Mr. PRUDHOMME: Long live the third class compartments...
Original title: Mr. PRUDHOMME: Long live the third class compartments..., from 'On the train,' published in Le Charivari, August 30, 1864
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier made this lithograph in August 1864 for his series "On the train," which appeared in the journal Le Charivari on August 30, 1864. It shows a group of travellers in a third-class carriage and survives in the third of three states (Delteil).
Description
People sit packed tightly into the railway compartment. Bodies lean in different directions; some look straight ahead while others seem lost in thought or caught up in conversation. The clothing is plain and practical, with hats, aprons and caps easy to pick out. Light falls in from a window outside and picks out the scene, stressing how cramped the carriage is.
Context
This print belongs to Daumier's series "On the train," drawn for the satirical magazine Le Charivari. It came out on August 30, 1864 and takes its place among pictures of modern travel in the nineteenth century. Daumier often took up social contrasts and the everyday situations of the bourgeoisie and the working class.
Impact
The image feels immediate and true to life: the viewer is dropped into the crowded but lively atmosphere of a third-class compartment. The tight arrangement of the figures and their differing postures create a quiet tension between closeness and anonymity.
Technique
Lithography on newsprint, a process built for cheap, mass distribution. The gradations of grey and the delicate shading are typical of lithography, which can render details and facial expressions with precision.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)