← Honoré Daumier

The concierge rehearsing his December smile: Take care! take care! For New Year's Day is approaching!, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 13, 1866

Original title: The concierge rehearsing his December smile: Take care! take care! For New Year's Day is approaching!, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 13, 1866

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

December 13, 1866

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 9 1/4 × 7 15/16 in. (23.5 × 20.1 cm) Sheet: 11 7/8 × 9 15/16 in. (30.2 × 25.2 cm)

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1922

kurzbeschreibung

Honoré Daumier's lithograph from 1866 depicts a concierge rehearsing his smile for the New Year's greeting in front of a mirror. Published in the satirical journal Le Charivari as part of the 'Actualités' series, this is a lithograph on newsprint in the second state (Delteil).

Description

A man studies himself in a mirror, pulling an exaggerated grimace meant to pass for a smile. He wears a jacket and holds a shoe-polishing machine, which is also reflected. Dark, indistinct shapes behind him suggest a door or wall. Along the bottom edge runs the French text: 'PIPELET RÉPÉTANT SON SOURIRE DE DÉCEMBRE. Prenons garde! prenons garde! Car le jour de l'An nous regarde.'

Context

The print appeared on December 13, 1866, in the satirical newspaper Le Charivari within the 'Actualités' series. Daumier takes up the annual habit of Parisian concierges of soliciting tips from tenants at the turn of the year. The caricature exposes the hypocrisy of this begging by showing the concierge practicing a friendly face. The name 'Pipelet' refers to a literary figure who became the epitome of the Parisian concierge.

Impact

Through the man's overwrought expression, the caricature feels both comic and unsettling. The distortion of the smile in the mirror creates an ironic distance from the sitter. In this way Daumier makes the social tensions of Parisian daily life visible in a seemingly harmless scene.

Technique

For his satirical series Daumier regularly used lithography on newsprint. The drawing remains monochrome in black and white, with fine hatching modeling face and clothing. The second state of the print shows minor corrections compared to the first, typical of Daumier's working method.

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