SwissArtGallery · Documented identity

Charles Gilbert-Martin

Charles Gilbert-Martin, a French caricaturist and journalist, pursued a career in which the creation of satirical images was closely tied to the press: he founded periodicals, edited them and published his caricatures in them. Alongside these, he also signed a few still-life paintings. After his studies at the school in Blaye, he went to Paris in 1862 with the ambition of becoming a writer; a pupil and friend of Félicien Mallefille, he turned to journalism after meeting with little success as a playwright, and contributed to Le Soleil and Le Nain jaune.

On 19 May 1867, he launched Le Philosophe, a satirical periodical for which he was editor-in-chief and created most of the caricatures, while Jean-Paul Laurens mainly drew scenes of manners. The publication comprised 33 issues; in January 1868, Gilbert-Martin was sentenced to a fine and two months’ detention at Sainte-Pélagie. In 1869, he continued this activity with Les Grimaces contemporaines, a series of caricature portraits of journalists accompanied by texts by Ranc, Lockroy and Barbey d’Aurevilly.

After September 1870, he worked for a few months at the Ministry of the Interior, then with the delegation of the Government of National Defence in Tours, before joining the Army of the North, where he advanced from the rank of staff captain to that of squadron commander. Settling in Bordeaux in 1871, he founded the satirical and political weekly Le Don Quichotte in 1874. He published caricatures there and also wrote columns, poems, theatre reviews and satirical advertisements under the pseudonyms “Louis Lemaire” and “Tribelg”. His Republican activism led to eleven convictions, including three prison sentences; he was also editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Le Bordelais.

This profile brings together identity references for Charles Gilbert-Martin and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.

1 references are documented at Dobiaschofsky. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.

Works recorded at auction

Dobiaschofsky

Still life with roses in a basket

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

Stillleben mit Rosen im Korb.
Öl auf Leinwand

Date to be documented

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Sources and references

• Reference record
• RKDartists · ODC-BY-1.0
• Documentary source

SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19