← Honoré Daumier

Curtain!!!, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"

Original title: Curtain!!!, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

June 16, 1866

Medium

Lithograph on wove paper; second state of three (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 8 9/16 × 9 1/8 in. (21.8 × 23.2 cm) Sheet: 13 3/8 × 9 15/16 in. (34 × 25.2 cm)

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1922

kurzbeschreibung

Honoré Daumier's lithograph 'Vorhang!!!' from 1866 carries us into a theater auditorium just as the curtain rises and the crowd stirs. The sheet belongs to the series 'Tagesneuigkeiten' and appeared in the satirical journal 'Le Charivari'. We see an audience shifting in their seats while the performance begins.

Description

Top hats and other headgear point to the fashions of an earlier era. Several figures are on the move, some with arms raised, creating the impression of a dramatic, almost chaotic moment. The space is closed off by a rising curtain that clearly marks the theatrical setting. Faces and clothing are worked with shading and stand out in relief. The layout thrives on the figures' contrasting directions of movement.

Context

Daumier drew this sheet for the 'Tagesneuigkeiten' series in 'Le Charivari', a Parisian satirical journal known for its political and social caricatures. The date of June 16, 1866, falls in the period of the Second Empire under Napoleon III, when Daumier often lampooned the bourgeoisie and social events. Current affairs and everyday situations were observed with a satirical eye in this series. This impression is the second of three states, which suggests a multi-stage printing process.

Impact

Through the figures' movements and the opened curtain, the print gains an immediate theatricality. Graded shading gives faces and clothes spatial depth and draws the viewer into the action. Black and white sharpen the contrasts and heighten the caricature's expressive quality.

Technique

The sheet was printed as a lithograph on wove paper, a process in which a design is drawn on the stone with greasy chalk and then transferred to paper. Daumier used this technique to bring out fine lines and shading that give the figures expression. That it is the second of three states according to Delteil attests to repeated reworking of the printing plate, characteristic of Daumier's approach.

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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)