No my children... you are not part of this play here! (March 8 ,1867, Met-Objekt 3431)
Original title: No my children... you are not part of this play here!, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, March 8, 1867
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike many contemporary exhibition prints that celebrate progress, Honoré Daumier's 1867 lithograph puts Death on stage as an actor. With a shovel and a skull, the figure fends off a group of people lying on the ground. The setting is a theater that points to the Paris World's Fair — the caricature exposes the exhibition frenzy as a stage.
Description
Death dominates the foreground, identifiable by shovel and skull, one hand raised in a repelling gesture. Several figures lie at its feet, apparently struck by the shovel. A sign in the background reads 'THEATRE DE L'EXPOSITION' and 'L'EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE GRANDE FEERIE INDUSTRIELLE SUIVIE DE...'. Black and white with harsh contrasts and densely set shading, the sheet carries its drama.
Context
The caricature appeared on March 8, 1867, in the French satirical journal Le Charivari. The occasion was that year's Paris World's Fair, which staged itself as a grand industrial féerie. Daumier interprets it as theater from which workers and ordinary people remain excluded. The print belongs to a series that satirically follows the social conditions of the time.
Impact
The clear symbolism of Death and the helpless figures on the ground create an immediate sense of threat. The juxtaposition of an everyday theater scene and a macabre figure produces an oppressive yet ironic mood. Harsh contrasts focus the gaze on Death's repelling gesture.
Technique
The lithograph was printed on newsprint, present here in the second state of two (Delteil). The lithographic process allows fine lines and graded shading, used here entirely for dramatic effect. Printing on newsprint was standard practice for satirical sheets.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)