paul Magès drawn by his son Pierre

In this document

The sheet presents a caricature in black ink and yellow watercolour wash, depicting a man's face in profile, turned towards the left of the page p. 1.

The portrait exaggerates the model's distinctive features: round, thin-rimmed glasses, a large aquiline nose, thick arched eyebrows, marked forehead wrinkles, a thin moustache, an elongated chin and a long neck with accentuated folds. The hair is treated in a dense black flat tint, and a large stylised ear, drawn in black scrolls, extends well beyond natural proportions at the bottom right of the composition p. 1.

At the bottom right is a handwritten signature partially cut off, starting with "Pie...", probably "Pierre" p. 1. At the top left, handwritten strokes remain illegible, without being able to draw any additional information from them p. 1.

No date appears on the document.

Context

Paul Magès is the Citroën engineer famous for having developed the hydropneumatic suspension, the flagship technology of the DS presented in 1955. The collection establishes that Pierre is indeed the son of Paul Magès (Caricature of Paul Magès drawn by his son Pierre), which confirms the attribution suggested by the partial signature "Pie...". This type of caricature portrait — often created within the family, for a birthday or an informal moment — is a classic genre of domestic humorous drawing, distinct from the technical or professional documents usually found in an engineer's archives.

The fact that a son draws his father as a caricature suggests a relaxed family atmosphere, conducive to this type of graphic exercise, without being able to say more based solely on the information available here.

Archivist's perspective

This drawing occupies a special place in the collection: it relates neither to technique nor to industry, but to the intimate portrait. It brings a human and personal touch to a set of archives otherwise dominated by patents, plans and professional correspondence.

The exaggerated features — aquiline nose, oversized ear, round glasses — draw with tenderness and humour the physiognomy of Paul Magès as perceived by his own son p. 1. It seems that this type of document was kept for its emotional rather than documentary value, as a trace of the family view taken of the engineer.

The absence of a date and the cut-off nature of the signature invite caution: one cannot state with certainty the moment or the precise circumstances of its creation; however, the attribution to Pierre, son of Paul Magès, is confirmed by the collection p. 1.