Monsieur Daumier, your Robert-Macaire series is delightful (...), from "Caricaturana"
Original title: Monsieur Daumier, your Robert-Macaire series is delightful (...), from "Caricaturana"
kurzbeschreibung
This lithograph by Honoré Daumier, dated 8 April 1838 and enhanced with coloring, stands apart from other sheets in the Caricaturana series through its intimate confrontation between a man and a woman. The two are locked in a heated discussion, and the print is in the third of four states.
Description
In the foreground a man with a long, pointed nose sits at a table, dressed in dark clothing. A woman with striking hair and a long, dark brown striped dress leans toward him; her posture and expression suggest an emotional or quarrelsome encounter. Sketches, paintings, an easel, and a face on the wall fill the background. French text lines at the bottom clarify the context.
Context
Created in the 1830s, Daumier's Caricaturana series took satirical aim at the charlatan Robert Macaire. This sheet appeared in the journal Le Charivari and ranks among Daumier's best-known caricatures. Robert Macaire became a symbol of unscrupulous profiteering and fraud in nineteenth-century France.
Impact
Muted browns and grays give the sheet a serious, almost somber mood. The clear layout and concentrated rendering of the figures bring the tense interaction to the fore, which is the satirical core of the caricature.
Technique
The lithograph was enhanced with coloring, a common practice of the period. That it is the third of four print states points to careful reworking of the stone. The lithographic process allowed fine lines and shading, which Daumier exploited for his distinctive caricatures.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)