← Honoré Daumier

My bicycle!

Original title: My bicycle!, from "News of the day"

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

September 17, 1868

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 9 3/8 × 8 1/16 in. (23.8 × 20.4 cm) Sheet: 11 3/4 × 11 1/2 in. (29.8 × 29.2 cm)

Credit line

Bequest of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1957

kurzbeschreibung

A figure perched on a velocipede: that is the core of Honoré Daumier's lithograph 'My Bicycle!' from 1868. The print belongs to the series 'News of the day' and is presented here in the second of two states, printed on newsprint.

Description

The figure, dressed in a long-sleeved garment, grips both hands on the pedals and sits atop a bicycle with large wheels and a plain frame. Above, the word 'LA PAIX' appears; below the scene, one reads 'Mon vélocipède!' The arrangement links the pedaling figure with these two textual elements.

Context

Created in 1868, when the velocipede was coming into fashion, the print was made in France. Daumier drew it for the series 'News of the day', which appeared in 'Le Charivari'; A. de Vresse published it. Two states of the plate exist, and this copy is the second.

Impact

Humor and satire shape the image, as is typical of Daumier's caricatures. Bicycle and the notion of peace collide, producing an ironic tension.

Technique

Lithography on newsprint — a process Daumier used often. That this is the second of two states points to a reworking of the plate.

AI-generated description text

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