A Landscape in 1870
Original title: An 1870 landscape, from News of the day, published in "Le Charivari"
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's lithograph 'Un paysage en 1870', dated 10 December 1870, sets a cannon within a rocky wartime landscape. It survives as the second of four states and appeared in the satirical journal 'Le Charivari'.
Description
A two-wheeled cannon stands on a rock ledge in a ravine, with further crags rising behind it and opening onto a flat horizon. The grey tones of the lithograph and its even light suggest a scene by day. The layout runs horizontally and pushes the gun to the fore. Rocks and cannon are rendered closely and in detail, their surfaces carefully worked.
Context
The print was made during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, as Prussia besieged France. Daumier, known for his political caricatures, published the lithograph in the satirical paper 'Le Charivari'. Its subject reflects the mood of those months and the devastation of the landscape.
Impact
The eye is caught first by the abandoned cannon in the barren rock, a sight that feels threatening and desolate. The massive weapon stands against a wide, empty setting, and the contrast stresses the senselessness of war.
Technique
For this lithograph on wove paper Daumier drew with greasy chalk on the stone and then printed it. That the work represents the second of four states points to careful reworking. Fine hatching and graduated greys show his command of the medium.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)