View from the first week in January, from "News of the day"
Original title: View from the first week in January, from "News of the day"
kurzbeschreibung
Two gentlemen in suits and hats, hands on their suspenders, stand at the heart of this lithograph by Honoré Daumier. Titled 'Vue prise de la première semaine de janvier' and dated January 9, 1869, the sheet belongs to the 'Actualités' series and was printed on newsprint.
Description
Two men, both in suits and headwear, grip their suspenders. The one on the left leans slightly forward, while both look toward the viewer. A flat, undefined landscape forms the backdrop, deliberately kept plain. The figures are drawn realistically with clean contours and shading. The arrangement feels symmetrical: the two figures in the foreground, emptiness behind them drawing the eye their way. At the top appear the label 'ACTUALITÉS' and the page number '291'; at the bottom, the words 'VUE PRISE DE LA PREMIÈRE SEMAINE DE JANVIER'.
Context
This lithograph was made for the satirical journal 'Le Charivari' as part of Daumier's 'Actualités' series. The date of January 9, 1869, falls in the late years of the Second Empire under Napoleon III, a period of political tension and social change. In his lithographs, Daumier repeatedly took up current events and social ills, often with subtle irony.
Impact
The two men clutching their suspenders strike the viewer as comic and unsettling at once. The symmetrical layout and empty background create a concentrated, almost absurd mood. The print invites reflection on a possible satirical meaning but leaves interpretation open.
Technique
The work was executed as a lithograph on newsprint, in the second state of two (Delteil). This process allowed fine lines and shading, which stand out in the carefully worked contours of the figures. The dimensions of about 24.2 × 22.9 cm (image) and 29.4 × 29.1 cm (sheet) match the usual format of Daumier's prints in newspapers.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)