Posing as an official of the local agricultural fair, from 'The Good Bourgeois,' published in Le Charivari, January 30, 1865
Original title: Posing as an official of the local agricultural fair, from 'The Good Bourgeois,' published in Le Charivari, January 30, 1865
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier made this lithograph in 1865, presenting a man posing as a member of his department's agricultural committee. The print belongs to the series 'Les Bons Bourgeois' and appeared on January 30, 1865, in the satirical journal Le Charivari.
Description
A gentleman in hat and jacket holds a plant in his hand; beside him stand a water container and a vase with a bouquet. A camera on a tripod is aimed at him. The layout pushes the figure and the apparatus into the foreground while the background stays minimal.
Context
With 'Les Bons Bourgeois,' Daumier offered satirical commentary on the bourgeoisie of the Second Empire. The print came out on January 30, 1865, in Le Charivari, a journal of political and social caricature. The camera in the image alludes to the still-young medium of photography as a means of self-presentation.
Impact
The lithograph humorously exposes the bourgeois's staging before the camera by exaggerating his pose. Clear arrangement and few details direct the eye to the protagonist's comic stance.
Technique
Strong hatching and graduated tones shape this lithograph on newsprint, a common process for caricatures in satirical journals. The present impression is the second state of two (Delteil), indicating that the printing plate was reworked.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)