Divertissement aquatique renouvelé des Grecs, from Croquis d'Été
Original title: Divertissement aquatique renouvelé des Grecs, from Croquis d'Été, published in Le Charivari, August 16-17, 1857
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's lithograph "Divertissement aquatique renouvelé des Grecs" appeared in the satirical journal Le Charivari in 1857 and belongs to his series Croquis d'Été. It pictures a crowd of bathers disporting themselves in a natural setting.
Description
Bathers splash about in the water, some swimming or ducking under while others stand on the bank and watch. Trees frame the view, and a cloudy sky hangs overhead. The layout runs horizontally, with figures scattered through the water in all sorts of poses. Diffuse light gives the whole a muted, grey mood.
Context
Daumier made this lithograph for Croquis d'Été, a series published in the satirical paper Le Charivari during the summer of 1857, in which he commented on how Parisians spent their summer holidays. The title plays ironically on ancient Greek bathing culture, setting it against the bathing habits of his own day.
Impact
The monochrome greys and soft light lend the sheet a quiet, faintly ironic tone. Realistic touches mix with dramatic accents, which keeps the scene lively. It invites a smile without pressing the criticism too hard.
Technique
A lithograph on newsprint, executed in two states, of which this is the second. The process allowed fine gradations of grey and detailed linework, and it was printed on the thin paper customary for publication in a newspaper.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)