← Honoré Daumier Honoré Daumier — Dialogue of the dead: Say, my dear Galileo, this will not please our old friend Tartuffe that they are paying so much attention to us, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"

Honoré Daumier — Dialogue of the dead: Say, my dear Galileo, this will not please our old friend Tartuffe that they are paying so much attention to us, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"

Dialogue of the dead: Say, my dear Galileo, this will not please our old friend Tartuffe that they are paying so much attention to us, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"

Original title: Dialogue of the dead: Say, my dear Galileo, this will not please our old friend Tartuffe that they are paying so much attention to us, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"

Artist: Honoré Daumier
Date: March 25, 1867
Medium: Lithograph on newsprint; third state of three (Delteil)
Dimensions: Image: 9 in. × 8 1/4 in. (22.9 × 21 cm) Sheet: 11 11/16 × 11 1/2 in. (29.7 × 29.2 cm)
Credit line: Bequest of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1957

kurzbeschreibung

Made in 1867 in the orbit of the series "News of the day," Honoré Daumier's lithograph "Dialog of the Dead" places three figures drawn as corpses in conversation over a newspaper bearing the words "LE SIECLE." The print thus takes aim at the current events of its moment, tying them to a pointed satirical jab.

Description

Three figures in the habit of the dead fill the sheet. At front right, a figure in plain dress with a walking stick holds up a newspaper whose masthead reads "LE SIECLE"; facing them on the left stands a character wearing a crown and flowing robes. The two seem deep in talk. Behind them emerges a third corpse-like figure, eyes fixed on the pair. The ground stays bare, stripped of detail, so attention settles entirely on how the figures engage one another.

Context

The print dates from March 1867 and ran in "Le Charivari," the satirical paper for which Daumier drew regularly. It belongs to the series "News of the day" and pokes fun at the public's renewed fascination with historical figures such as Galileo, whose ideas were being discussed again at the time. The nod to Tartuffe points to hypocrisy in religious and political life alike, a motif running through Daumier's entire output.

Impact

Because the dead appear as caricatured figures, an ironic distance opens up around their exchange. Mingling historical allusions with the daily press gives the sheet a critical edge that sets the viewer thinking.

Technique

The motif was executed as a lithograph on newsprint, in the third state of three (Delteil). Lithography permits delicate lines and graded shading, which serve the caricatural drawing well. At 22.9 × 21 cm (image), the format stays small and suits reproduction in a newspaper.

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