← Honoré Daumier

Who will he catch?

Original title: Who will he catch?, from "News of the day"

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

April 19, 1867

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; third state of three (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 9 7/8 × 8 1/4 in. (25.1 × 20.9 cm) Sheet: 11 3/4 × 11 5/16 in. (29.8 × 28.7 cm)

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1936

kurzbeschreibung

This lithograph from 1867 belongs to Daumier's series 'Nachrichten des Tages' and stages a chase with a dramatic flourish. The sheet survives as the third and final state of the print.

Description

Up front, a man with raised arms acts out the scene, his face tight with strain. Behind him other figures move, throwing their arms up as well. The layout is plainly lopsided, the leading figure claiming a wide share of the space. Greys and crisp contours alternate between bright passages and dark zones.

Context

Daumier devised the 'Nachrichten des Tages' series for the satirical paper 'Le Charivari'. This print appeared on 19 April 1867 and probably refers to an event of the day in Parisian politics or society. Three states in all are recorded; this is the third.

Impact

The sweeping gestures and restless arrangement give the sheet a caricatural edge. Soft, scattered light and the gradations of grey set a serious, almost menacing tone that draws the eye into the action.

Technique

The image was printed as a lithograph on newsprint, the usual route for Daumier's satirical contributions. That process yields both delicate lines and graduated greys, most evident in the shadowed areas.

AI-generated description text

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