Peace, an idyll, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, March 6, 1871
Original title: Peace, an idyll, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, March 6, 1871
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike conventional peace allegories, Daumier's lithograph of March 6, 1871, presents peace not as a radiant figure but as a skeleton with a scythe among the fallen. This black-and-white print on newsprint belongs to the series 'News of the day' and turns the expectation of a harmonious image into its opposite.
Description
A figure crouches on a rock, drawn entirely as a skeleton and holding a scythe—a sign that here means both peace and death. Around it lie several lifeless bodies, underscoring the contrast between idyll and devastation. More dead and a rocky landscape fill the picture space. The print remains black and white throughout; clear contours and fine hatching carry the somber mood.
Context
The sheet was published on March 6, 1871, in the satirical magazine Le Charivari, just weeks after the end of the siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War. With this caricature, Daumier took up the peace negotiations that imposed territorial cessions and reparations on France. The peace skeleton points to the war's high human toll and to the precarious situation of the young Third Republic.
Impact
The print is unsettling because the familiar sign of peace—the scythe—is here brought close to death. The skeleton's calm seated posture contrasts with the corpses scattered around and conveys a cynical quiet after the slaughter. Thus the viewer is prompted to reflect on the actual price of peace.
Technique
Daumier used lithography, which allowed him quick and inexpensive prints for the daily press. Present here is the second of two print states (Delteil), printed on newsprint. Precise lines and fine tonal gradation define the drawing, as is characteristic of Daumier's satirical sheets.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)