← Honoré Daumier

And you, what do you like best at this year's Salon? The beer!, from 'The public at the exhibition,' published in Le Petit Journal pour Rire, June 18, 1864

Original title: And you, what do you like best at this year's Salon? The beer!, from 'The public at the exhibition,' published in Le Petit Journal pour Rire, June 18, 1864

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

June 18, 1864

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; third state of four (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 8 7/8 × 8 11/16 in. (22.6 × 22 cm) Sheet: 17 3/8 × 11 3/4 in. (44.2 × 29.8 cm)

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962

kurzbeschreibung

A man at a table raises his glass and asks what is best at the Salon; the answer: beer. Honoré Daumier drew this scene on June 18, 1864, as a lithograph for the humor magazine 'Le Petit Journal pour Rire'. It belongs to his series on the audience at the official Paris art exhibition, in which he captured visitors' reactions to the works on display.

Description

Several men sit crowded around a table, glasses in front of them, and one turns to his neighbor with the question: 'Et toi, qu'est-ce que tu trouves de meilleur au Salon cette année?' The reply 'La bière' comes straight back. Behind the group, sculptures hint at the exhibition venue. The layout is arranged in horizontal bands, the lithograph in black and white with graduated grays, the contours clear and the faces caricaturistically exaggerated—entirely in the style of Daumier's satirical sheets.

Context

The sheet was published in 'Le Petit Journal pour Rire' on the occasion of the 1864 Paris Salon, the annual showcase of art. In his series 'The Public at the Exhibition,' Daumier took aim at visitors' often fleeting attention. The caricature plays on the contrast between the demands of art viewing and the simple pleasures of everyday life—a recurring theme for him. This is the third of four print states (Delteil); it was printed on newsprint, underscoring its character as a mass medium.

Impact

Dry humor and the abrupt juxtaposition of art and beer have their appeal. The viewer smiles at the distance the artist creates from the exhibition business. Clear lines and expressive faces heighten the satirical punch.

Technique

Lithograph on newsprint: the drawing was applied to a stone with greasy chalk and then printed. The impression corresponds to the third of four states (Delteil) and shows the fine hatching and varied gray tones characteristic of Daumier. The newsprint used points to an inexpensive print for a broad audience.

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