Nationality
French
Artist Dates
1808-1879
Title of Work
Les Plaisirs du Carnaval
Preview
Date of Work
1845
Medium
Lithograph
Signature
Initialed in the lithographic stone.
Identification #
2016.001.0448
Collection/Provenance
Gift from the estate of Lilly Jacobson.
Art & Design Study Collection
Status
Stored: Lilly Jacobson Collection Box 7
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: LES PLAISIRS DU CARNAVAL. Pendant trois jours de l'année, qu'ils nomment gras, nous ne savons trop pourquoi, les chinois éprouvent un grand charme à se couvrir des plus sales oripeaux qu'ils peuvent trouver, puis dans ce costume ils parcourent les rues de Pékin en criant ohé, ohé, mot chinois très spirituel mais dont nous ignorons complètement le sens. Quand par hasard ils cessent de crier ohé, c'est pour tenir une foule de propos qui feraient rougir des sauvages des îles Marquises, mais que les dames et demoiselles de Pékin écoutent sans le moindre scrupule, vu leur civilisation beaucoup plus avancée.
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.”