Voyons madame, un peu de courage..., from Les Comédiens de Société, published in "Le Charivari"
Original title: Voyons madame, un peu de courage..., from Les Comédiens de Société, published in "Le Charivari"
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike many other sheets from his series 'Les Comédiens de Société', Honoré Daumier's lithograph of 1858 brings together a private, almost intimate encounter with the gaze of an audience. Titled 'Voyons madame, un peu de courage...', it appeared in the journal 'Le Charivari' and presents a woman and a man in a tense situation while a group of onlookers sits in the background.
Description
In the foreground stand a woman in a long, flowing dress and a gentleman in a suit who touches her shoulder or arm; her posture conveys alarm or concern. Behind the two, a group of people has settled in a plain room with a door and a wall, appearing like spectators. Two oil lamps are visible in the foreground. The image remains in black and white, with evenly distributed light and no strong shadows.
Context
For the satirical journal 'Le Charivari', Daumier devised the series 'Les Comédiens de Société', in which he targeted social types and manners. This sheet is dated 7 June 1858 and represents the second of two states according to Delteil. The artist was known in 19th-century Paris for his pointed social criticism.
Impact
Because details are understated and the layout remains clear, the scene feels immediate and insistent. The woman's worried expression is in tension with the man's gesture; this creates an expectation that draws the viewer into the action.
Technique
Daumier drew with greasy chalk on the stone and then printed; the result is a lithograph with confident linework and flat shading, characteristic of his printmaking. The sheet measures 27.4 × 35.7 cm, the image 20.7 × 25.9 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)