Intérieur d'un wagon de troisième classe..., from Les Agréments des Chemins de Fer, published in Le Charivari, December 13, 1856
Original title: Intérieur d'un wagon de troisième classe..., from Les Agréments des Chemins de Fer, published in Le Charivari, December 13, 1856
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier made this lithograph in 1856, capturing the crush inside a third-class railway carriage. It belongs to the series Les Agréments des Chemins de Fer, published in the magazine Le Charivari. A crowd of travellers is packed into a narrow compartment during the cold season.
Description
Several passengers stand pressed close together in a cramped compartment. Caps and scarves point to winter cold. The figures' postures suggest movement and defensiveness, giving the arrangement a restless, tense quality. Only sparse light enters from outside, creating a gloomy mood. The lithograph's greys dominate the whole view.
Context
Daumier produced this sheet for the satirical magazine Le Charivari, where he regularly published socially critical work. The series Les Agréments des Chemins de Fer took aim at the hardships of French rail travel, still young at the time. Third class especially was overcrowded and offered little comfort, which the artist examines critically here. The work dates from 1856, a period of expanding railway construction under Napoleon III.
Impact
An oppressive closeness and unease emanate from the print, placing the viewer directly in the travellers' predicament. The dynamic layout and dark atmosphere give the scene the satirical edge characteristic of Daumier's social criticism.
Technique
The lithograph exists in the third of three states as recorded by Delteil. Printing on paper allowed fine gradations of grey and details used for a realistic rendering. The sheet measures 24.7 × 36.7 cm, the image itself 18.7 × 25 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)