← Honoré Daumier

December 31st, Table of contents, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 31, 1868 (December 31, 1868, Met-Objekt 3522)

Original title: December 31st, Table of contents, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 31, 1868

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

December 31, 1868

Medium

Lithograph, pen and brown ink and red pencil on newsprint; second state of two, proof (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 9 9/16 × 8 3/4 in. (24.3 × 22.3 cm) Sheet: 14 3/4 × 10 3/4 in. (37.5 × 27.3 cm)

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1956

kurzbeschreibung

For the turn of the year 1868, Honoré Daumier created a lithograph in which a skeletal spirit rides a bicycle past tombstones commemorating the year's dead. The print was reworked with pen and red chalk on newsprint and belongs to the series 'News of the Day'.

Description

In the foreground, a skull-faced figure with a gaping mouth pushes an old-fashioned high-wheel bicycle across the image, dark robes flapping behind. On either side rise tombstones inscribed with names such as 'ROSSINI', 'BERRYER', and 'ROTHSCHILD', recalling famous people who had died. Behind, a hilly landscape climbs upward, and above it a flying skull bears the number '1868'. Grays and blacks dominate the layout, lending it a somber air, while the arrangement of figures and stones draws the eye diagonally forward.

Context

On December 31, 1868, the print appeared in the satirical magazine Le Charivari as part of the series 'News of the Day', which commented on current events. The people immortalized on the stones are celebrities who actually died in 1868, including the composer Gioachino Rossini and the banker James de Rothschild. The Grim Reaper on a bicycle alluded at the time to modern technology and its transience.

Impact

At first glance, the cyclist's jerky movement captures attention; then the eye travels to the names on the stones and up to the floating skull with the year. This interplay produces a macabre humor that also takes a serious stock of the year. Familiar names make the passage of time tangible without letting the print tip into mere morbidity; rather, it prompts reflection on mortality.

Technique

The image was executed as a lithograph and then reworked with pen, brown ink, and red pencil on newsprint. The present example is the second state of two, a proof before lettering. The lithographic process allowed for fine lines and shading, which the manual retouching further emphasizes.

AI-generated description text

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