Beer? Never! Only absinthe can put a fellow back on his feet, from 'The Chinese of Paris,' published in Le Charivari, December 18, 1863
December 18, 1863
Medium
Lithograph on newsprint; second state of two (Delteil)
Dimensions
Image: 7 11/16 × 10 1/4 in. (19.6 × 26 cm) Sheet: 11 1/2 × 11 1/4 in. (29.2 × 28.6 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
62.650.483
Tags
Art Historical Context
This lively lithograph by Honoré Daumier appeared in the December 18, 1863, issue of the Parisian satirical journal *Le Charivari*. Created as part of the artist’s series “The Chinese of Paris,” the print captures two men enjoying a drink and a smoke, with the caption declaring a staunch preference for absinthe over beer. Daumier, a master of the medium, used lithography’s fluid lines and tonal range to produce sharp social commentary for a broad newspaper audience. Published during the Second Empire, when Parisian café culture was booming, the work reflects the era’s fascination with absinth...
About the Artist
Destouches|Honoré Daumier|Aaron Martinet (French|French) · 1808 |1800 –1879 |1900
French, Marseilles 1808–1879 Valmondois|Paris