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.
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
Honoré Daumier's 1869 lithograph presents two men in a bare interior discussing the condition of the legislative palace. The print belongs to the series 'News of the day' and was published on October 20, 1869, in the satirical journal Le Charivari. It is a black-and-white print on newsprint, third state of three (Delteil).
Description
Two figures animate the plain room: on the left, a man holding a paper seems to speak; on the right, another holding a bucket apparently replies. Both wear simple salmon-colored garments, suggesting a hand-colored version, though the lithograph itself is black and white. Vertical structures and a window with curtains divide the background; the space feels bare and slightly outdated. Below the image is the dialogue: 'LA RESTAURATION DU CORPS LÉGISLATIF. J'espère qu'il tiendra comme ça. Hum! ... hum! ... ça n'est pas que les murs qu'il aurait fallu recrépir.'
Context
Daumier created this lithograph for the satirical journal Le Charivari, where he regularly published political caricatures. It refers to the political situation in France in the late 1860s, when the Second Empire under Napoleon III was increasingly under pressure. The caption plays on the double meaning of 'body' as building and institution: the renovation of the Palais Bourbon, seat of the legislative body, appears ironically as mere superficial cosmetics. The lithograph served Daumier as a medium of political critique that was widely disseminated in the press of the time.
Impact
The print is immediately understandable through its reduced visual language and pointed dialogue. The seemingly harmless everyday scene exposes the political situation as a mere façade and creates ironic distance. Because the simple depiction does not distract, the message comes to the fore.
Technique
The technique used was lithography, a planographic printing process that allowed fast and inexpensive editions. The print was made on newsprint, as was customary for publication in Le Charivari. Characteristic hatching and contrasts in the drawing make the figures and space appear plastic.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)