Ma femme m'a recommandé de lui rapporter mon portrait fait à Paris..., from Dans la Salle des Ventes, published in Le Charivari, April 4, 1859
Original title: Ma femme m'a recommandé de lui rapporter mon portrait fait à Paris..., from Dans la Salle des Ventes, published in Le Charivari, April 4, 1859
kurzbeschreibung
A gentleman in a top hat holds up a framed portrait and turns to his companion with it, which places this April 1859 lithograph by Honoré Daumier inside an auction room. The print belongs to the series 'Dans la Salle des Ventes' and appeared in the satirical journal Le Charivari.
Description
Two men face each other and talk. The one on the left, in a top hat and patterned jacket, presents an object in his hand that is presumably the portrait. His counterpart also wears a top hat and holds a book or a drawing. Behind them, further top-hatted figures are suggested, forming the auction audience. Kept in black on white, the sheet is accompanied by a line of text giving the characters' dialogue.
Context
The lithograph was published on 4 April 1859 in Le Charivari, the French satirical journal. Within the series 'Dans la Salle des Ventes', Daumier took aim at the auction trade and the bourgeoisie of his day. The appended text mocks a miser who would rather buy a used portrait and have it retouched than commission a new one.
Impact
Cleanly drawn lines and sharply observed figures give the sheet something immediate and comic. With gentle irony Daumier lays out the absurdity of the situation without ever becoming coarse.
Technique
The sheet was printed as a lithograph on newsprint, in black and white; it is the second state of two (after Delteil). This process allows delicate gradations of shading and a detailed rendering of faces and clothing.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)