That will do the job!
Original title: That will do the job!, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"
kurzbeschreibung
Dated April 1870, this lithograph by Honoré Daumier presents two figures in classical-style dress, each marked with a year, 1852 and 1870. A third figure, wearing contemporary clothes, leans in and rests a hand on the shoulder of the one bearing 1870. The print belongs to the series 'News of the day' and appeared in 'Le Charivari' on 25 April 1870.
Description
Two figures in antique-looking garments carry the dates 1852 and 1870. A third, dressed in the fashion of the present day, bends forward and touches the shoulder of the year 1870. Along the bottom runs the exclamation 'Ça prendra t-il!' ('Will it take?'). The signature 'b.D.' sits in the lower left corner.
Context
Political friction marked France in 1870, tensions that would soon lead into the Franco-Prussian War. Against that backdrop Daumier issued this sheet within his 'News of the day' series in the satirical journal 'Le Charivari'. It is the second of two states, as the notation 'second state of two' confirms.
Impact
Setting historical and present-day elements side by side produces an ironic distance. The casual touch of the third figure undercuts the solemn classical staging and sharpens the satirical tone.
Technique
The image was printed as a lithograph on wove paper, in the second of two states, as the Delteil notation records. Lithography allowed the delicate lines and gradations of shading typical of Daumier's characteristic hand.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)