The new assumption, 1870 edition, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, May 18, 1870
Original title: The new assumption, 1870 edition, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, May 18, 1870
kurzbeschreibung
A robed figure steered by puppets in top hats — this caricature comes from Honoré Daumier and dates to 1870. The black-and-white print appeared on 18 May of that year in the newspaper Le Charivari and mocks the doings of the powerful.
Description
At the heart of the image stands a tall figure in flowing robes, surrounded by several puppets with distorted faces and high hats pulling on their strings. A crowd of people seems to be lifting the figure upward. The layout stays spare: only a few strokes suggest something like trees. Monochrome and without harsh contrasts, the surface remains evenly lit throughout.
Context
The sheet was made for Le Charivari, the French satirical magazine known for political and social caricatures. Daumier drew it in May 1870, a few months before the Franco-Prussian War, during a phase of growing tensions. According to Delteil's catalogue, this is the third and final of three print states.
Impact
The exaggerated figures and the puppet motif feel at once comic and accusatory. Because the characters press dynamically around the main figure, a tense, almost stage-like mood arises that turns the eye toward questions of power and outside control.
Technique
The sheet was printed as a lithograph on newsprint: drawn with greasy chalk on the stone, the motif could then be transferred to paper. The execution stayed black and white, as was usual for Daumier's graphic work, which aimed at mass printing in journals.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)