Full again... I think they are doing this on purpose!
Original title: Full again... I think they are doing this on purpose!, from "Winter Sketches"
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's lithograph "Schon wieder voll ... Ich glaube, sie tun es absichtlich!" (1864) stands apart from many winter scenes of its time through its pointed observation of everyday life: two figures stand in the rain, and an overflowing fountain heightens the sense of wetness and discomfort. The print belongs to the series "Winter Sketches" and is the third state of three (Delteil), printed on newsprint. Daumier thus caricatures winter daily life in Paris.
Description
Instead of idealized genre scenes, this print shows a woman and a man in pouring rain: the woman wraps herself in a long coat, her hat hides her face, the man wears a top hat and coat. Both look soaked, and delicate lines render the falling rain. Behind the figures rises a fountain, also rain-drenched, surrounded by bare trees and a gray sky. The layout is symmetrical, with the figures in the foreground and the fountain behind; graduated grays emphasize the wetness and cold of the atmosphere.
Context
Like many of Daumier's works, this lithograph appeared in the series "Winter Sketches," published in 1864 in the satirical journal Le Charivari. The series took up winter mishaps and social observations with a humorous undertone. Daumier, known for his political and social caricatures and often commenting on the bourgeoisie and Parisian living conditions, was by then looking back on more than three decades as a caricaturist and enjoyed great esteem for his pointed depictions.
Impact
The print conveys immediate wetness in an almost comic way: the rain-soaked figures and the dreary surroundings create an atmosphere that gains a light irony through Daumier's caricatural style. The viewer is prompted to smile without the winter discomfort being trivialized. The symmetrical arrangement and fine rain lines give the image a quiet but emphatic effect.
Technique
For this lithograph, Daumier drew with greasy chalk on a limestone and then used the plate for printing on newsprint. The present impression corresponds to the third state of three (Delteil), indicating later revisions or corrections to the plate. The grays and shadings arose from varying line thickness and the density of the chalk drawing, which plastically model the rain and wet surfaces.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)