← Honoré Daumier

Mr. Colimard, if you don't immediately stop ogling the dancers..., from 'Theater sketches'

Original title: Mr. Colimard, if you don't immediately stop ogling the dancers..., from 'Theater sketches,' published in Le Charivari, May 4, 1864

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

May 4, 1864

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 9 3/16 × 8 11/16 in. (23.4 × 22 cm) Sheet: 11 13/16 × 11 7/16 in. (30 × 29.1 cm)

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962

kurzbeschreibung

Honoré Daumier's 1864 lithograph centers on a theater scene: a man named Colimard peers through opera glasses at the dancers on stage while a woman beside him regards him with disapproval. The print belongs to the series 'Theater sketches' and appeared in the magazine Le Charivari. It was printed on newsprint and is now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Description

Two figures sit in the foreground of a theater. On the left, a woman wearing a head covering turns her head to the right, her gaze fixed on the man next to her. On the right, he holds opera glasses to his eyes and looks toward the stage, where two dancers strike animated poses. A man in shirt and trousers stands there as well; a curtain and the audience seating are suggested. At the bottom of the image, a French text delivers the warning to the man. The execution is black and white, drawn with detailed lines.

Context

The lithograph emerged from the Parisian theater culture of the 1860s. At the time, Daumier regularly drew social scenes for the satirical magazine Le Charivari. In the 'Theater sketches' series, he targeted audience behavior and caricatured stock figures such as the intrusive spectator. The publication on May 4, 1864, fell in a period when Daumier's caricatures were valued for their social criticism. The figure of Monsieur Colimard alludes to contemporary mores that deemed staring at dancers improper.

Impact

Tension arises immediately between the figures: the woman confronts the man with her gaze while he watches the stage, unperturbed. The lively dancers stand out against the static seated posture of the two in the foreground, enlivening the scene. Daumier's precise linework lends the caricature a certain elegance and reinforces its satirical tone.

Technique

For this lithograph, Daumier drew with greasy chalk on a stone and then transferred the motif to paper. It was printed on newsprint, as was customary for publication in Le Charivari. This is the second state of two, as indicated by the note 'second state of two (Delteil)'.

AI-generated description text

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