Description
Honoré Daumier was known for his witty depictions of contemporary Parisian types, including the art collectors seen in this drawing. The sheet belongs to a series in which the artist depicted these connoisseurs in the process of closely studying works of art. Although here, the men's focus seems sincere, in many works Daumier caricatured his subjects' greediness, smugness, or obliviousness.
Provenance
Madame Pierre Bureau, Paris (by 1878-by 1923); Paul Bureau [1865-1923], Paris (1923); his estate, Paris (1923 - 1927); (sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, Collection Paul Bureau [première vente], May 20, 1927, no. 66, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, through Marcel Guiot) (1927); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1927-)
Accession Number
1927.208
Medium
Gray and black wash, charcoal, and graphite, with watercolor, on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 26.2 x 19.4 cm (10 5/16 x 7 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund
Tags
Drawing Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Watercolor Graphite & Pencil Charcoal Paper French Color: Brown Color: White Color: Gray
Background & Context
Background Story
Honore Daumier (1808-1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker known for his satirical lithographs of Parisian life and his paintings of social subjects that combine the satirical observation of the caricaturist with the painterly skill of the Realist tradition. Art Lovers from c. 1863 depicts a group of viewers looking at art in the satirical, socially observant manner that distinguishes Daumier's best paintings from the more straightforward Realism of his contemporaries. The c. 1863 date places this in Daumier's most productive period as a painter, when he was producing the paintings of social subjects that are his most accomplished works in oil.
Cultural Impact
Art Lovers is important in the history of French painting because it demonstrates the satirical, socially observant manner that Daumier brought to subjects of Parisian life. Daumier's position as both a caricaturist and a painter allowed him to combine the satirical observation of the lithograph with the painterly skill of the Realist tradition, creating a type of painting that is simultaneously satirical and painterly—a combination that no other French painter of the period achieved with equal success.
Why It Matters
Art Lovers is Daumier's satirical social observation: viewers looking at art rendered in the manner that combines the caricaturist's satirical eye with the painter's Realist skill. The c. 1863 painting shows Daumier's unique position as both caricaturist and painter, bringing the satirical observation of Parisian life to the medium of oil painting.
