The restoration of the legislative body: –Hope that it will hold like this. –Hum... hummm! Maybe it wasn't enough to just re-plaster the walls., from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, October 20, 1869
Original title: The restoration of the legislative body: –Hope that it will hold like this. –Hum... hummm! Maybe it wasn't enough to just re-plaster the walls., from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, October 20, 1869
kurzbeschreibung
This lithograph from 1869 was Honoré Daumier's contribution to the 'News of the day' series in the satirical magazine Le Charivari. It shows two men in a half-finished room that resembles a building site: one holds a plan in his hand, the other pushes a wheelbarrow with a bucket in front of him.
Description
Two figures inhabit a bare interior with wooden posts and a wall still without plaster. The figure on the left carries a plan and looks across at the one on the right, who is on the move with a wheelbarrow and a large vessel. With their simple light-grey garments and short-cropped hair, both look like ordinary workers. Windows and doors are missing, and light falls evenly across the surface. Caricatural features and the added speech bubbles give the image a humorous undertone.
Context
The print dates from 1869, a period of growing political tension under the Second Empire. Daumier, whose reputation rests on political caricature, uses irony here to question the regime's apparent stability. 'News of the day' appeared regularly in Le Charivari, the satirical paper that brought such commentary to a wide audience. The title itself refers to the restoration of the legislative body, which in the image shrinks to a mere coat of plaster.
Impact
Because the figures appear as ordinary craftsmen going about their daily work, the political message takes on a mocking edge and exposes the façade as flimsy. The restrained monochrome visual language sharpens this tone and prompts reflection on the state of politics.
Technique
The motif was printed as a lithograph on newsprint, a process Daumier often used for rapid and mass distribution. This is the third state of three (Delteil), which suggests the printing plate was reworked. The image measures 23.8 × 20.4 cm, the sheet 30.6 × 27.6 cm.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)