Mr. Prudhomme and young Adolph, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, January 27, 1860
Original title: Mr. Prudhomme and young Adolph, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, January 27, 1860
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's 1860 lithograph presents Mr. Prudhomme, a recurring figure in the artist's work, explaining something to young Adolph on a cliff. Published as a caricature in the satirical journal Le Charivari, the print takes aim at social prejudices.
Description
Two figures dominate the image: an older man with glasses, a thick jacket and an apron stands upright, holding a boy by the hand. The boy kneels and looks up attentively at the man. Both are on a cliff above a flat coastal landscape; trees and a sailing ship can be made out in the distance. Black and white with clear contours and sharply defined figures. Dialogue texts between the two run along the bottom edge.
Context
Published on 27 January 1860 in the Parisian satirical journal Le Charivari, where Daumier regularly contributed political and social caricatures. Mr. Prudhomme was a figure created by Daumier to parody the smug, bourgeois Frenchman of the Second Empire. This print belongs to the series 'News of the Day', which took up current events and social phenomena.
Impact
The contrast between the standing adult and the kneeling child gives the scene both calm and irony. The clear layout and reduced visual language draw the eye to the dialogue texts, which carry the satirical content.
Technique
Lithograph on newsprint, a process typical of caricature in this period. Daumier used lithography to achieve fine lines and shading that make the figures stand out in relief. This is the first state of two (Delteil).
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)