Honoré-Victorin Daumier was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the second Napoleonic 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, politicians, the judiciary, lawyers, the bourgeoisie, as well as his countrymen and human nature in general.
Very cool, I enjoyed reading about the artist and did a little more research. Of particular interest is this wonderful caricature of king Louis Philipe that got him jailed for several months.
From Wikipedia: “Gargantua (1831), lithograph: King Louis Philippe sits on his throne (a close stool), consuming a continuous diet of tribute fed to him by various bureaucrats, dignitaries, and bourgeoisie, while defecating a steady stream of titles, awards, and medals in return.”
I love how he’s gesturing so wildly that his eye-jowls are flapping.
This guy preceded the Impressionists and Modern Art historically, but I’ve always felt he was at least a couple of decades ahead of his time, him and JMW Turner should be regarded as modern artists.
