A Bercy: Nous faisons ... ce que nous pouvons ...
1856
Medium
lithograph
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Dr. Armand Hammer)
Accession Number
2015.143.660
Art Historical Context
Honoré Daumier's *A Bercy: Nous faisons ... ce que nous pouvons* (1856) is a poignant lithograph capturing the gritty realities of working-class life in mid-19th-century Paris. Daumier, a master caricature and social commentary, produced this print during the Second French Empire under Napoleon III, a time of rapid industrialization and stark social divides. The title—"In Bercy: We do ... we can ..."—evokes the resignation of laborers in Paris's Bercy district, a hub for wine warehouses and manual toil, where porters and workers toiled under grueling conditions. As a lithograph, the work show...
About the Artist
Honoré Daumier · 1810–1879
Honoré-Victorin Daumier (1808-1879) was a prolific French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor whose works offered incisive commentary on the social and political life of 19th-century France. Known as the 'Michelangelo of Caricature,' Daumier produced over 4,000 lithographs, 500 paintings, 1,000 drawings, and 100 sculptures during his lifetime. His biting political satire led to his imp...