Return of Banquo-Clais-Bizoin: When seeing him, the speaker in fear of being interrupted, interrupts his speech himself, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 14, 1869
Original title: Return of Banquo-Clais-Bizoin: When seeing him, the speaker in fear of being interrupted, interrupts his speech himself, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 14, 1869
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's 1869 lithograph 'The Return of Banquo-Glaïs-Bizoin' stages a satirical encounter: a speaker at a podium is abruptly interrupted by a skeleton. The print appeared on December 14, 1869, in the journal Le Charivari and was printed as a lithograph on newsprint.
Description
Two figures occupy a space that suggests a hall or a stage. On the left, a speaker in hat and jacket stands behind a podium bearing a coat of arms; his gesture is agitated and worried. On the right, a skeleton appears, seemingly about to speak but cut off by the first figure. Outlines of other people and a landscape in the background remain indistinct. Humor and satire define the style, facial features are heavily exaggerated, and the image stays black-and-white with no visible shading.
Context
The caricature belongs to the political satire of France's Second Empire; Daumier was then a regular contributor to Le Charivari. The title borrows the figure of Banquo from Shakespeare's Macbeth and targets the French politician Louis Marie de la Haye, known as Glaïs-Bizoin, famous for his long speeches. The lithograph was published on December 14, 1869; it survives in the third state of three, as documented by Delteil.
Impact
Setting a living speaker against a skeleton that seems a memento mori creates a comic-ironic effect. The speaker's exaggerated gestures and facial expression sharpen the satirical tone and expose the absurdity of political rhetoric. The clear black-and-white rendering without shading gives the sheet graphic concision and draws the eye to the figures.
Technique
Lithography on newsprint, a common process for caricatures in nineteenth-century journals, here produces fine lines and hatching that precisely capture facial features and details of the figures. The print is preserved in the third state of three, indicating that the plate was reworked.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)