Oh! Mon ami...., quel beau turco!..., from Au Camp de Saint-Maur, published in Le Charivari, August 15, 1859
Original title: Oh! Mon ami...., quel beau turco!..., from Au Camp de Saint-Maur, published in Le Charivari, August 15, 1859
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike many military prints of its time, this 1859 lithograph by Honoré Daumier focuses not on the chaos of battle but on a group of people in a public setting. It belongs to the series Au Camp de Saint-Maur and appeared on 15 August 1859 in the satirical newspaper Le Charivari. The impression is the second of two states (Delteil).
Description
Two men in simple peasant clothing have made themselves comfortable on the ground. A third man remains standing; his top hat and jacket suggest bourgeois status. Beside him sits a woman in a long, elegant dress with a veil, her gaze directed toward the two seated figures. Behind this group, more people are arranged in receding rows, some only faintly outlined. Accompanying lines of dialogue are inserted into the image.
Context
Le Charivari, the satirical paper for which Daumier drew regularly, published the lithograph in August 1859. The series Au Camp de Saint-Maur takes aim at the camp life near Saint-Maur, just outside Paris. By bringing urban and rural figures together, Daumier plays out social differences with irony.
Impact
Tension arises from the contrast between the figures squatting on the ground and the upright, city-dressed man. The arrangement feels calm and observant until the dialogue lines add narrative momentum. Because the print is executed only in black and white, the precise contours and graduated shading stand out clearly.
Technique
The lithograph was printed on newsprint—a common medium for Daumier's satires. The drawing was transferred to a stone and then pulled; the second state is present here. The precise lines and nuanced shading reveal Daumier's practiced handling of this printing technique.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)