← Honoré Daumier

Pygmalion, from Histoire Ancienne, published in Le Charivari, December 28, 1842

Original title: Pygmalion, from Histoire Ancienne, published in Le Charivari, December 28, 1842

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

December 28, 1842

Medium

Lithograph; third state of three (Delteil)

Dimensions

Sheet: 11 3/4 × 8 9/16 in. (29.8 × 21.8 cm) Image: 9 in. × 7 3/8 in. (22.9 × 18.8 cm)

Credit line

Gift of Weston J. Naef, in honor of Kathleen W. Naef, 1978

kurzbeschreibung

Honoré Daumier made this lithograph, Pygmalion, on 28 December 1842 for his series Histoire Ancienne. It shows a female figure working on a statue while a second person holds out a cup to her. The print exists in three states (Delteil) and measures 22.9 × 18.8 cm within the image.

Description

A female figure, her gaze fixed in concentration, models a statue. Facing her stands another person in simple dress, holding out a cup and looking worried or surprised. Sketches of faces and parts of statues in the background point to the sculptor's work. Tools and materials on a table mark the setting as an artist's studio. The monochrome rendering, with its subdued light, accentuates the shadows and contours of figures and objects.

Context

The lithograph appeared on 28 December 1842 in the satirical magazine Le Charivari. With Histoire Ancienne, Daumier parodied the idealizing reception of antiquity then cultivated in French art and the academies. The myth of Pygmalion — a sculptor whose statue comes to life — is here given an everyday, ironic twist. The caricature belongs to a period when Daumier regularly treated political and social subjects for the Parisian press.

Impact

A realistic studio scene and caricatural exaggeration of the figures are closely intertwined. The subdued light creates an intimate, almost melancholy atmosphere that brings the myth down to the banal. The ironic refraction of the classical theme invites reflection on the art world of the time.

Technique

The sheet was printed as a lithograph in black on paper, portrait format. It is the third of three known states, suggesting that the plate was reworked. Fine hatching and strong contrasts are characteristic of Daumier's lithographic method, which he used for the rapid production of newspaper illustrations.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)