Receiving his subjects, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, April 29, 1869
Original title: Receiving his subjects, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, April 29, 1869
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's 1869 lithograph presents three gentlemen in suits and hats inspecting a plainly dressed man, also hatted, who stands before them. The print belongs to the series 'Tagesneuigkeiten' and appeared in Le Charivari on 29 April 1869.
Description
Three suited and hatted men look over a man in simple clothes who stands upright and meets their gaze; he is evidently being questioned or examined. The room stays bare, with a door and a wall bearing a restrained pattern. Daumier works in greys, the light spread evenly, without heavy shadow. The figures are stylized and the visual language plain and humorous, as was usual for newspaper caricature in the nineteenth century.
Context
Daumier drew the sheet for the satirical paper Le Charivari, where he regularly published political and social caricatures. The series 'Tagesneuigkeiten' took up current events and social grievances in Second Empire France. This lithograph was made in April 1869, a few months before the parliamentary elections, and refers to the political situation of the day. Daumier was known as a sharp observer who criticized authorities and bureaucratic structures.
Impact
The clear layout and exaggerated poses of the figures produce an immediate comic effect. The contrast between the formally dressed men and the plainly clothed subject creates a dynamic that is tense and ridiculous at once. The muted colour and simple imagery direct attention to how the figures interact and to the satirical point.
Technique
Lithography on newsprint, the process typical of Daumier's caricatures. The present sheet is the second state of two (Delteil), which points to reworking of the printing stone. Lithography allowed fine gradations of grey and a quick, direct transfer of the drawing, suited to mass production in newspapers.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)