The President of Rhodes, from "News of the day"
Original title: The President of Rhodes, from "News of the day"
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier's lithograph 'The President of Rhodes' dates from September 1871 and belongs to the series 'News of the Day'. It shows a grotesquely exaggerated, muscular figure wearing glasses, standing on a rock that juts out of the sea. The print is a lithograph on newsprint, preserved in the second of two states (Delteil).
Description
An oversized, heavily burdened figure with a round, almost childlike face and glasses dominates the sheet; arms and chest are shaped into powerful muscular cords. The figure stands on a rock rising from the water, while dark waves crash against it. Figure and rock stand out more brightly against the sea. At the edge of the image, fragments of text on the newsprint are visible.
Context
The caricature was created in 1871, immediately after the Franco-Prussian War and in the early years of the Third Republic. The series 'News of the Day' was published in the satirical journal 'Le Charivari'. The title refers to an ancient statue, possibly the Colossus of Rhodes, and thus targets contemporary politicians or events, although the person meant cannot be clearly identified.
Impact
The piled-up musculature combined with the childlike facial features is comic and at the same time unsettling. Because the massive figure confronts the dark, threatening waves, the print acquires an ironic edge that exposes political claims to power to ridicule.
Technique
The sheet was printed as a lithograph on newsprint — a process that allowed Daumier to work quickly and cheaply. The second of the two states shows finer deviations in the drawing, as are characteristic of the series. The paper texture and tonal quality of the drawing correspond to the newspaper printing of those years.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)