Serment Renouvelé...des Suisses, from Locataires et Propriétaires, published in Le Charivari, September 29, 1856
Original title: Serment Renouvelé...des Suisses, from Locataires et Propriétaires, published in Le Charivari, September 29, 1856
kurzbeschreibung
This lithograph from 1856 is by Honoré Daumier and belongs to his series 'Locataires et Propriétaires' (Tenants and Landlords), published in the satirical journal Le Charivari. It shows three men solemnly clasping hands in a desolate landscape. The print is known in its second of two states.
Description
Three figures in simple dark clothing stand together, holding each other's hands. Their expressions are twisted into grotesque grimaces, bringing out the caricatural style of the print. Behind them stretches a wasteland with ruins and damaged buildings. The image remains black and white, with even lighting and hardly any shadows.
Context
On September 29, 1856, the Parisian journal Le Charivari published this print. It belongs to Daumier's series 'Locataires et Propriétaires', in which he targets the strained relationship between tenants and landlords. He uses the visual formula of the Swiss oath to ridicule a contemporary dispute. The second of two states survives.
Impact
The distorted faces and the barren surroundings give the print an ironic, almost absurd quality. Against the rubble, the solemn handshake looks odd and exposes the hypocrisy of social gestures.
Technique
For his caricatures, Daumier often turned to lithography, a planographic process. The drawing is made with greasy chalk on a stone and then transferred to paper. As noted by Delteil, this is the second of two states.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)