A pair of friends, from 'News of the day,' published in 'Le Charivari'
Original title: A pair of friends, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"
kurzbeschreibung
Lithography and pen in brown ink on newsprint — these are the means Honoré Daumier uses in 'Ein Freundespaar' (A Pair of Friends), a sheet dated 21 January 1867. The subject comes from the series 'Tagesneuigkeiten' (Daily News), published in the satirical journal Le Charivari. What survives is a proof of the third of four states (Delteil), in which the lines still bear handwritten traces.
Description
Stretched out on the ground are two figures, their arms entwined; their expressions are distorted, their faces full of feeling. On the left, a person in a long dress with curly hair; on the right, another in dark, tight clothing. Behind them, palms and a broken column remain only shadowy and suggest an ancient setting. The arrangement builds toward the center, the light is diffuse, and the tonal values are limited entirely to gray and white.
Context
For the series 'Tagesneuigkeiten', Daumier commented on the political and social events of his time with satirical means. The date of January 1867 falls in the late period of the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Why a pair of friends should appear specifically against an ancient backdrop cannot be said with certainty; a reference to contemporary debates, such as Le Charivari took up, is possible. Social criticism was part of Daumier's regular repertoire, and he published it in this journal for years.
Impact
The distorted expressions and the close embrace create a charged atmosphere that oscillates between sorrow and despair. The fact that the ruins in the background remain only hinted at gives the sheet something timeless and gloomy; the scene thus seems to gain an almost monumental tragedy. At the same time, the caricatural exaggeration of the bodies undermines any solemn seriousness — here Daumier's satirical eye for what people do to one another comes to the fore.
Technique
Lithography is combined with reworking in pen and brown ink, applied to newsprint. The fact that this is the third of four states and a proof shows how Daumier retouched his stones by hand before the final pull. Fine hatching and strongly set lines model light and shadow in the black-and-white print; the tonal values arise solely from the density of the stroke.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)