La Poire – Charles Philipon (1831)

The caricature famously depicts King Louis-Philippe I of France, who ruled during the July Monarchy. Philipon drew the king's face gradually transforming into the shape of a pear across four progressive panels. This visual gag became an enduring symbol of the French fight for freedom of the press.

Philipon chose the pear because the French word for pear, poire, was a well-known slang term for a simpleton or a fat face. By showing a gradual transition from the king's actual face to a pear, Philipon argued in court that his caricatures were merely abstract shapes. It was a clever, satirical legal defense against government censorship charges.

The progressive caricature was featured in La Caricature, a satirical journal founded by Charles Philipon himself in 1830. He also replicated the imagery in his later, even more famous daily newspaper, Le Charivari. Both publications constantly faced heavy fines and government censorship for their relentless mockery of the royal family.

Philipon actually presented the drawings during his 1831 trial for lèse-majesté, which was the crime of insulting the monarch. He pointed out to the jury that if the final image of a pear was offensive, then the king himself must look like a pear. Despite this brilliant rhetorical defense, he was ultimately convicted, fined, and sentenced to prison.