Comment, c'est dans cette cave que ...

Art Historical Context

Honoré Daumier's *Comment, c'est dans cette que...* (1857) is a captivating lithograph that exemplifies the artist's sharp satirical wit during France's Second Empire. Daumier, a prolific 19th-century printmaker caricaturist, produced over 4,000 lithographs, published in journals like *Le Charivari*. This work, with its incomplete title suggesting a moment of comic surprise—perhaps in a dingy cellar—likely pokes fun at bourgeois pretensions or everyday absurdities, a hallmark of his social commentary. Created amid political censorship under Napoleon III, Daumier's lithography allowed subtle c...

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...