Will it burst or not?, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, March 12, 1870
Original title: Will it burst or not?, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, March 12, 1870
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's lithograph "Wird es platzen oder nicht?" ("Will it burst or won't it?") appeared in Le Charivari on 12 March 1870 as part of the "News of the day" series. It takes aim at France's tense mood on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War: a group of people stare anxiously at a building labelled "LOIS LEGISLATIF", while a cloud bearing the word "DISSOLUTION" hangs above it. The caption "Crévera! Crévera pas!" mocks the back-and-forth over whether the legislative assembly would be dissolved.
Description
At the front, several figures crowd together and look back toward a heavy building marked "LOIS LEGISLATIF". A dark cloud floats above it, the word "DISSOLUTION" set inside — a sign of the parliament's threatened dissolution. Surprise and worry are written on the faces, and the postures and gestures betray unease. Behind the building, further structures and a flat landscape suggest the urban setting. Beneath the image runs a text panel with "Crévera! Crévera pas!" and a passage describing a debate about a political commission and electoral reform.
Context
Daumier had worked for the satirical paper Le Charivari since the 1830s, and the print came out there on 12 March 1870. It belongs to the "News of the day" series, which followed day-to-day politics. In 1870 Napoleon III ruled the Second Empire, whose position was growing increasingly fragile. The caricature picks up the discussions about reforming the electoral law and the possibility of dissolving the legislative assembly — a subject that mirrors the political unrest of the period. Daumier used lithography for political criticism, and his work often came under pressure from censors.
Impact
Tension sets in at once: the viewer's gaze is drawn from the restless figures upward to the dark cloud, where dissolution becomes a tangible threat. The worried characters press close to the reader and let the uncertainty of the situation be felt. Image and text together form a satirical comment that is at once comic and critical, prompting reflection on the political circumstances.
Technique
The sheet was printed as a lithograph on newsprint: the drawing is made on the stone with greasy chalk and then pulled. Daumier mastered this process and used it for his satirical images. The present example is the second state of two (Delteil), pointing to a later printing variant. Kept in black and white, the lithograph captures figures and architecture precisely with fine strokes and shading.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)