Nationality
French
Artist Dates
1808-1879
Title of Work
Les Mandarins Lettrés
Preview
Date of Work
1844
Medium
Lithograph, published in Le Charivari, initialed in the lithographic stone
Identification #
2016.001.0031
Collection/Provenance
Gift from the estate of Lilly Jacobson.
Art & Design Study Collection
Status
Stored: Lilly Jacobson Collection Box 2
Location
UND Art Collections Office, Hughes Fine Arts Center
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
Series: Voyage en Chine
Published in Le Charivari
Original text: Il existe à Pékin une célèbre institution littéraire nommée A-KA-DE-MIE, les quarante membres de ce corps assistent une fois par an à une grande séance publique où l'on baille, et une fois par mois à une petite séance particulière où l'on dort. Il est vrai que ces personnages s'excusent en disant qu'ils rèvent au dictionnaire de la langue Chinoise, dictionnaire qu'ils sont en train de rédiger depuis cent cinquante ans; mais ils ne se pressent pas, sous le prétexte qu'ils ont tout le temps de travailler, puisqu'ils sont immortels.
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.”