← Honoré Daumier Honoré Daumier — A deputy's nightmare: –Oh my friend, what has happened? –I dreamed I was invalidated, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 7, 1869 (December 7, 1869, Met-Objekt 3584)

Honoré Daumier — A deputy's nightmare: –Oh my friend, what has happened? –I dreamed I was invalidated, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 7, 1869 (December 7, 1869, Met-Objekt 3584)

A deputy's nightmare: –Oh my friend, what has happened? –I dreamed I was invalidated, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 7, 1869 (December 7, 1869, Met-Objekt 3584)

Original title: A deputy's nightmare: –Oh my friend, what has happened? –I dreamed I was invalidated, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 7, 1869

Artist: Honoré Daumier
Date: December 7, 1869
Medium: Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two, proof (Delteil)
Dimensions: Image: 9 7/16 × 8 1/16 in. (24 × 20.4 cm) Sheet: 14 1/8 × 10 9/16 in. (35.8 × 26.8 cm)
Credit line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1956

kurzbeschreibung

A deputy bolts upright from a nightmare – Honoré Daumier took up this motif in 1869 in a lithograph for the satirical magazine Le Charivari. The sheet belongs to the series "News of the day" and is held here as the second state of two, a proof according to Delteil. The caricature was printed on newsprint.

Description

In the foreground a figure lies in bed, eyes wide open, arms thrown high, shouting upward. Beside him sits a second person, equally alarmed, arms stretched up as well. Both wear plain clothing rendered with care. The background stays dark and undefined. Light falls from above onto faces and arms. The exaggerated expressions and the cartoonish drawing make the whole thing funny.

Context

This lithograph appeared in Le Charivari on 7 December 1869, part of the series "News of the day". It picks up on the political situation in France before the end of the Second Empire, when deputies feared for their seats. The dream of being declared invalid himself reflects that uncertainty. Daumier was known for his political caricatures, regularly published in this magazine.

Impact

The dramatic posture of the figures and the dark mood trigger an immediate emotional response in the viewer. The contrast between the frightened awakening and the comic exaggeration makes the political criticism easy to grasp and accessible. So the sheet invites a wry smile at the fears of the powerful.

Technique

This sheet was made as a lithograph on newsprint: a greasy chalk drawing on a stone, from which the print was then taken. It is the second state of two, a proof according to Delteil. The black-and-white execution matches the printing practice of the day and reinforces the graphic impact of the caricature.

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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)