Honoré Daumier
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Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808 – February 10 or 11, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...
, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870. He earned a living producing caricatures and cartoons in newspapers and periodicals such as '' La Caricature'' and '' Le Charivari'', for which he became well known in his lifetime and is still remembered today. He was a republican democrat (working class liberal), who satirized and lampooned the monarchy, aristocracy, clergy, politicians, the judiciary, lawyers, police, detectives, the wealthy, the military, the bourgeoisie, as well as his countrymen and human nature in general. Daumier was a serious painter, loosely associated with realism, sometimes blurring the boundaries between
caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...
and
fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...
. Although he occasionally exhibited at the Parisian Salon, his paintings were largely overlooked and ignored by the French public and critics of the day. Yet Daumier's fellow painters, as well as the poet and art critic
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...
, noticed and greatly admired his work. Later generations would recognize Daumier as one of the great French artists of the 19th century, profoundly influencing a younger generation of
impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
and
postimpressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...
painters. Daumier was a tireless and prolific artist and produced more than 100 sculptures, 500 paintings, 1,000 drawings, 1,000 wood engravings, and 4,000 lithographs. Daumier came from a poor family and was working by the age of 12, first at a , then at a bookstore frequented by artists where he began to draw. He received some mentorship from
Alexandre Lenoir Marie Alexandre Lenoir (; 27 December 1761 – 11 June 1839) was a French archaeologist. Self-taught, he devoted himself to saving France's historic monuments, sculptures and tombs from the ravages of the French Revolution, notably those of Sain ...
, attended the Académie Suisse, learned
lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...
, and was producing advertisements, illustrations, and caricatures by the time he was twenty. After the July Revolution of 1830 he begin working for satirical political papers that were highly critical of the new monarch
Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...
and his court. He was jailed for several months in 1832 after the publication of ''Gargantua'', a particularly offensive depiction of the King, Louis Philippe. After his release Daumier resumed publishing political lithographs until the
September Laws September laws can refer to: * The September 1835 laws during July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the ...
were passed in 1835, limiting the freedom of the press. Afterwards, his cartoons softened, the bourgeoisie and daily Parisian life were more frequent subjects, and when political subjects did appear they were oblique and vailed. Daumier experienced financial hardships and debt throughout much of his life. Daumier married Alexandrine Dassy in 1846 and moved to the
Île Saint-Louis Île Saint-Louis (), in size, is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France (the other natural island is the Île de la Cité, where Notre-Dame de Paris is located). Île Saint-Louis is connected to the rest of Paris by fo ...
where they lived until 1863. He increasingly associated with writers, poets, painters, and sculptors there, including Baudelaire,
Corot CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly t ...
, Courbet, Delacroix among others, and began to paint in earnest. He spent his summers from 1853 onward in
Barbizon Barbizon () is a commune (town) in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Barbizonais''. Art history The Barbizon school of painters is n ...
and Valmondois, where artists of the Barbizon school and realist movement worked. As his desire to paint intensified, his enthusiasm for cartooning declined, as did his popularity with the public. ''Le Charivari'' stopped publishing his comics in 1860. A period of financial hardship followed, and from 1863–1865 he moved to a series of lodgings around
Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...
and lost contact with many friends. ''Le Charivari'' gave him a new contract in 1864 and he resumed making caricatures for an appreciative audience in Paris. Daumier moved to Valmondois in 1865. He experienced failing eyesight and poverty there, although he continued to produce lithographs and paint, often on the theme of
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
. The
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
granted him a pension in 1877, and the following year a major exhibition of his paintings was held in Paris, which received significant recognition in the final months of his life. Daumier died in February 1879.Rey, Robert (1965). ''Daumier'', The Library of Great Painters. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 160 pp.Roy, Claude (1971). ''Daumier: Étude biographique et critique''. Le Goût de Notre Temps (The Taste of Our Time), Volume 50. Editions D'Art Albert Skira, Geneva, 127 pp.Laughton, Bruce (1996), ''Honoré Daumier''. Yale University Press, New Haven, 208 pp. . Various sources give conflicting dates regarding the day of his death: some state February 10, 1879,Daumier.org.''Daumier’s Life: 1879''.
(accessed March 30, 2024)
Eitner, Lorenz. 2000

in French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century. Part I: Before Impressionism. National Gallery of Art. (accessed March 30, 2024)
others February 11.Adhémar, Jean. 2024.
Daumier, French artist
'. Encyclopaedia Britannica. (accessed March 30, 2024)


Life


Early life: 1808–1830

Daumier was born in the south of France, in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, to Jean-Baptiste Louis Daumier and Cécile Catherine Philippe. His father Jean-Baptiste was a glazier (corresponding nowadays to a framer), a poet and a minor playwright whose literary aspirations led him to move to Paris in 1814, followed by his wife and the young Daumier in 1816. Although Daumier's father succeeded in publishing a book of verse and having an amateur troupe of actors perform his play in 1819, financial success was minimal and the family lived in poverty. At about the age of twelve (–21), Daumier started to work because of his father's breakdown. His father found him a job working as an errand boy for a
huissier de justice A ''huissier de justice'' (; literally French language, French for "justice usher"), sometimes translated to judicial officer, is an officer of the court in France, Luxembourg, French Community of Belgium, Belgium, Quebec, and Switzerland. The of ...
. Later he found employment at Delaunay's, a well established bookstore at the
Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre Palace, Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Ca ...
, a hub of Parisian life, where he began to meet artists, develop an interest in art, and started drawing. He spent much of his free time in the Louvre.Raynal, Maurice (1951), ''The Nineteenth Century: New Sources of Emotion from Goya to Gauguin. The Great Centuries of Painting''. Editions D'Art Albert Skira, Geneva.148 pp. umanity of Daumier, pages 65-70, and Daumier, page 138/ref> In 1822 he became protégé to
Alexandre Lenoir Marie Alexandre Lenoir (; 27 December 1761 – 11 June 1839) was a French archaeologist. Self-taught, he devoted himself to saving France's historic monuments, sculptures and tombs from the ravages of the French Revolution, notably those of Sain ...
, a friend of Daumier's father and the founder of the Musée des Monuments Francais (now
Musée national des Monuments Français The Musée national des Monuments Français (; ) is today a museum of plaster casts of French monuments located in the Palais de Chaillot, 1, place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre, Paris, France. It now forms part of the Cité de l'Architectur ...
), who trained Daumier in the fundamentals of art. The following year he entered the Académie Suisse where he was able to draw from live models and develop friendships with other students including Philippe Auguste Jeanron and Auguste Raffet.Leymarie, Jean (1962), ''French Painting: The Nineteenth Century. Painting, Color, History''. Editions D'Art Albert Skira, Geneva. 231 pp. umanity of Daumier, pages 146-152/ref>
Lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...
was a relatively new form of printmaking in the early 19th century, invented in Germany in the late 1790s. It was a fast and cheap method of mass-producing prints compared to the traditional practices of engraving and etching. Likewise, the art of the caricature, which was relatively established and popular in England (e.g.
William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...
,
Thomas Rowlandson Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 1757 – 21 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual soc ...
), was just coming into vogue in France about this time. Lithography studios were emerging in Paris to fill demands for inexpensive illustrated papers and periodicals in a time of social and political upheaval. Daumier learned lithography from Charles Ramelet (1805–1851) and found work with Zéphirin Belliard (1798–1861), producing (often anonymously), miscellaneous illustrations, advertisements, street scenes, portraits, and caricatures in the mid to late 1820s, albeit honing his craft through the years.


Career: 1830–1864

After the " Three Glorious Days" of the July Revolution of 1830 (it is unknown if Daumier participated in actual street fighting), a number of new illustrated satirical journals emerged in Paris. These were left-wing publications, intended for the working classes. They were largely driven by the idea that the 1830 Revolution which brought Louis Philippe to power, was largely fought and won by the workers, but had been commandeered by the ruling class and bourgeoisie for their own gains and benefits, who in turn were favored by the king. Daumier's first works of note appeared in ''La Silhouette'', the first illustrated weekly satirical paper in France which ran from December 1829 to 2 January 1831. Daumier eagerly threw in his support and began to express his political convictions as a working class republican in opposition to the new monarchy, its bureaucracy, and the bourgeoisie that supported and profited from it. The editors of ''La Silhouette'' were prosecuted and jailed for a time during the short run of the paper. Charles Philipon and Gabriel Aubert, founded another satirical paper, ''La Caricature'' in 1830, starting up just as ''La Silhouette'' was folding under pressure from the monarchy. ''La Caricature'' invited Daumier to join its staff, a formidable group including Achille Devéria, Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard (J. J. Grandville), Auguste Raffet. and a young
Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...
as a literary editor, who is reported to have said of Daumier's lithographs "Why, this fellow's got
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
in his blood !"Melot, Michel (1984), ''The Art of Illustration''. Editions D'Art Albert Skira, Geneva/ Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., New York 279 pp. Frusco, Peter and H. W. Janson (1980), ''The Romantics to Rodin'' : French Nineteenth-Century Sculpture from North American Collections. George Braziller, Inc., New York. 368 pp. Daumier's caricature of King Louis Philippe, titled ''Gargantua'', was published in December 1831. He was brought to court in February 1832 and charged with "inciting to hatred and contempt of the government and insulting the king" and sentenced to six months imprisonment with a fine of 500 francs. However, his sentence was suspended at that time and Daumier returned to work where he continued to produce provocative and antagonistic lithographs for the papers. It was at this time he started work on his first sculptures, the ''Célébrités du Juste Milieu'' (1832–1835). Later that year, his cartoon ''The Court of King Pétaud'' (1832) was published and he was arrested at his parents apartment in August 1832 and placed in the prison of Sainte-Pélagie to serve his six months. Daumier remained defiant in prison and wrote a number of letters indicating that he was producing lots of drawings "just to annoy the government." The publication of ''Gargantua'' and his imprisonment brought Daumier considerable notoriety, and great popularity among some segments of the public, but little financial gain. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Daumier, Honoré". Encyclopædia Britannica. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 849 After his release from prison on February 14, 1833, Daumier, who had been living with his parents up that time, moved into an artist phalanstery on Rue Saint-Denis, where his friends included Narcisse Virgilio Díaz, Paul Huet, Philippe Auguste Jeanron,
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (March 3, 1803August 22, 1860) was a French painter noted for his Orientalist works. Life Decamps was born in Paris. In his youth he travelled in the East, and reproduced Oriental life and scenery with a bold fidelity to ...
, and Antoine-Augustin Préault. He resumed work at ''La Caricature'' and continued to publish critical and uncompromising lithographs including ''Rue Trensnonain'', ''Freedom of the Press'', and ''Past, Present, Future'' (all 1834) and spent long hours in the Louvre. The founder and editor of ''La Caricature'', Charles Philipon, also endured a number of convictions and spent more time in prison than in his office during its run, as did many editors, authors, and illustrators of the opposition papers of the period. In 1834 ''La Caricature'' followed ''La Silhouette'' and collapsed after relentless prosecutions and fines from the monarchy. However, Philipon had already started another journal, ''Le Charivari'' in December 1832, which continued on with much the same content, and even many of the same staff members, including Daumier. On the fifth anniversary of the July Revolution (July 28, 1835), there was an unsuccessful assassination attempt on King Louis Philippe, the " Fieschi attentat". A couple of months later the "
September Laws September laws can refer to: * The September 1835 laws during July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the ...
" were passed, which imposed drastically higher fines and longer, oppressive prison sentences for publications criticizing the king and his regime. Under the new laws limiting the freedom of the press, criticisms and caricature of the monarchy had to be indirect, veiled, and oblique. Louis Philippe was often represented as a pear or with a pear for head. The tone and subjects of ''Le Charivari'' and Daumier's lithographs began to change, turning away from direct political affronts, to lighter and humorous cartoons satirizing broader aspects of society, the bourgeoisie, at times scathingly, at other times affectionately. From 1835 to 1845 Daumier lived in the vicinity of Rue de l'Hirondelle and Ile de la Cite. Debt and financial issues were a recurring concern in his life. In one incident in April 1842 his furniture was auctioned off by order of the court to settle his debts. On February 2, 1846, a seamstress named Alexandrine Dassy gave birth to Daumier's illegitimate son, who was named Honoré Daumier. The couple were married on April 16, 1846. They moved to 9 Quai d'Anjou, on the
Ile Saint-Louis Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile (singer), Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, ...
in 1846 where they lived until 1863. One author described the Ile-Saint-Louis at that time as "still a place apart, 'a little provincial town' in the midst of Paris", where toll bridges discouraged casual traffic and artists could find freedom and inexpensive rent.Pichois, Claude (1989) ''Baudelaire''. Hamish Hamilton Ltd. (The Penguin Group, London ). 430 pp. Although Daumier had been doing some painting for a number of years, it was in the late 1840s that he became increasingly dedicated to painting. He exhibited at the Salon for the first time in 1849, showing ''The Miller, his Son and the Ass''. The painter Boissard de Boisdenier was a neighbor with an apartment in the Hôtel Lauzum (a.k.a. Hôtel Pinodan), which was a gathering place for writers, poets, painters, and sculptors where Daumier met many prominent artist of the day. It was there he made the acquaintance of
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...
, who soon became a close friend and advocate of his work. Baudelaire contributed to a set of essays published in 1852 celebrating Daumier's lithographs and prints calling him "one of our leading men, not only in caricature, but in modern art." In time, Daumier gained the respect and was on friendly terms with artist such as
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French Landscape art, landscape and Portraitist, portrait painter as well as a printmaking, printmaker in etching. A pivotal figure in ...
,
Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...
,
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
, Jean-François Millet, and Théodore Rousseau who, in contrast to the public, often admired Daumier's paintings more than his lithographs. Delacroix thought enough of Daumier's drawings to make copies of them to study. The
Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
brought allied liberal, democratic leaders to power in France for a time. When a painting competition for an allegory of the new Republic was announced,
Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...
abstained, and encouraged his friend Daumier to submit a piece. About one hundred artist submitted sketches and designs anonymously to a jury that included
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (March 3, 1803August 22, 1860) was a French painter noted for his Orientalist works. Life Decamps was born in Paris. In his youth he travelled in the East, and reproduced Oriental life and scenery with a bold fidelity to ...
,
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
,
Paul Delaroche Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (; Paris, 17 July 1797 – Paris, 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subje ...
,
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
, Philippe Auguste Jeanron, Alphonse de Lamartine, Ernest Meissonier, and Théophile Thoré-Bürger. Daumier presented an oil sketch, ''The Republic'' (now in the Musée d'Orsay) that was very well received, and included among the 20 finalist. The finalist were expected to enlarge and articulate their submissions into more finalized designs. However Daumier, who was notorious for failing deadlines and poor punctuality, never followed through with an advanced painting. The following year, he received a commission for a painting from the Ministry of the Interior, via the Académie des Beau-Arts, requesting a sketch for approval, for a sum of 1,000 francs. Five months later the sum was raised to 1,500 francs. The Académie des Beau-Arts pursued the issue for 14 years, yet Daumier never produced a sketch or a painting, although he had accepted advances in payment. Ultimately he gave the government a gouache in 1863, ''The Drunkenness of Silenus'' (1849, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Calais), that had been exhibited in the solon of 1850. Starting around 1853, he often spent summer months visiting Valmondois and
Barbizon Barbizon () is a commune (town) in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Barbizonais''. Art history The Barbizon school of painters is n ...
, where
Corot CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly t ...
, Daubigny,
Millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...
,
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...
, and others were painting, deepening his ties and friendships with the artist of the Barbizon School. By the mid to late 1850s Daumier had reached new levels of artistic maturity and increasingly wished to devote himself to painting. He was growing tired and weary of the grind and endless routine of producing new cartoons at a steady rate of two, three, sometimes as many as eight a week, yet he was dependent on the income. After 30 years of steadfast production, his caricatures were declining in popularity with the public, and in 1860 ''Le Charivari'' dropped him from their staff and ceased to publish his cartoons. While the next few years were a time of financial hardship and struggle, they were also years with free time to devote to painting, and a time of great productivity and artistic growth. An emerging market for Daumier’s highly finished watercolors depicting scenes of contemporary Parisian life provided him with some minimal income. Daumier exhibited regularly at the official Salon, although in this period of time it was only held once every two or three years. He suffered a serious illness in 1858. By 1863 Daumier was selling his furniture to raise funds and he left the Ile-Saint-Louis and moved to a succession of lodgings and apartments in
Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...
, losing contact with many friends and associates. ''Le Charivari'' presented him with a new contract in 1864 and he returned to making caricatures and cartoons for a living, and found a receptive audience when he did. By the mid 1860s, a few collectors were starting show some interest in his drawings and watercolors.


Later years: 1865–1879

Daumier spent the summer of 1865 in Valmondois, north of Paris with Théodore Rousseau, who was in declining health, and soon he left
Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...
permanently and rented a small cottage in Valmondois, where he lived for the remainder of his life. Although he had touched on the theme as early as 1850, he started working on ''
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
'' in earnest about 1866 or 1867, painting many canvases on the subject over the next few years. He started experiencing failing eyesight around 1865 or 1866 which progressed with time, although he was still producing drawings and poster designs as late as 1872. He continued to exhibit at the Paris Salons for several years, although the canvases he submitted were often over ten years old. In 1864 he had made 100 lithographs and received 400 francs a month, but with very little time to paint. In 1866 he was producing 70 lithographs a year and earning 200 francs a month. In 1870, during the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
, the newspapers stopped publishing and Daumier was signing promissory notes for his debts. His loyal friend,
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French Landscape art, landscape and Portraitist, portrait painter as well as a printmaking, printmaker in etching. A pivotal figure in ...
, secretly bought the house Daumier had been renting in 1868 and bestowed it to him as a surprise, in a letter reading: "Dear old comrade: I had a little house at Valnondois, near Isle-Adam, which was of no use to me. It occurred to me to offer it to you, and finding this was a good idea, I had it registered with the notary. It's not for your sake I am doing this, but to annoy the landlord." Although he was living a humble life away from Paris, in poverty and debt, and with failing eyesight, some belated recognition of his life's work begin to appear in the last years and months of his life. The
Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
intended to award Daumier the
Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
; however, he discreetly declined, feeling it was inconsistent with his political ideals and oeuvre. The
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
again offered Daumier the Legion of Honor and again he declined, although he was later granted a pension of 200 francs a month (2,400 annually) in 1877, which was increased to 400 a month (4,800 annually) in 1878. A circle of his friends and admirers arranged a large exhibition of his paintings at the Durand-Ruel Gallery in Paris. Although the public had seen an occasional canvas in the salons, this was the first time the full scope and range of Daumier's work was exhibited. It was not the financial success his friends had hoped for, but it was very well received by both the public and critics, and a decisive turning point in the perception of Daumier as an important painter. He died several months later, in February of 1879.


Art


Paintings

As a painter, Daumier was one of the pioneers of realistic subjects, which he treated with a point of view critical of class distinctions. Although associated with the realist movement, he did not identify himself as realist or advocate the ideology of realism in the way
Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...
and others did. The art historian Maurice Raynal commented on his relationship with realism "this was not outcome of methods he deliberately chose or took from others. The truth is that realism was both a second nature with him and the consequence of the life he led, Actually, however, he never set up as an adept of realism, indeed it never occurred to him to apply the term to his art: still less to repudiate it" At least one art historian, H. W. Janson placed him among the romantics, calling him "the one great Romantic artist who did not shrink from reality", in contrast to the historic, literary, and the Near Eastern subjects that characterized much of romantic painting.Janson, H. W. (1977), ''History of Art'', 2nd ed. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers. New York. 767 pp. rance: Daumier, 588-589 pp. Jean Leymarie wrote "With the temperament of a Romantic and the approach of a Realist, Daumier belongs to the Barbizon generation, except that his domain was the human figure and not landscapes" Daumier's paintings were radical for the time. One author stated " The uncouthness that some connoisseurs of the time saw in Rembrandt's painting, which was described as "ridiculous" and "disgraceful," was accepted in his prints, which did not have the same function or the same public (just as for some people Daumier the lithographer excused the painter, while for others the painter ennobled the lithographer)". Daumier would often set out with a new idea, painting the same subject repetitively, as many as 20 times, until he felt satisfied the theme was exhausted. Some of the subjects he repeatedly explored include: doctors, lawyers and the judicial system, theater and carnival subjects often in stage lighting (including actors, musicians, audiences, and backstage scenes), painters and sculpture in their studios, print and art collectors and connoisseurs, working people on the streets of Paris, the working class at leisure around a table (eating, drinking, playing chess), first and third class carriages, emigrants or refugees in flight, and ''
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
''. His paintings did not meet with success until 1878, a year before his death. Except for the searching truthfulness of his vision and the powerful directness of his brushwork, it would be difficult to recognize the creator of ''Robert Macaire'', of ''Les Bas bleus'', ''Les Bohémiens de Paris'', and the ''Masques'', in the paintings of ''Christ and His Apostles'' (
Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...
in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
), or in his ''Good Samaritan'', ''Don Quixote and Sancho Panza'', ''Christ Mocked'', or even in the sketches in the Ionides Collection at South Kensington.


Sculptures

Daumier was not only a prolific lithographer, draftsman and painter, but he also produced a notable number of
sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
in unbaked clay. In order to save these rare specimens from destruction, some of these busts were reproduced first in plaster. Bronze sculptures were posthumously produced from the plaster. The major 20th-century foundries were F. Barbedienne Barbedienne, , and . Eventually Daumier produced between 36 busts of French members of Parliament in unbaked clay. The foundries involved from 1927 on to produce a bronze edition were Barbedienne in an edition of 25 & 30 casts and Valsuani with three special casts based on the previous plaster castings from the gallery Sagot - Le Garrec clay collection. These bronze busts are all posthumous, based on the original, but frequently restored unbaked clay sculptures. The clay in its restored version can be seen at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. From the early 1950s on, some baked clay 'Figurines' appeared, most of them belonging to the Gobin collection in Paris. It was Gobin who decided to have a bronze cast done by Valsuani in an edition of 30 each. Again, they were posthumous and there is no proof, in contrast to the busts mentioned above, that these terra cotta figurines really were done by Daumier himself. The American school (J.Wasserman from the Fogg-Harvard Museum) doubts their authenticity, while the French school, especially Gobin, Lecomte, and Le Garrec and Cherpin, all somehow involved in the marketing of the bronze editions, are sure of their Daumier origin. The Daumier Register (the international center of Daumier research) as well as the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC would consider the figurines as 'in the manner of Daumier' or even 'by an imitator of Daumier' (NGA) Daumier created many figurines that he subsequently used as models for his paintings. One of Daumier's most well-known figurines, titled ''The Heavy Burden'', features a woman and her child. The woman is carrying something, possibly a large bag; the figurine is about 14 inches tall. Oliver W. Larkin states that "One sees in the clay the mark of Daumier's swift fingers as he nudged the skirt into windblown folds and used a knife blade or the end of a brush handle to define the clasped arms and the wrinkles of the cloth over the breast. In oil, he could only approximate this small masterpiece most successfully in two canvases were once owned by Arsene Alexandre." Daumier made several paintings of ''The Heavy Burden''. The woman and her child look like they are being pushed by the wind, and Daumier used this as a metaphor of the greater forces they were actually fighting against. The woman and her child in the painting are outlined by a very dark shadow.


Prints and graphics

Daumier produced his social caricatures for ''Le Charivari'', in which he held bourgeois society up to ridicule in the figure of Robert Macaire, hero of a popular
melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...
. In another series, ''L'histoire ancienne'', he took aim at the constraining pseudo-classicism of the art of the period. In 1848 Daumier embarked again on his political campaign, still in the service of ''Le Charivari'', which he left in 1863 and rejoined in 1864. Around the mid-1840s, Daumier started publishing his famous caricatures depicting members of the legal profession, known as 'Les Gens de Justice', a scathing satire about judges, defendants, attorneys and corrupt, greedy lawyers in general. A number of extremely rare albums appeared on white paper, covering 39 different legal themes, of which 37 had previously been published in the Charivari. It has been said that Daumier's own experience as an employee in a bailiff's office during his youth may have influenced his rather negative attitude towards the legal profession. In 1834 he produced the lithograph ''Rue Transnonain, 15 April 1834'' depicting the massacre in the Rue Transnonain which was part of the April 1834 riots in Paris. It was designed for the subscription publication ''L'Association Mensuelle''. The profits were to promote freedom of the press and defrayed legal costs of a lawsuit against the satirical, politically progressive journal ''Le Charivari'' to which Daumier contributed regularly. The police discovered the print hanging in the window of printseller Ernest Jean Aubert in the Galerie Véro-Dodat (passageway in 1st arrondissement) and subsequently tracked down and confiscated as many of the prints they could find, along with the original lithographic stone on which the image was drawn. Existing prints of Rue Transnonain are survivors of this effort.


Legacy

Baudelaire noted of him: ''l'un des hommes les plus importants, je ne dirai pas seulement de la caricature, mais encore de l'art moderne.'' (''One of the most important men, not only, I would say, in caricature, but also in modern art.'')
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
was also a great admirer of his work. The first of many monographs on Daumier was published less than ten years after his death, by Arsène Alexander, ''Honoré Daumier, l'hommé et l'oeuvre'', in 1888. An exhibition of his works was held at the
École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...
in 1901. Daumier's works are found in many of the world's leading art museums, including the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
and the
Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...
. He is celebrated for a range of works, including a large number of paintings (500) and drawings (1000) some of them depicting the life of
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
, a theme that fascinated him for the last part of his life. A version of ''Don Quixote and Sancho Panza'' was found as part of the 2012 Munich Art Hoard. Daumier's 200th birthday was celebrated in 2008 with a number of exhibitions in Asia, America, Australia and Europe. There is a room-full of caricatures in the museum
Am Römerholz The Reinhart Collection formed by Oskar Reinhart is now displayed in a museum in his old house, "Am Römerholz" in Winterthur, Zurich Canton, Switzerland, as well as the Museum Oskar Reinhart in the centre of Winterthur. It belongs to the Swiss ...
in
Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...
. The Daumier website lists all Daumier exhibitions starting from 1848 to present day
Daumier website
File:NadarDaumier.jpg, A portrait by the French photographer
Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (; 5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar () or Félix Nadar'','' was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of History of avi ...
, 1856-8
salt print The salt print was the dominant paper-based photographic process for producing positive prints (from negatives) from 1839 until approximately 1860. The salted paper technique was created in the mid-1830s by English scientist and inventor He ...
from glass negative,
Clark Art Institute The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European ...
, Williamstown File:H Daumier.jpg, Daumier later in his career File:Valmondois (95), villa Daumier, chemin latéral du Carrouge 2.jpg, The cottage in Valmondois where Daumier lived in his later years working on his Don Quixote paintings File:Buste de Daumier à Valmondois.JPG, Bust of Daumier in Valmondois, France, by the French sculptor Adolphe Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume Image:Honore Daumier Valmondois P1210686.jpg, Bust of Daumier by Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume


Complete catalogue

The Daumier Register
an internet access to all known oil paintings, drawings, lithographs, woodcuts and sculptures by Daumier, with in-depth research results, provenance information, exhibitions, publications and numerous search functions, was launched in June 2004.


Exhibitions

A list of almost 1,500 Daumier Exhibitions starting as early as 1849 until present time in the Daumier Website
Daumier exhibits and conferences


Galleries


Prints and graphics

File:Honoré Daumier - The Monthly Association (plate 20)- Do not meddle with it! - 1942.1018 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg, ''Freedom of the Press'' (1834), lithograph, 31.4 x 43.4 cm., Cleveland Museum of Art File:Daumier Passé, présent, avenir.jpg, ''Past, Present, Future'', published in La Caricature (1834), lithograph, 19,6 x 21 cm. File:A woman reaches down into a man's throat to pull out another tooth Wellcome V0011763.jpg, From ''Scènes Grotesques'': ''It certainly is solid!'', (1839), lithograph, 20 x 19 cm. File:Honoré Daumier, Hey! Waitress, I prefer my soup bald! (1840), lithograph, page 34 x 27 cm. Boston Public Library.jpg, ''Hey! Waitress, I prefer my soup bald!'' (1840), lithograph, page 34 x 27 cm. Boston Public Library File:Daumier - Pferdefleisch ist gesund und bekömmlich - 1856.jpeg, ''Horse Meat is Healthy and Digestible'' (1856), lithograph, 26,5 x 35 cm., Albertina, Vienna File:Honoré Daumier, The Trains of Pleasure, published in Le Charivari (1864), lithograph.jpg, T''he Trains of Pleasure'', published in Le Charivari (1864), lithograph File:Honoré Daumier, A literary discussion in the second Gallery, published in Le Charivari (1864), lithograph.jpg, ''A literary discussion in the second Gallery,'' published in Le Charivari (1864), lithograph File:Honoré Daumier, What Time is it Please, published in le Charivari (1839), lithograph, 24.1 x 19.8 cm. Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg, ''What Time is it Please'', published in Le Charivari (1839), lithograph, 24.1 x 19.8 cm. Cleveland Museum of Art File:Daumier - Ein Streich der Phanstasie.jpeg, ''A trick of the imagination'': ''My God! If my child were born with a pear head, or as Lobau, or as D'Argout, as Dupin ... For God's sake! A Kératry'' lithograph, 26,4 x 19,8 cm. File:An unhappy young child hung on a wall by his nurse, who has gone dancing Wellcome V0011764.jpg, ''The Heir Apparent, a young child hung on a wall by his nurse, who has gone dancing'' (c. 1850), colour lithograph File:Honoré Daumier, The Doctor, published in published in Le Charivari (1833), lithograph, 24.9 x 19.9 cm.jpg, ''The Doctor: How the devil does it happen that all of my patients succumb? I bleed them, I physic them, I drug them, I simply can't understand it''!, published in published in Le Charivari (1833), lithograph, 24.9 x 19.9 cm. File:Honoré Daumier, Lawyers and Litigants (1851), lithograph, 14.88 x 10.13 mm., The Phillips Collection, Washington D. C. I.jpg, ''Lawyers and Litigants'': ''Finally! We have obtained a separation of the wife's and husband's property; Just in time too, the case has ruined both of them''. (1851), lithograph, 14.88 x 10.13 mm., The Phillips Collection, Washington D. C. File:Honoré Daumier, Nadar élevant la Photographie à la hauteur de l'Art, 1862, NGA 42966.jpg, ''Nadar in a balloon Nadar, elevating photography to the height of Art'' (1869), lithograph File:Honoré Daumier, The Witnesses - The War Council (1872), lithograph, 25.3 × 22.2 cm., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.jpg, ''The Witnesses - The War Council'' (1872), lithograph, 25.3 × 22.2 cm., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York File:La tristesse de Rouher... - DPLA - a0c88e73dc11841af2725cc8fb6d08f6.jpg, La tristesse de Rouher..., July 12, 1871. Boston Public Library


Sculpture

File:Honoré daumier, le celebrità dell'Aurea mediocritas, terracotta, 1832-35, charles-léonard gallois.JPG, ''Charles Léonard Gallois'': ''Célébrités du Juste Milieu'' (1832–35), terracotta, Musée d'Orsay File:Honoré daumier, le celebrità dell'Aurea mediocritas, terracotta, 1832-35, antoine odier.JPG, ''Antoine Odier'': from the series ''Célébrités du Juste Milieu'' (1832–35), painted terracotta Musée d'Orsay, Paris File:Honoré daumier, le celebrità dell'Aurea mediocritas, terracotta, 1832-35, clément-françois-victor-gabriel prunelle.JPG, ''Clément François Victor Gabriel Prunelle'': from the series ''Célébrités du Juste Milieu'' (1832–35), painted terracotta Musée d'Orsay, Paris File:Honoré daumier, le celebrità dell'Aurea mediocritas, terracotta, 1832-35, hippolyte-abraham dubois.JPG, ''Hippolyte Abraham Dubois'': from the series ''Célébrités du Juste Milieu'' (1832–35), painted terracotta Musée d'Orsay, Paris File:Honoré Daumier, Célébrités du Juste Milieu (1832 - 1835), posthumous bronze cast, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.jpg, ''Célébrités du Juste Milieu'' (1832 - 1835), posthumous bronze cast, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago File:Les Fugitifs-Honore Daumier-IMG 8326.JPG, ''The Fugitives'' (c. 1850–52), plaster, 32.2 x 45.8 cm., Musée d'Orsay, Paris


Drawings and watercolors

File:Man Dreaming MET DP818896 (cropped).jpg, ''Man Dreaming'' (1825-79), lithographic crayon. 20 x 29.7cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. File:A Man Reading in a Garden (recto); Preliminary sketch for a Man Reading in a Garden (verso) MET DP818895.jpg, ''Man Reading in a Garden'' (1825-79), watercolor, crayon, chalk, & ink. 33.8 x 27cm.
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, New York. File:Two Drinkers MET DT3260 (cropped).jpg, ''Two Drinkers'' (1860-79), pen, ink, & charcoal. 32 x 24.5 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. File:Daumier - La parade foraine, RF 4164, Recto (cropped).jpg, ''The Sideshow'' (1825-79), watercolor, 26.6 x 36.7 cm.
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
, Paris, File:Honoré Daumier - Plea for the Defense - Google Art Project (cropped).jpg, ''Plea for the Defense'' (early 1860s), pen, ink, & wash. 9.25 X 14 mm. The Phillips Collection, Washington D. C. File:Don Quixote and Sancho Panza MET 27.152.1 (cropped).jpg, ''Don Quixote and Sancho Panza'' (1825-79), chalk & gray wash. 20 x 29.8cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. File:Honoré Daumier - Intermission at the Comédie Française - WGA05962.jpg, ''Intermission at the Comédie Française''. (1858), charcoal, pen, brush, ink, watercolor, & gouache.
Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...
, Saint Petersburg. File:Honoré Daumier, Le Défenseur (Counsel for the Defense), c. 1862-1865, NGA 168817 (cropped).jpg, ''Counsel for the Defense'' (c. 1862-1865), pen, ink, charcoal, crayon, & watercolor. image: 20.7 x 30 cm.
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
, Washington D. C. File:Honoré Daumier - The Second Class Carriage - Walters 371224.jpg, ''The Second Class Carriage'' (1864), watercolor, ink wash, & charcoal. 20.5 x 30.1 cm .
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...
, Baltimore, Maryland. File:Honoré Daumier - The First Class Carriage - Walters 371225.jpg, ''The First Class Carriage'' (1864), watercolor, ink, & charcoal. 20.5 x 30 cm. Walter Art Museum, Baltimore. File:Honoré Daumier - The Amateurs - Walters 371228.jpg, ''The Amateurs'' (1865-68), crayon, watercolor, & gouache. 32.4 × 30.8 cm. Walter Art Museum, Baltimore. File:Honoré Daumier - Der eingebildete Kranke.jpg, ''The Hypochondriac'' (date unknown), charcoal, pen and ink, & watercolor, 29.3 x 24.9 cm. Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.


Paintings 1842‒1879

(Daumier rarely dated his paintings and experts frequently disagree on establishing dates) File:Daumier - The Night Walkers, 1842–1847.jpg, ''The Night Walkers'' (–47), oil on panel, 28.9 x 18.7 cm. Museum Wales File:Daumier - DR7013.jpg, ''Couple Singing'' (–1850), oil on canvas, 37 x 28.5 cm.,
Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...
File:Honoré Daumier - Une salle d'attente (The Waiting Room) - 1964-12 - Albright–Knox Art Gallery.tiff, ''The Waiting Room'' (c. 1850-53), oil on paper, 30.8 x 23.97 cm., Buffalo AKG Art Museum File:Honoré Daumier 012 (cropped).jpg, ''The Emigrants'' (–55), oil on panel, 16.2 x 28.7 cm.,
Petit Palais The (; ) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the Exposition Universelle (1900), 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...
File:Daumier - DR7032.jpg, ''Nymphs Pursued by Satyrs'' (), oil on canvas, 131 x 97.1 cm., Montreal Museum of Fine Arts File:Daumier, Silenus (DR 10762), 1850, Musée, Calais.jpg, ''The Drunkenness of
Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; , ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue ('' thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which case he may be referred to as a Pa ...
'' (–50), 49 x 62.53 cm. gouache on drawing, Musée des Beaux-Arts,
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
File:Honoré Daumier 019.jpg, '' Ecce Homo'' (), grisaille on canvas, 160 x 127 cm.,
Museum Folkwang Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...
File:Daumier - Les Voleurs et l'âne (La Fontaine), RF844.jpg, '' The Thieves and the Donkey'' (), oil on canvas, 59 x 56 cm.,
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
File:Honoré Daumier, The Third-Class Carriage - The Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg, '' The Third-Class Carriage'' (–64), oil on canvas, 65.4 x 90.2 cm.,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
File:Honoré Daumier - Three Lawyers - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Three Lawyers Chatting'' (–57), oil on canvas, 40.6 x 33 cm., The Phillips Collection File:Honoré Daumier, Crispin and Scapin (1864), oil on canvas, 61 x 82 cm., Musée d'Orsay, Paris.jpg, ''Crispin and Scapin'' (1864), oil on canvas, 61 x 82 cm.,
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...
File:Honoré Daumier - Head of Pasquin - 1985.R.22 - Dallas Museum of Art.jpg, ''Head of Pasquin'' (–63), oil on panel, 23.5 x 18.42 cm., Dallas Museum of Art File:Sideshow (Parade de Saltimbanques) by Honoré Daumier.jpg, ''Sideshow'' (–64), oil on wood, 25 x 32 cm., private collection File:Honoré Daumier - En dehors de la boutique du marchand d'estampes (1860-1863).jpg, ''Outside the Print Seller's Shop'' (–1863), oil on panel, 49.5 x 40 cm., Dallas Museum of Art File:Honore, The Print Collectors.jpg, ''The Print Collectors'' (1860-63), oil on panel, 12 1/16 x 16 in. (30.7 x 40.7 cm),
Clark Art Institute The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European ...
File:Honoré Daumier - The Washerwoman - WGA05957.jpg, '' The Laundress'' (), oil on panel, 49 x 34 cm., Musée d'Orsay File:Honoré Daumier 032.jpg, '' The Chess Players'' (–67), oil on canvas, 24 x 32 cm., Petit Palais File:Honore Daumier Two Sculptors.jpg, ''Two Sculptors'' (–66), oil on canvas, 27.9 x35.5 cm., The Phillips Collection File:DAUMIER Honoré Le Peintre Huile sur bois.jpg, ''The Painter at his Easel'' (), oil on panel, 35.8 x 32 cm., Museum of Fine Arts, Reims File:Don Quixote and the Dead Mule MET EP1036.jpg, ''Don Quixote and the Dead Mule'' (after 1864), oil on panel, 24.8 x 46 cm., Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Honoré Daumier (1808-1879) - Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - 35.217 - Burrell Collection.jpg, ''Don Quixote and Sancho Panza'' (), oil on panel, 32.4 x 24.1 cm.,
Burrell Collection The Burrell Collection is a museum in Glasgow, Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums. It houses the art collection of William Burrell, Sir William Burrell and Constance Burrell, Constance, Lady Burrell. The museum opened in 1983 and reopened on ...
File:Imitator.jpg, ''An Artist'' (1870-75), Honoré Daumier or Imitator of Honoré Daumier, oil on canvas, mounted on panel, 13 15/16 x 10 5/8 in. (35.4 x 27 cm),
Clark Art Institute The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European ...
File:Daumier - Singender Pierrot mit Mandoline, um 1873.png, ''Pierrot Strumming the Guitar'' (), oil on canvas, 33.35 x 26 cm. private collection File:Honoré Daumier 027.jpg, ''Mother with Child'' (–1870), oil on canvas, 40 x 33 cm., Foundation E.G. Bührle


References

Since 2000, there has been a comprehensive, trilingual digital catalogue raisonné, the Daumier Register. It contains all of Daumier's works with detailed specifications and background information (lithographs, woodcuts, sculptures, drawings, oil paintings, lithographic stones, woodblocks) and is constantly updated with new findings.
Daumier-Register


External links

* *
Daumier Website, complete website on Daumier's life and work; Bibliography, Exhibitions etc. Daumier-Register
comprehensive, trilingual digital catalogue raisonné containing all of Daumier's works with detailed specifications and background information (lithographs, woodcuts, sculptures, drawings, oil paintings, lithographic stones, woodblocks) and is constantly updated with new findings.
Daumier's biography, style and critical reception
at
Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Prints at the Art Institute of ChicagoHonoré Daumier (French, 1808 – 1879) on MutualArt.com
* A not so serious guide to an exhibition of 19th century French caricatures by Honoré Daumier, supplied by the Daumier-Register * ttp://www.daumier-videos.webs.com Website featuring a selection of Daumier videos by the Daumier Register and 500 photographs of Daumier lithographs
''Daumier Drawings''
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daumier, Honore 1808 births 1879 deaths 19th-century French painters Artists from Marseille Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French caricaturists French editorial cartoonists French political artists French satirists French humorists French male painters French printmakers French wood engravers Legion of Honour refusals Realist artists Cartoon controversies Political controversies in France Lèse-majesté 19th-century French male artists