Just look at that, my friend, how the fireplace is smoking..., from "Paris in Winter"
Original title: Just look at that, my friend, how the fireplace is smoking..., from "Paris in Winter"
kurzbeschreibung
A woman has settled herself on the floor in front of a smoking chimney — the subject of this 1865 lithograph by Honoré Daumier. It belongs to the series "Paris im Winter" and survives here in the third of three states. Everyday domestic life and a dry humor are woven together in it.
Description
Crouched in the foreground, a woman in a long dark coat rests one hand on the windowsill; smoke from the chimney rises and drifts partly across her. Behind her, two figures busy themselves at a table crowded with statuettes and other objects. Heavy curtains and a window admitting daylight define the room. This black-and-white arrangement feels restless, and the light entering from the left picks out the hazy mood.
Context
For the satirical journal "Le Charivari," Daumier drew the series "Paris im Winter," following the daily life of the city's inhabitants. This sheet appeared on February 18, 1865, and counts among his late social-critical works. Smoke and discomfort at home took up what many contemporaries knew from poor heating and cramped lodgings.
Impact
The smoking stove and the half-hidden figure produce an odd double note of comedy and unease. Close observation and caricatural exaggeration interlock, giving the print an immediate, almost satirical presence.
Technique
The image was printed as a lithograph on newsprint — a process Daumier often used because it allowed quick, inexpensive editions. The third-state impression reveals the delicate strokes and hatching that mark his mature lithographic hand.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)