Nationality
French
Artist Dates
1808-1879
Preview
Date of Work
1845
Medium
Lithograph
Signature
Initialed in the lithographic stone.
Identification #
2016.001.1084
Collection/Provenance
University Art Collections: Lilly Jacobson Collection, Art & Design Dept.
Status
Stored: Lily Jacobson Collection Box 21
Location
UND Art Collections Repository
Artist Bio
Honoré Daumier was a prolific painter, printmaker and caricaturist born in 1808 in Marseille, France. In 1822 Daumier studied under Alexandre Lenoir, an artist and archaeologist that was dedicated to saving French monuments during the French Revolution. One year later he went on to attend the Académie Suisse. His works are best known for commenting and critiquing on the 19th century social and political life in France. Honoré Daumier's works can be found at the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Rijksmuseum, and several other prominent collections internationally. The University of North Dakota holds more than 1600 works by Daumier, the vast majority of which are part of the Lilly Jacobson Collection, which can be accessed here: https://commons.und.edu/daumier-prints/.
Aside from making powerful politically-charged images that reflected his pro-republican views, Daumier satirized lawyers, doctors, businessmen, professors, and lifestyles of the bourgeoisie. Although the inscriptions that accompany Daumier’s lithographs were not written by him, one might assume they mostly conveyed the spirit of the artist’s intent behind his images.
Additional Information
Published in Le Charivari
Original text: Mon cher je t'assure que je te trouve mauvaise mine ce matin..... ce n'est pas en médecin que je te parle, c'est en ami..... je veux absolument te soigner... mieux que je ne me soignerais moi-même..... je vais t'appliquer trente sangsues à l'épigastre, et si demain matin je ne te trouve pas plus robuste, je t'en réappliquerai soixante!.....
In Daumier’s lithograph, a zealous doctor does not think his friend looks well and offers to restore his health through a serious dose of bloodletting. Although today, bloodletting to cure or prevent illness, or treat injuries, is generally viewed as harmful, the practice remained a common medical practice in Daumier’s day. The use of leeches for this purpose became widespread during the nineteenth century. By the 1830s, leeches were so often used that France was importing about forty million a year for medical bleeding.
Included in the Honoré Daumier III: Law, Medicine, and Social Satire exhibition, 2018.
Rights
Images are provided for educational purposes only and may not be reproduced for commercial use. Images may be protected by artist copyright. A credit line is required to be used for any public non-commercial educational purpose. The credit line must include, “Image courtesy of the University of North Dakota.”