L'astronome allemand lâchant un fameux canard, from La Comète de 1857, published in Le Charivari, March 17, 1857
Original title: L'astronome allemand lâchant un fameux canard, from La Comète de 1857, published in Le Charivari, March 17, 1857
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier made this lithograph in 1858, showing an astronomer squatting inside a cage as he releases a duck. It ran in the satirical magazine Le Charivari as part of the series on the comet of 1857, blending the language of science with comic exaggeration.
Description
An astronomer in a pointed black cap and a dark robe spangled with stars crouches in a plain wooden cage. One hand rests on the bars while his gaze follows a duck with a long bill and a worried expression as it flies off into the open. Above them a dark sky curves, lit by a star ringed with rays, a nod to a comet or to the influence of the stars. Grey tones dominate the print, and the foreground with the astronomer and the duck stands out sharply.
Context
Daumier published the lithograph on 17 March 1857 in the satirical paper Le Charivari. It belongs to a series that took up the comet of 1857, an astronomical event that gripped the public. The title refers to the German astronomer, and the French word canard means both duck and false report, a jab at the inflated press coverage of the comet.
Impact
The comedy comes from the clash between scientific authority and an absurd situation. The astronomer's exaggerated features and the duck's anxious look play against the serious business of watching the heavens. A clear layout pulls the eye straight to the exchange between the two main figures.
Technique
The lithograph is the third of three states according to Delteil. The printing process allows the fine gradations of grey and precise lines that mark Daumier's caricatural drawing. The sheet measures 25 × 36 cm, the image area 21.3 × 25 cm.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)