Eh! ben.....camarade....., from En Chine, published in Le Charivari, December 17, 1858
Original title: Eh! ben.....camarade....., from En Chine, published in Le Charivari, December 17, 1858
kurzbeschreibung
Published in Le Charivari on 17 December 1858, this lithograph by Honoré Daumier belongs to the series "En Chine". It presents two figures in front of a Chinese temple, printed in black and white on newsprint.
Description
On the left stands a man in a hat, a bottle in his hand, his face heavily exaggerated. To the right, a woman with long braids in traditional dress throws up her arms as if seized by horror. Behind the pair rises a stylized Chinese temple building, while the ground stays flat and largely bare of detail. The image is limited to black and white, a consequence of the lithographic process.
Context
The satirical magazine Le Charivari brought out the sheet on 17 December 1858 as part of the series "En Chine". Daumier was responding to the French-British military expedition against China during the Second Opium War (1856–1860). The caricature mocks the European idea of China and the colonial ambitions of those years.
Impact
The distorted faces and the woman's violent gesture come across as both comic and accusatory. Because the figures meet this alien backdrop, the satirical intent stands out plainly: the artist lays the absurdity of the situation before the viewer's eyes.
Technique
The sheet was printed as a lithograph on newsprint, a common method for caricature of the period. Black and white and clear lines define Daumier's satirical printmaking, which appeared in large editions.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)