Le Petit, Alfred [Zut, Caporal] (French, 1841–1909)

Alfred Le Petit was a prominent nineteenth-century painter, photographer, caricaturist, and publisher who stood as a leading figure in French political satire. Operating primarily in Paris during the collapse of the Second Empire and the rise of the Third Republic, he founded radical, anti-establishment journals including La Charge, Le Sans-Culotte, and Le Pétard. To evade severe government press restrictions, he frequently published his biting lithographs under volatile pseudonyms like Zut (an expression meaning "Damn!") and Caporal (Corporal). He adopted the Caporal persona specifically in 1871 to mock right-wing generals, shield himself from army censorship laws, and satirize the legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte (famously nicknamed "The Little Corporal").