La Princesse. –Voyons, être féroce, finis-en..., from Croquis Dramatiques, published in Le Charivari, January 26, 1857
Original title: La Princesse. –Voyons, être féroce, finis-en..., from Croquis Dramatiques, published in Le Charivari, January 26, 1857
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike many theatre caricatures of its day, Honoré Daumier's 1857 lithograph "La Princesse. –Voyons, être féroce, finis-en..." fixes on the moment of collapse rather than the prima donna's pose. The sheet belongs to the series "Croquis Dramatiques" and presents a woman on the ground together with a gesturing man in dark robes.
Description
Stretched out in the foreground lies a woman, arms flung wide, her head slightly raised — a posture that suggests screaming or pleading. Above her bends a man in a long dark gown, index finger lifted, a mocking curl at his mouth. Several heads behind follow the proceedings. Black and white, with a dark ground and pale floor, throws the two antagonists into sharp relief; the layout is asymmetrical and steers the eye toward her opposite.
Context
On 26 January 1857 the lithograph appeared in the satirical journal "Le Charivari", folded into the "Croquis Dramatiques" series. Daumier returned again and again to Parisian stage life and the actor's trade. The series falls in a period when he regularly caricatured social and artistic types.
Impact
The exaggerated gestures and grimaces conjure theatrical atmosphere at once and tilt it into irony. Harsh light-dark contrast lends the image a sombre tension that carries the caricature's comic undertone.
Technique
The sheet was printed as a lithograph in the second of two states (Delteil). Fine hatching and strong contrasts separate the figures from the ground. The paper measures 26.2 × 36 cm, the image area 19.5 × 26.9 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)