← Honoré Daumier

I didn't vote yes for this!

Original title: I didn't vote yes for this!, from "News of the day"

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

April 1, 1871

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 9 1/2 × 7 11/16 in. (24.1 × 19.6 cm) Sheet: 11 5/16 × 11 3/4 in. (28.8 × 29.9 cm)

Credit line

Bequest of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1957

kurzbeschreibung

Honoré Daumier made this lithograph in April 1871, and it places a worker in front of a collapsed wall. The print belongs to the series "News of the day" and survives here in the second of two states.

Description

A man in a cap and jacket stands at the front, his gaze fixed on the wall, from which rubble has fallen to the ground. Behind him another damaged rock face rises. The layout stays plain: figure and wall carry everything. Greys govern the sheet, the light falls evenly, and shading comes from the density of the stones and the fabric of the clothing.

Context

Daumier drew this subject in April 1871, during the Paris Commune, in a period of political uncertainty after the Franco-Prussian War. For the newspaper Le Charivari, the series "News of the day" took up events as they happened. Lithographs on newsprint often served as vehicles for political caricature at the time.

Impact

The pensive worker before the ruin feels quiet and yet insistent. Looking at the print, one senses the consequences of war and political quarrel without the draughtsman raising a finger. The destruction stays visible, the tone stays calm.

Technique

The image was printed as a lithograph on newsprint, a process that allows delicate lines and graded shadows. The grey values and the even spread of light are among the characteristics of this printing method.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)