← Honoré Daumier

Comment,...c'est-t'y Dieu possible!..., from Actualités, published in Le Charivari, December 14, 1857 (December 14, 1857, Met-Objekt 3089)

Original title: Comment,...c'est-t'y Dieu possible!..., from Actualités, published in Le Charivari, December 14, 1857

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

December 14, 1857

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two (Delteil)

Dimensions

Sheet: 9 13/16 × 14 7/16 in. (24.9 × 36.7 cm) Image: 8 1/4 × 9 15/16 in. (20.9 × 25.2 cm)

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962

kurzbeschreibung

This lithograph by Honoré Daumier was made in 1857 for the series Actualités, published in the satirical magazine Le Charivari. The print presents a cheerful market scene featuring three women and a merchant. It is executed as a lithograph on newsprint, in the second state of two (Delteil).

Description

Three women in traditional dress stand in the foreground; the middle one wears an expression of surprise or shock, while the other two look at her. Behind a counter, a vendor displays goods such as meat and vegetables. Clear structures and fine shading and lines define the figures. The facial features are exaggerated and caricatural, underscoring the humorous tone of the scene. A line of text accompanies the image, indicating a dialogue.

Context

The print was published on December 14, 1857, in the Parisian satirical magazine Le Charivari, for which Daumier regularly produced caricatures. The series Actualités addressed current events and social phenomena of the Second Empire. In his lithographs, Daumier depicted social types and everyday situations with sharp irony. The date of December 14, 1857, is documented by the first printing in the magazine.

Impact

Through the exaggerated facial expressions and the everyday market scene, the caricature has an immediate comic effect. The clear layout draws the eye to the reaction of the middle figure, thus emphasizing the punchline. Daumier's stroke gives the print a lively, almost sketch-like quality that enhances the humorous tone.

Technique

The lithograph was printed on newsprint, as was customary for publication in a magazine. The second state (Delteil) reveals possible reworking of the printing plate compared to the first state. The monochrome view uses fine hatching and contrasts to model volume and shadow.

AI-generated description text

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