La Levée du Camp, from "Au Camp de Saint-Maur"
Original title: La Levée du Camp, from "Au Camp de Saint-Maur"
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier made this lithograph in September 1859 for the series 'Au Camp de Saint-Maur'. It pictures two soldiers packing their packs in an army camp. The sheet is the second of five states (Delteil).
Description
At the front, a soldier in a hat and a heavy pack helps a comrade hoist his gear onto his shoulders. The jackets and baggage of both men are drawn with close attention to detail. Behind them, more soldiers and onlookers with packs cross a rubble-strewn ground. The layout feels restless and pulls the eye toward the exchange between the two main figures. Realistic touches mix with caricatural exaggeration, most of all in the expressive faces.
Context
The series 'Au Camp de Saint-Maur' dates from 1859, when Daumier was working for the journal 'Le Charivari'. These lithographs take up the French military camp near Saint-Maur, not far from Paris. With the series Daumier commented satirically on everyday army life and its absurdities. Printing on newsprint underlines its character as current political and social criticism.
Impact
Close observation of routine military life gives the scene an immediate, credible feel. The exaggerated caricature of the figures adds an ironic note and invites a smile. By showing the drudgery and weight of a soldier's life, the print lands somewhere between sympathy and detachment.
Technique
Daumier worked here in lithography, printed on newsprint, a process typical of his satirical series. Black ink yields a monochrome effect with fine gradations of grey. That this is the second of five states points to an early stage in the working of the stone, which matters to collectors and scholars.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)