← Honoré Daumier

V'la une p'tite femme qu'est pas paresseuse..., from "Croquis Dramatiques"

Original title: V'la une p'tite femme qu'est pas paresseuse..., from "Croquis Dramatiques"

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

January 7, 1857

Medium

Lithograph; third state of three (Delteil)

Dimensions

Sheet: 9 13/16 × 13 7/16 in. (24.9 × 34.2 cm) Image: 8 1/16 × 10 3/8 in. (20.4 × 26.4 cm)

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1936

kurzbeschreibung

Honoré Daumier's lithograph, titled with the exclamation "V'la une p'tite femme qu'est pas paresseuse..." (There's a little woman who's not lazy...), dates from January 7, 1857. It shows a woman leaning to the left in a voluminous dress, while a man in a checked outfit stands by the window. The print belongs to the series Croquis Dramatiques and is in the third state of three (Delteil).

Description

A woman in a wide, flowing dress leans forward to the left, one hand pressed to her forehead, her head slightly bowed. Facing her on the right stands a man in a checked shirt and trousers; one hand grips the window handle, the other is outstretched. The uniformly dark background makes both figures stand out. Light falling from the front traces their contours and emphasizes the textures of fabric and hands. The image is executed as a monochrome lithograph in shades of gray.

Context

Daumier drew this lithograph for the satirical journal Le Charivari as part of the series Croquis Dramatiques, which took aim at Parisian theatrical and social life in the 1850s. The title is a colloquial exclamation used to characterize an energetic woman—a motif that recurs frequently in Daumier's work. It was published in the journal on January 7, 1857, the date also noted on the print.

Impact

The scene feels lively and almost stage-like thanks to the strong contrasts of light and dark and the animated poses of the figures. Realistic observation and caricatural exaggeration merge, producing an ironic undertone that prompts a smile in the viewer.

Technique

The print was made lithographically, from a drawing in greasy chalk on limestone. It is the third state of three, indicating later reworking of the stone. The gray values arise from strokes and hatching of varying density, used to bring out the qualities of fabric and skin.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)