Philosophical contemplations of a lover of silent pleasures, from 'The bathers,' published in Le Petit Journal pour Rire, August 6, 1864
Original title: Philosophical contemplations of a lover of silent pleasures, from 'The bathers,' published in Le Petit Journal pour Rire, August 6, 1864
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier made this lithograph in August 1864: a man lies stretched out on his back in the water, apparently lost in thought. The print belongs to Daumier's series 'Les Baigneurs' and appeared in the journal Le Petit Journal pour Rire.
Description
A bather floats on his back, framed by leaves and branches. He still has his shirt and trousers on, and his posture seems relaxed and reflective. Behind him stretches a landscape of trees and hills. Black and white dominate the image; the light falls evenly, suggesting a day outdoors. The arrangement stays plain and legible, drawing the eye to the reclining figure and the landscape beyond.
Context
On 6 August 1864 the print appeared in Le Petit Journal pour Rire, a humorous magazine Daumier himself helped found. It counts among 'Les Baigneurs', a series in which he followed the bustle at and in the water with a mocking eye. This is the third state of three (Delteil), printed on newsprint.
Impact
The bather's calm and pensiveness give the sheet something contemplative and at the same time comic. Daumier presents an everyday scene with quiet irony and human warmth, without tipping into the grotesque.
Technique
The image was printed as a lithograph on newsprint: the drawing is made on the stone with greasy chalk and then pulled. The black-and-white printing brings out Daumier's characteristic line, in which realism and caricatural traits mix.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)