Realism: Daumier


	Realism: Honoré Daumier

Honoré Daumier (1808-79) lived in Paris during troubled political times (the revolutions of 1830 and 1848) and during a time of rapid industrialization and much social unrest. He was a painter, sculptor, and graphic artist who was even temporarily imprisoned because of his social protest and criticism of the government. His criticism largely took the form of satirical lithographs (more than 4000 in his career) published in leading liberal journals. His style is often exaggerated, or caricature (thus not totally realistic), but he always depicts the real, factual, contemporary world. Characteristically, he sympathized with the poor and urban working class and lampooned the behavior of politicians, lawyers, the wealthy.

The Third-Class Carriage, c. 1862
This painting illustrates Daumier's sympathy with the urban poor, who can only afford the cheapest tickets for this horse-drawn carriage. Still, the grandmother, daughter, and two children are united in a pyramid while the separation of the richer passengers behind them may indicate urban alienation.

The Legislative Paunch, lithograph, 1834
Here Daumier lampoons the behavior of politicians, some of whom gossip, one of whom blows his nose, and others sleep.

The criminal justice system also came under the attack of Daumier's lithographic crayon. Below he depicts snooty lawyers (left) and a lawyer who refuses to listen to the case of a poor man.

Rue Transnonain, 1834
The title refers to a street in Paris in a working class neighborhood where there had been political demonstrations. After a sniper killed a member of the civil guard on patrol in the neighborhood, the troops stormed an apartment building and killed all the inhabitants. Daumier here depicts the moment after the massacre in one of the apartments with the unposed corpses sprawled ignominiously on the floor. This is a factual scene, like a police crime photo, with a claustraphobic atmosphere (the top is cropped). Contrast this realistic depiction with David's Death of Marat.

Throughout Daumier's career he recorded his anti-war sentiments, often with the pragmatic argument that war was expensive and the arms race counterproductive.
Left: "Disarmament--after you"; center: "The European balance of Power"; right: "The return of Peace in 1871 will find France devastated"

Daumier asserted his credentials as a realist in a series of lithographs in which the rejection of classical subject matter is overt and humorous. Contrast, for example, his version of the story of the Mother of Gracchi ("my children are my jewells") with the neoclassical version by Angelica Kauffmann (center). On the right Daumier satirizes the myth of Achilles; an ugly Thetis, Achilles' mother, dips the unheroic squalling brat for protection in the river omitting his heel (thus "Achilles' heel").

A prolific satirist, Daumier often made trenchant observations on contemporary society: on marriage, on rapid urbanization and the attendant housing shortage, and on fads, like the new style hoop skirts, introduced by prostitutes but soon widely popular.
Left: marriage; center: "I never rent to people with children"; right: "observe the beautiful view."

Left: fashionable courtesans wearing the brand-new crinolines; center: a clever deception; right: up up and away

The Print Collector, 1857-60
Here Daumier depicts an art lover who might appreciate some of his own prints--a contemporary scene. At the same time the pose is undramatic with the collector totally absorbed in what he is doing; he is not posing for us. This kind of spontaneous snapshot characterizes the realistic approach.

All images marked ^MAS were photographed on location by Mary Ann Sullivan. All other images were scanned from other sources or downloaded from the World Wide Web; they are posted on this password-protected site for educational purposes, at Bluffton College only, under the "fair use" clause of U.S. copyright law.

Page maintained by Mary Ann Sullivan, sullivanm@bluffton.edu. Last updated: January 2001.

Realism: Honoré Daumier

The Third-Class Carriage, c. 1862

The Legislative Paunch, lithograph, 1834

Rue Transnonain, 1834

Left: "Disarmament--after you"; center: "The European balance of Power"; right: "The return of Peace in 1871 will find France devastated"

Left: marriage; center: "I never rent to people with children"; right: "observe the beautiful view."

The Print Collector, 1857-60

Honoré Daumier (1808-79) lived in Paris during troubled political times (the revolutions of 1830 and 1848) and during a time of rapid industrialization and much social unrest. He was a painter, sculptor, and graphic artist who was even temporarily imprisoned because of his social protest and criticism of the government. His criticism largely took the form of satirical lithographs (more than 4000 in his career) published in leading liberal journals. His style is often exaggerated, or caricature (thus not totally realistic), but he always depicts the real, factual, contemporary world. Characteristically, he sympathized with the poor and urban working class and lampooned the behavior of politicians, lawyers, the wealthy.
	The Third-Class Carriage, c. 1862 This painting illustrates Daumier's sympathy with the urban poor, who can only afford the cheapest tickets for this horse-drawn carriage. Still, the grandmother, daughter, and two children are united in a pyramid while the separation of the richer passengers behind them may indicate urban alienation.

	The Legislative Paunch, lithograph, 1834 Here Daumier lampoons the behavior of politicians, some of whom gossip, one of whom blows his nose, and others sleep.

The criminal justice system also came under the attack of Daumier's lithographic crayon. Below he depicts snooty lawyers (left) and a lawyer who refuses to listen to the case of a poor man.


	Rue Transnonain, 1834 The title refers to a street in Paris in a working class neighborhood where there had been political demonstrations. After a sniper killed a member of the civil guard on patrol in the neighborhood, the troops stormed an apartment building and killed all the inhabitants. Daumier here depicts the moment after the massacre in one of the apartments with the unposed corpses sprawled ignominiously on the floor. This is a factual scene, like a police crime photo, with a claustraphobic atmosphere (the top is cropped). Contrast this realistic depiction with David's Death of Marat.

Throughout Daumier's career he recorded his anti-war sentiments, often with the pragmatic argument that war was expensive and the arms race counterproductive. Left: "Disarmament--after you"; center: "The European balance of Power"; right: "The return of Peace in 1871 will find France devastated"


Daumier asserted his credentials as a realist in a series of lithographs in which the rejection of classical subject matter is overt and humorous. Contrast, for example, his version of the story of the Mother of Gracchi ("my children are my jewells") with the neoclassical version by Angelica Kauffmann (center). On the right Daumier satirizes the myth of Achilles; an ugly Thetis, Achilles' mother, dips the unheroic squalling brat for protection in the river omitting his heel (thus "Achilles' heel").


A prolific satirist, Daumier often made trenchant observations on contemporary society: on marriage, on rapid urbanization and the attendant housing shortage, and on fads, like the new style hoop skirts, introduced by prostitutes but soon widely popular. Left: marriage; center: "I never rent to people with children"; right: "observe the beautiful view."


Left: fashionable courtesans wearing the brand-new crinolines; center: a clever deception; right: up up and away


	The Print Collector, 1857-60 Here Daumier depicts an art lover who might appreciate some of his own prints--a contemporary scene. At the same time the pose is undramatic with the collector totally absorbed in what he is doing; he is not posing for us. This kind of spontaneous snapshot characterizes the realistic approach.