← Honoré Daumier

It's quite impossible!!!, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, March 28, 1872

Original title: It's quite impossible!!!, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, March 28, 1872

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

March 28, 1872

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 8 15/16 × 7 3/8 in. (22.7 × 18.8 cm) Sheet: 12 1/8 × 10 1/16 in. (30.8 × 25.6 cm)

Credit line

Gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1960

kurzbeschreibung

Honoré Daumier's lithograph "Es ist völlig unmöglich!!!" (It Is Utterly Impossible!!!) appeared on 28 March 1872 in the series "News of the day" in the magazine Le Charivari. It shows a grotesquely exaggerated figure who seems to reject a restoration of the monarchy with an outstretched hand. The print was made as a lithograph on newsprint and survives in the second of two states.

Description

A gaunt, sinewy body carries an oversized head, its face built from sharply distorted features and conspicuously large, expressive eyes. The figure appears to be in motion, one hand thrust forward as if to fend something off or push it away. Behind it, a bare grey field keeps the gaze fixed entirely on the figure. On a pedestal below runs the inscription "LA RESTAURATION MONARCHIQUE", and along the bottom edge one reads "Pas mèche!!!".

Context

The lithograph was published on 28 March 1872 in the satirical magazine Le Charivari, to which Daumier contributed political caricatures for years. It falls in the early French Third Republic, which had emerged after the Franco-Prussian War and the fall of Napoleon III in 1870. At the time, whether the monarchy should be restored was a matter of dispute, and the figure in the image seems to set itself against that prospect. In the series "News of the day", Daumier used the format to comment critically on the political events of the day.

Impact

The oversized head and the striking eyes give the figure something grotesque and comic without losing the political point. With the outstretched hand and the title "Es ist völlig unmöglich!!!", a gesture of decisive refusal emerges, directed straight at the viewer. Because the background remains so bare, all attention focuses on the expressive figure and its message.

Technique

The sheet was printed as a lithograph on newsprint, a common process for Daumier's satirical work. Lithography allowed quick and inexpensive reproduction, which was crucial for publication in a magazine like Le Charivari. The print survives in the second of two states, which suggests that the artist revised the printing plate once more.

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