Look, the quotations from the stock exchange... are our shares going up?
Original title: Look, the quotations from the stock exchange... are our shares going up?, from 'Parisian Sketches,' published in Le Charivari, July 21, 1865
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier made this lithograph in 1865. Two men occupy a café: one reads a newspaper while the other arrives carrying drinks. The sheet belongs to the series 'Parisian Sketches' and appeared in the journal 'Le Charivari' on July 21, 1865.
Description
Inside a space identifiable as a café or bar stand two men. The one on the left holds a newspaper and reads it; the one on the right turns toward him, bearing a tray with two glasses. Jackets and hats point to the years before 1900. A window opens onto sky and clouds. Everything is rendered in black and white, with French text lines below commenting on the picture.
Context
The lithograph was made in 1865 for the series 'Parisian Sketches', which ran in the satirical journal 'Le Charivari'. In it Daumier took up scenes of everyday Parisian life, often with an ironic edge. The title alludes to stock-market speculation, which gained weight under Napoleon III during the Second Empire. The sheet survives in the second state of two, as Delteil records.
Impact
The caricatural drawing feels humorous and thoughtful at once, since it exposes the absurdity of stock-market fever as it plays out in daily life. The spare black-and-white graphic and the incisive lines direct attention to the faces and gestures of the two figures.
Technique
Executed as a lithograph on newsprint, a process typical of Daumier that allowed quick, inexpensive prints for periodicals. Fine yet forceful lines define the men's features and clothing. The print is preserved in the second state of two, as the Delteil reference confirms.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)