Curtain!!!
Original title: Curtain!!!, from 'News of the day,' published in 'The war album'
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike the other sheets in Daumier's 'Nachrichten des Tages', this 1866 lithograph stages the events of war as a theatre performance: a curtain bears the words 'THEATRE DE LA GUERRE'. The print belongs to the series 'Nachrichten des Tages' and appeared in the 'Kriegsalbum'; it has come down to us in the third of three states.
Description
On a stage or balcony, a group of people sits in theatrical surroundings. A bearded man has raised his hand as if to drive home a point, while the others react in quite different ways: some attentive, others neutral or amused. At the upper left hangs a large, half-drawn curtain inscribed 'THEATRE DE LA GUERRE', with 'La toile!!!' below it. The layout pulls the eye toward the central figure, and the caricatural drawing works through exaggerated expressions.
Context
The sheet was made as the German-French War of 1866 entered its decisive phase. The series 'Das Kriegsalbum' took up the political and social events of those months. Daumier, known as a caricaturist and lithographer for his critical commentary on politics and society in nineteenth-century France, published the work on 16 June 1866 in the journal 'Le Monde illustré'.
Impact
What sets this print apart from related caricatures is its double edge: the exaggerated figures seem cheerful, yet the theatre metaphor overlays the subject of war and produces an ironic tension that invites reflection. The dynamic arrangement directs attention to the central figure and to the message of the curtain.
Technique
The sheet was printed as a lithograph on wove paper, in three states; the present one is the third. The lithographic process allowed for fine gradations of shading and precise lines, which benefit the caricatural drawing. Its monochrome execution sharpens the contrasts and brings out the quality of the drawing.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)