A Man Reading in a Garden (recto); Preliminary sketch for a Man Reading in a Garden (verso)
ca. 1865
Medium
Watercolor over black chalk, with pen and ink, brush and wash, and lithographic crayon. Verso: pen and brown ink, black gray wash, and lithographic crayon
Dimensions
13 5/16 x 10 5/8 in. (33.8 x 27cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
29.100.199
Tags
Art Historical Context
In Honoré Daumier's *A Man Reading in a Garden* (recto) with its preliminary sketch on the verso, created around 1865, we encounter a quiet moment of contemplation amid lush greenery. The French Realist artist, renowned for his sharp social caricatures and lithographic prowess, here captures an everyday bourgeois scene—a solitary man absorbed in reading. This double-sided sheet, measuring 13 5/16 x 10 5/8 inches, reflects Daumier's shift in later years toward intimate, humanistic studies, influenced by his failing eyesight and a deepening interest in ordinary life's poetry. The recto dazzles ...
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...