La simple comédie ne suffisant plus à l'ambition artiste de Mr. de Boisfumé..., from Les Comédiens de Société, published in Le Charivari, May 11, 1858
Original title: La simple comédie ne suffisant plus à l'ambition artiste de Mr. de Boisfumé..., from Les Comédiens de Société, published in Le Charivari, May 11, 1858
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier pokes fun at a man caught mid-gesture in a dramatic pose while a woman sits quietly beside him. This 1858 lithograph belongs to the series 'Les Comédiens de Société' and appeared in 'Le Charivari' on May 11, 1858; it survives in the second state as described by Delteil.
Description
Two figures fill an interior. In front, a man in a coat over a collared shirt seems frozen halfway through an expansive, theatrical gesture. Behind him a woman sits on a chair, holding a sheet of paper; she wears a long-sleeved dress and has her hair tied in a knot. Curtains and a wall picture or ornament merely suggest the room. The drawing stays black and white, and even light without visible shadows gives it a flat, graphic quality.
Context
Daumier devised 'Les Comédiens de Société' for the satirical journal 'Le Charivari', targeting bourgeois society and its flair for self-staging. Published on May 11, 1858, the print belongs to a series that uses theater and acting as an image for social role-play. Sharp social satire of this kind was something the artist regularly placed in Parisian daily papers.
Impact
The image is comic and ironic at once: the man's overblown pose sets off the woman's calm seated presence. Because the rendering stays flat and spare in detail, gesture and expression move to the fore, and the absurdity of the situation stands out clearly.
Technique
The lithograph was printed on newsprint, a process typical of Daumier that allowed fast, cheap prints for satirical journalism. Clear lines and sparingly applied hatching define the drawing and match his lithographic style. That the print survives in the second state according to Delteil points to a reworking of the plate.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)