Comment,...c'est-t'y Dieu possible!..., from Actualités, published in Le Charivari, December 14, 1857 (December 14, 1857, Met-Objekt 3090)
Original title: Comment,...c'est-t'y Dieu possible!..., from Actualités, published in Le Charivari, December 14, 1857
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier made this lithograph on 14 December 1857, a market scene with three women and animals behind them. It belongs to his series 'Actualités' and appeared in the satirical journal 'Le Charivari'. The sheet survives in the second of two states.
Description
Three women stand at a market stall. The middle one, apron on and worry written across her face, holds the eye, while the other two turn to look behind them, where several animals, probably sheep or goats, can be made out. The drawing is sketchy in the manner of caricature, printed in monochrome on newsprint. Light falls from the left, throwing distinct shadows on the right.
Context
This lithograph is one of the 'Actualités' sheets Daumier published regularly in 'Le Charivari'; it dates from December 1857, a period of political and social upheaval under Napoleon III. The caption 'Comment,...c'est-t'y Dieu possible!...' points to an everyday, possibly absurd incident, the kind of subject the series often took up. Daumier was known for his close observation of Parisian daily life and petit-bourgeois scenes.
Impact
The central figure's anxious face and the curious glances of her companions make the sheet instantly narrative. Sparse linework and the contrast between dark figures and pale ground steer attention to how the women respond to one another. Comedy and everyday closeness combine in a way typical of Daumier's satirical eye.
Technique
Daumier used lithography, a common printing process for mass publication at the time. The sheet was printed on thin newsprint, which brings out the drawn lines. The second state shows slight differences from the first, as is usual with lithographs.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)