General Mortier, the evening before the battle of Waterloo, plate 456
Medium
Lithograph in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 20.6 × 22.1 cm (8 1/8 × 8 3/4 in.); Sheet: 27.2 × 35 cm (10 3/4 × 13 13/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
21058
Art Historical Context
Honoré-Victorin Daumier, a pioneering French lithographer and caricaturist (1808–1879), *General Mortier, the Before the Battle of Waterloo, 456* in 1835. This black lithograph on ivory wove captures a dramatic moment evoking the tension of the Napoleonic Wars, depicting Marshal Édouard Mortier on the eve of the fateful 1815 battle. during the July Monarchy, when Bonapartist nostalgia lingered amid political satire, Daumier's reflects the era's fascination with heroic military figures and historical drama. Daumier's mastery of lithography—a revolutionary printing technique invented decades ea...
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...