Modern Penelope: one gun after another, from 'News of the day,' published in 'Le Charivari'
Original title: Modern Penelope: one gun after another, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"
kurzbeschreibung
A woman in a long robe and head covering sits on a chair, gripping the stock of a rifle in both hands. This is how Honoré Daumier's lithograph 'The Modern Penelope: One Rifle Chases Another' presents itself, dated 1868. The print appeared on 6 August 1868 in the French newspaper 'Le Charivari' and was printed as a lithograph on newsprint.
Description
Held firmly in her grip, a rifle stock rests in the hands of a woman in a long robe and head covering, seated at the center on a chair. Behind her, several rifles line up symmetrically along a wall. The black-and-white drawing dispenses with visible shadows and so appears flat. The caricatural style captures the woman's pensive posture and lends the sheet a humorous touch.
Context
Daumier made this lithograph for the satirical newspaper 'Le Charivari', where he regularly published political and social commentary. The title alludes to Penelope from Homer's 'Odyssey', who stayed faithful to her husband Odysseus during his absence. Daumier's modern version turns the classical motif of fidelity into absurdity: instead of weaving, the woman repairs rifles. The date of 6 August 1868 falls in a period of political tension in France, though a direct link to a specific event cannot be established.
Impact
The print works through humor and irony, playing the classical myth against an everyday scene. The woman's calm, thoughtful pose stands in amusing contrast to the rifles lined up along the wall, which underscores Daumier's satirical intent. The flat, clear design strengthens the caricatural effect and makes the image's message immediately legible.
Technique
In lithography the motif is drawn on a stone with greasy chalk and then printed on paper, and that is the method used here. The work survives in the second of two states (Delteil) and, as was usual for 'Le Charivari', was printed on newsprint. This black-and-white lithograph relies on precise linework and hatching that render the figure and the rifles in detail.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)