Difficult to restore it to be like new, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, February 22, 1869
Original title: Difficult to restore it to be like new, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, February 22, 1869
kurzbeschreibung
In his 1869 lithograph Difficult to Restore It to Its Former Newness, Honoré Daumier took on the subject of peace with a satirical edge. The print appeared on 22 February in the journal Le Charivari and now belongs to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Description
A woman dangles from a rope suspended from a vast temple-like structure, clutching a sign that reads "CONFÉRENCE." To the right rises another monument, anchoring a chain. The layout feels deliberately off-balance: the main figure drifts toward the middle while the temple claims the right side. Grey tones dominate the drawing, as was typical of lithography in this period.
Context
The lithograph was made in February 1869, a time of political tension in France, for Le Charivari, a publication famous for its political caricatures. In it Daumier mocks the peace conferences of his day, which were often seen as ineffective.
Impact
The hanging woman and the temple-like monuments give the sheet a surreal, oppressive quality. Through exaggeration, a satirical point emerges about the fragility of peace and the hypocrisy of diplomacy.
Technique
Executed as a black-and-white lithograph on wove paper, the work survives in the second state of two (Delteil). The lithographic process allows for delicate lines and shading characteristic of Daumier's style.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)