Absinthe: The first glass, the sixth glass, from 'The Chinese of Paris," published in Le Charivari, December 22, 1863
December 22, 1863
Medium
Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two (Delteil)
Dimensions
Image: 7 15/16 × 9 9/16 in. (20.1 × 24.3 cm) Sheet: 11 3/8 × 11 3/16 in. (28.9 × 28.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962
Accession Number
62.650.353
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the bustling satirical world of 19th-century Paris Honoré Daumier, collaborators Aaron Martinet and Dest, captured the perils of absinthe addiction in this lithograph from *Le Charivari*, published on December 22,1863. Titled *Absinthe: The first, the sixth glass* the series *The Chinese Paris*, it humorously contrasts a composed drinker savoring his initial sip with a disheveled figure slumped after the sixth, embodying Daumier's sharp social commentary on urban vices. Daumier, a master of caricature and a key figure in French lithography, used this affordable newsprint medium to reach wi...