Still more Venuses this year... always Venuses!... as if there were any women built like that!
Original title: Still more Venuses this year... always Venuses!... as if there were any women built like that!, from 'Sketches from the Salon,' published in Le Charivari, May 10, 1865
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier contributed this lithograph in 1865 to the series 'Sketches from the Salon', which appeared in Le Charivari on 10 May of that year. The print shows Salon visitors looking at paintings with Venus motifs. It was printed on newsprint; this is the second state of two, as recorded by Delteil.
Description
Several figures dressed in 1860s attire—with hats and long-sleeved dresses—stand talking together. Behind them hang two paintings: one with an upright female figure, the other with a reclining one, both reminiscent of antique Venus statues. While the painted figures remain stylized, the visitors in the foreground are drawn more naturalistically. The layout stretches horizontally, and the grouping draws the eye into the middle of the action. Black and white with predominantly gray tones, the light falls evenly across the surface.
Context
Daumier made this print for the satirical journal Le Charivari, known for its political and social caricatures. His series 'Sketches from the Salon' accompanied the annual art exhibition in Paris, held in 1865. In it, he engaged with the conventions of Salon painting, which favored idealized depictions of Venus. The print was published on 10 May 1865, during the Salon season, and addressed a broad audience.
Impact
The print derives its ironic, critical tone from the contrast between the realistically drawn visitors and the idealized Venus figures. Daumier's caricature keeps a noticeable distance from the art of its time and can prompt a smile. The precise drawing and clear arrangement make the work an apt example of satirical art criticism.
Technique
The print was made as a lithograph: drawn with greasy chalk on a stone, the image then transferred to paper. Newsprint served as the printing surface, as was usual for publication in Le Charivari. The second state of the print suggests revisions from the first, as documented by Delteil.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)