Exploiting friendship. “My dear Alphonse, I've invited these gentlemen, my friends, to dine at your home. I would like them to taste our champagne, we'll laugh... wait a minute! I've an idea. What if we went to the wood? We could take your barouche and you could lend us some clothes as we only came to pay a simple visite... In the meantime, why don't you give us some cards and some Napoleons to pass the time. Eh? My good Alphonse, dear chap. How about it?,” plate 58 from Caricaturana
Medium
Lithograph, with watercolor, heightened with gum arabic on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
35.4 × 26.5 cm (13 15/16 × 10 7/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
159321
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
An entourage of ne’er-do-wells attempts to bilk an acquaintance out of food, drink, transportation, and even his fashionable wardrobe! If he humors their demands, his dressing gown may be all that is left to his name, leaving him nothing to wear outside. This unique impression served as a color template for a hand-colored edition of Honoré Daumier’s print.
About the Artist
Honoré-Victorin Daumier · 1808–1879
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...