À Cherbourg, from "Actualités"
Original title: À Cherbourg, from "Actualités"
kurzbeschreibung
Two figures hiding behind curtains shape the first impression of Honoré Daumier's lithograph 'In Cherbourg' from 1858. The print belongs to the 'Actualités' series and survives in the second of two states.
Description
Concealed behind drapes, two figures stand peering out toward the background. There a coastal landscape opens up, with ships on the water and a shoreline lined with buildings. The pair's clothing looks traditional, almost historical. Black and white dominates the entire sheet, whose caricatural, humorous tone is unmistakable.
Context
Daumier drew this lithograph for the satirical journal 'Actualités', and it appeared during France's Second Empire. Cherbourg was a port and naval base of military and political consequence. With a satirical eye, the 'Actualités' series took up current events and social developments. Made in August 1858, the work falls in a period of lively political caricature in France.
Impact
The gaze of the two hidden figures pulls the viewer outward with them, toward the open coast. Tension arises from the contrast between secret observation and the wide landscape. The humorous, caricatural tone invites reflection on the relationship between watching and event.
Technique
The sheet was printed as a lithograph on newsprint, as was common for satirical prints in the nineteenth century. What has come down to us is the second of two states, suggesting the plate was reworked.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)