The legislative arena or the ruins of the Chamber of Deputies in the year 2870, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, June 27, 1870
Original title: The legislative arena or the ruins of the Chamber of Deputies in the year 2870, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, June 27, 1870
kurzbeschreibung
Skeletons sprawl in a ruined arena, each tagged with political slogans such as 'Reform', 'Freedoms', 'Promises' and 'Draft Laws'. Honoré Daumier's lithograph, published on 27 June 1870 in the series 'News of the day' in Le Charivari, offers a satirical vision of politics set in the year 2870. The print on wove paper imagines the collapse of the Chamber of Deputies.
Description
On a platform in the foreground, several skeletons lie heaped together, inscribed with words like 'Reform', 'Freedoms', 'Promises' and 'Draft Laws'. A figure holding a shield marked 'Amendments' keeps watch over the scene. A wide landscape opens behind them, where another figure carries an arrow-painted shield, hinting at conflict or departure. The asymmetrical arrangement draws the eye to the bones up front, while the distance suggests an abstract political stage.
Context
Daumier released this lithograph in 1870 in the satirical journal Le Charivari as part of the series 'News of the day'. The date 2870 is an ironic look ahead, skewering the political conditions of the Second Empire under Napoleon III. The series took up current parliamentary debates and the reform efforts that many felt were dragging on at the time.
Impact
Gloomy greys and skeletal figures create a pessimistic, almost apocalyptic mood. Caricatural exaggeration lays bare the futility of political promises and legislative projects, yet it does so without resorting to obvious shock tactics.
Technique
The lithograph was printed on wove paper, a smooth, high-quality sheet that holds fine lines and shading well. Daumier used the chalk technique typical of lithography to achieve soft tonal gradations and strong contrasts between the dark skeletal forms and the lighter areas of the background.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)