← Honoré Daumier

Comment..., flots impudents!... vous ne savez donc pas qui vous portez en ce moment,...., from Émotions Nautiques, published in Le Charivari, October 26, 1859

Original title: Comment..., flots impudents!... vous ne savez donc pas qui vous portez en ce moment,...., from Émotions Nautiques, published in Le Charivari, October 26, 1859

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

October 26, 1859

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; second state of four (Delteil; Hazard & Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 8 5/16 × 10 3/4 in. (21.1 × 27.3 cm) Sheet: 11 1/16 × 11 5/8 in. (28.1 × 29.5 cm)

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953

kurzbeschreibung

Two men in a small boat on a choppy sea — this motif comes from Honoré Daumier and was published as a lithograph in 1859. The sheet belongs to the series 'Émotions Nautiques' and appeared in the satirical magazine Le Charivari. It was printed in black and white on newsprint.

Description

On the rolling sea, two figures drift in a boat. The one on the left, in a striped shirt, turns with a frightened look, while the one on the right, wearing a hat and jacket, holds an oar; both seem scared. Behind them, another boat can be seen struggling against the waves. The sky is made of flowing lines that convey wind and movement, and the varying stroke thickness underscores the dynamics of the action.

Context

Daumier created this lithograph for the series 'Émotions Nautiques', which appeared in the satirical newspaper Le Charivari. The sheet was published on October 26, 1859, and is the second of four print states. In his series, Daumier often poked fun at the absurdities of bourgeois everyday life, here the leisure pleasures on the water.

Impact

The two overwhelmed boat occupants come across as comic and exaggerated, entirely in the spirit of Daumier's satirical style. The lively lines and asymmetrical arrangement create a vivid, almost caricature-like tension. One smiles at the situation, while the menace of the waves remains quite serious.

Technique

As a lithograph on newsprint, the sheet uses a medium typical of Daumier's satirical prints. The drawing was transferred to a stone and then printed; the lines appear in black and white. The line thickness varies noticeably, creating a lively texture and a sense of movement.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)