← Honoré Daumier

Plate 18: Robert Macaire, banker and juror, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert Macaires

Original title: Plate 18: Robert Macaire, banker and juror, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert Macaires

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Date

1838

Medium

Lithograph on wove paper; second state of two (Delteil)

Dimensions

Image: 9 15/16 × 8 5/8 in. (25.3 × 21.9 cm) Sheet: 13 7/16 × 10 3/16 in. (34.1 × 25.8 cm)

Credit line

Gift of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1953

kurzbeschreibung

Two men shaking hands stand at the center of this 1838 lithograph by Honoré Daumier. They are generally read as Robert Macaire, the banker and juror, and his accomplice. The print belongs to the 'Caricaturana' series and was executed as a lithograph on wove paper.

Description

The layout is symmetrical, with two figures filling the middle. On the left stands a person in military uniform, wearing a straw hat and smoking a pipe; on the right, a portly man in a long coat, waistcoat and trousers. Both turn toward each other and shake hands. A sign reading 'CAISSE' points to a banking institution. Along the bottom edge runs an explanatory text in French.

Context

Inspired by a successful play, Daumier invented Robert Macaire as the model of the unscrupulous businessman and swindler. The 'Caricaturana' series was created in the 1830s, a period of political and social upheaval in France. The lithograph was published in the journal 'Le Charivari', known for its satirical attacks on the bourgeoisie. The print targets corruption in banking and in the justice system of the July Monarchy.

Impact

The caricature is immediately comic through its exaggerated bodies and symmetrical arrangement; yet the allusions to banking and justice give it satirical bite. Because the print remains monochrome and the contours are clear, the eye is drawn to the gestures and the inscription that carry the critique of bourgeois double standards.

Technique

The print was made as a lithograph on wove paper, a process Daumier commanded with confidence. He drew on the stone with greasy chalk before printing, producing fine lines and evenly toned areas. The second of two states (Delteil) comes from a reworked plate, in which details such as the sharpness of the contours were improved.

AI-generated description text

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