Le Désespoir des Bouchers (November 21, 1857, Met-Objekt 3084)
Original title: Le Désespoir des Bouchers, from Actualités, published in Le Charivari, November 21, 1857
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's lithograph 'The Despair of the Butchers', from 1857, caricatures a scene in a slaughterhouse. The print appeared on 21 November 1857 in the satirical journal 'Le Charivari' and survives as the third of three states.
Description
In the foreground a bearded man in an apron, knife in hand, contorts his face into an expression of horror. Behind him another man lies on a table, his features likewise betraying fright or exhaustion. Cuts of meat hang from the ceiling above both figures. The layout is markedly asymmetrical, with light falling on the faces and the action. Everything is rendered in monochrome shades of gray.
Context
Daumier drew this contribution for 'Le Charivari', the Parisian satirical paper known for its political and social caricatures. Between 1830 and 1872 it published numerous lithographs by him, often in series titled 'Actualités'. No specific occasion for this sheet can be documented; it belongs to Daumier's critical scrutiny of everyday life.
Impact
Humor and an unsettling note combine here, since the figures' despair seems overwrought. The sparing gray palette and clear contours draw attention to facial expression and spatial order. The print feels grotesque and insistent at once.
Technique
The sheet was made as a lithograph, printed in black on paper, in the third of three states according to Delteil's count. The lithographic process allowed fine gradations of gray and was prized for satirical prints.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)