They Refused This...the Ignoramuses!! (Ils m'ont refusé ça...les ignares!!)
Original title: They Refused This...the Ignoramuses!! (Ils m'ont refusé ça...les ignares!!), published in Le Charivari, April 6, 1859. From the series: L'Exposition de 1859.
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier’s lithograph “Das haben sie mir verweigert... die Ignoranten!!” from 1859 presents a grotesque figure dragging an empty picture frame with a burning candle. The print appeared on April 6, 1859, in the series “L'Exposition de 1859” in the satirical journal Le Charivari and is known in its second state.
Description
Up front, a gaunt figure with exaggerated facial features creeps along, clutching a large empty frame in which a candle flickers. The expression is eerie, the head tucked under a cap. Behind, other figures with similarly empty frames move through a gloomy, forest-like space. The monochrome grey of the lithograph heightens the menacing mood; the layout is asymmetrical and caricaturally overstated.
Context
The occasion was the Paris Salon of 1859, where Daumier emerged as a critic of official art policy. With the series “L'Exposition de 1859” he mocked the jury that rejected numerous works. Again and again he targeted the ignorance of critics and jurors who, in his view, overlooked talented artists. The sheet was published in Le Charivari, known for political and social caricature.
Impact
An oppressive, almost ghostly atmosphere arises; the empty frames and the burning candle lend the whole a surreal touch. The exaggerated features and dark surroundings invite a smirk but, through their grotesquerie, leave a pensive aftertaste.
Technique
Executed as a lithograph, a common printing method of the time that allows fine shading and precise lines. Daumier used it to create expressive caricatures with few strokes; the second state shows revisions compared to the first impression.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)