The axe that may cut him has not been forged yet, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"
Original title: The axe that may cut him has not been forged yet, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"
kurzbeschreibung
A worker raises an axe to the trunk of a huge tree inscribed "SURFACE UNIVERSEL": this is Honoré Daumier's lithograph of 1871, published in the satirical journal Le Charivari. The sheet was printed as a lithograph on newsprint.
Description
Axe held high, a man stands before a massive tree trunk with "SURFACE UNIVERSEL" written across it. A second axe rests on the ground beside him. Clouds and a scrap of newspaper text fill the background. Black and white dominate the image; even, shadowless light flattens the forms. The arrangement is spare: figure, trunk, and empty sky, with little to distract from the coming blow.
Context
The print appeared in September 1871, shortly after the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, in a period of political upheaval. Daumier contributed caricatures to Le Charivari on a regular basis. The inscription "SURFACE UNIVERSEL" probably refers to the situation or an event of the day; exactly what was meant is not entirely clear today.
Impact
The plain layout and hard black-and-white contrast give the print its direct force. The working man at the trunk reads as an emblem that invites reflection on what is being depicted, without telling the viewer what to conclude.
Technique
Lithography on newsprint, in the second of two states (Delteil). The lithographic process allowed the fine lines and graded tones characteristic of Daumier's caricatures. The paper's texture adds to the historical feel of the sheet as a printed medium.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)