Poor old fellow. You are like me... it annoys you that you cannot speak up as you would like to, from 'News of the day,' published in 'Le Charivari'
Original title: Poor old fellow. You are like me... it annoys you that you cannot speak up as you would like to, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's lithograph from 1870 shows a plainly dressed man in a cap standing beside a cannon barrel. The sheet belongs to the series 'News of the day' and appeared on September 5, 1870, in the satirical journal 'Le Charivari'. It is a print on newsprint, second of two states.
Description
A weary-looking man stands in the foreground, his hands on the cannon barrel as if about to work it. His expression is resigned, and smoke rises from the muzzle. Behind him a building with a tower suggests historic architecture. The layout centers on the figure, which stands out against the structure, and black and white dominates as is typical of lithographs of the period.
Context
The lithograph was made in September 1870, in the middle of the Franco-Prussian War. Daumier contributed caricatures to 'Le Charivari' regularly, and the sheet was published there. Its caption points to the limited freedom of speech under censorship and political tension at the time. As part of the series 'News of the day', the work comments on current events.
Impact
A melancholy mood comes from the man's tired posture and the dark cloud of smoke. Cannon and historic building together point to war and transience and invite reflection. The plain arrangement strengthens the caricature's message.
Technique
The lithograph was drawn with greasy chalk on a stone and then printed on newsprint. According to the Delteil catalogue, this is the second of two states. The sheet measures 29.4 × 30.6 cm, the image itself 25.2 × 21.9 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)