Charivari invention: A cannon equipped with a counter adding the costs of war, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"
Original title: Charivari invention: A cannon equipped with a counter adding the costs of war, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"
kurzbeschreibung
An exhausted soldier stands beside a cannon whose cannonball carries a clock face — this dial tallies the costs of war. Honoré Daumier drew this satirical caricature in 1868 as a lithograph; it belongs to the series 'News of the day' and appeared in the journal 'Le Charivari'.
Description
A man in plain clothes — cap, shirt, trousers — holds a shovel in his hand; fatigue and despair are written on his face. Next to him rises a heavy cannon, and on its ball sits a clock face that displays the costs of warfare. The sheet remains black and white, entirely in the character of a lithograph on newsprint.
Context
This caricature was created in 1868, during a phase of political tension under Napoleon III. 'Le Charivari' was known as a paper that used satirical contributions to target social and political grievances. Within a series devoted to the consequences of wars and the burden of war costs on the population, this motif takes its place.
Impact
Humor and a serious subject join here in a way that lingers. The absurd notion of a cannon with a meter meets a suffering soldier — the result is a reflective mood. Clear lines and a reduced visual language sharpen the satirical message.
Technique
Daumier worked in lithography: the motif is drawn with greasy chalk on a stone and then printed on paper. The present work is the third of three states (Delteil); it was printed on newsprint, which allowed distribution in the daily press. The image measures 23.8 × 20.5 cm, the sheet 29.6 × 23 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)