An 1870 Landscape, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, December 10, 1870
Original title: An 1870 landscape, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 10, 1870
kurzbeschreibung
Where most war pictures from those months put a battle in front of the viewer, Honoré Daumier's lithograph 'Un paysage en 1870' of 10 December 1870 gives the field over to a single cannon on an earthwork before a flat stretch of country. The sheet belongs to the series 'News of the day' and appeared in the satirical journal Le Charivari. As a record of the Franco-Prussian War it fixes the daily grind of the siege, not the glory of arms.
Description
A worn gun sits on a wall or rampart and fills the foreground; the wheels and barrel show clear damage. Beyond it lies a level, bare tract scattered with a few stones. Grey tones govern the whole sheet, and the light falls evenly, leaving little in the way of strong shadow. Along the lower edge runs the French text 'Un paysage en 1870'.
Context
The lithograph was made during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871, while Paris was under siege. Le Charivari, for which Daumier drew political and social caricatures on a regular basis, published the sheet. In the 'News of the day' series the artist took up current events and described the horrors of war, often with a bitter humor.
Impact
The barrenness and the battered gun produce a disenchanted, ironic tone. By placing the cannon in a way that borders on the absurd, the print undercuts heroic imagery of war. Anyone looking at the lithograph is brought up against the senselessness of the conflict.
Technique
The lithograph was printed on newsprint, in the second state of four (according to Delteil). Fine gradations of grey, which this technique allows, give the image depth and texture. The use of newsprint as the support underlines the fleeting, up-to-the-minute character of the caricature.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)