← Honoré Daumier

Mr. Prudhomme: I shall never get into a compartment alone with a single traveler... principles of personal safety are contrary to that, from 'On the train,' published in Le Charivari, August 18, 1864

Original title: Mr. Prudhomme: I shall never get into a compartment alone with a single traveler... principles of personal safety are contrary to that, from 'On the train,' published in Le Charivari, August 18, 1864

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

August 18, 1864

Medium

Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 9 5/8 in. × 9 in. (24.4 × 22.8 cm) Sheet: 11 5/8 × 10 11/16 in. (29.6 × 27.1 cm)

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962

kurzbeschreibung

In this 1864 lithograph by Honoré Daumier, two men meet in a railway carriage and fall into conversation. The print belongs to the series 'Im Zug' (In the Train) and appeared in the satirical journal Le Charivari on 18 August 1864. It is a print on newsprint, in the second state.

Description

Two gentlemen stand up front: one, in a cap and coat, holds a walking stick and points a finger at his companion, who appears in top hat and coat. Behind them a carriage door opens and a third man peers out. French dialogue lines between the two men are printed beneath the scene. The layout stays easy to read, the figures' contours are distinct, and the light falls evenly, without hard shadows. The drawing remains caricatural, with emphatically exaggerated facial expressions.

Context

The lithograph was published in Le Charivari, a French satirical journal famous for its political and social caricatures. In 1864 Daumier was at work on the series 'Im Zug', taking aim at bourgeois anxieties and quirks in the railway age. Mr. Prudhomme, a recurring figure in the artist's work, embodied the smug, self-satisfied philistine. The print picks up on the contemporary debate over safety and comfort in the new means of transport.

Impact

The clear layout and overwrought gestures make the sheet immediately funny. The contrast between the confident posture and the fearful remark produces an ironic tension that invites a smile. The caricatural drawing of the figures makes the social criticism easy to take in and entertaining.

Technique

For this sheet Daumier used lithography: drawing with greasy chalk on a stone, followed by printing onto paper. It was printed on newsprint, as was usual for a satirical journal. The present impression is the second state (Delteil), which points to later reworking of the printing stone.

AI-generated description text

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