Chimera of the Imagination, from "La Caricature"
Original title: Chimera of the imagination, from "La Caricature"
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's lithograph 'Chimäre der Einbildungskraft' (1833) places a woman reading at the centre of a swarm of strange imaginary creatures. Published in the satirical journal 'La Caricature', the print belongs among the early evidence of Daumier's critical view of society.
Description
A woman has settled onto a sofa, absorbed in a book. Above her hover several grotesque figures assembled from human body parts, their faces and limbs distorted. A picture hangs on the wall; a sheet of paper and another book lie on the floor. The layout is deliberately lopsided, with the shapes clustering around the reader, who stands out in light falling from the front.
Context
Daumier made this sheet for the satirical journal 'La Caricature', published in Paris between 1830 and 1835 and sharply critical of the July Monarchy. In those years his political and social caricatures brought him recognition. The 'chimera' points to the power of the imagination, understood in Romanticism as a creative and at the same time unsettling force.
Impact
Fascination and unease mix, since the fantasy figures break into the quiet reading scene. Daumier's drawing gives the grotesque shapes an almost physical presence that speaks directly to the viewer.
Technique
Drawn in greasy chalk on stone, this is a lithograph, a planographic process, and the impression is the first state of two (Delteil). Varying densities of stroke and printing in black ink produce the grey tones.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)