“- Just look at that! the train that's about to pass is lucky to have a narrow escape.... the whole affair would have blown up if I hadn't noticed in time... - What is it then, what is it? - Why, it's obvious, a needle has been placed right on the rail... luckily I saw it in just in time!,” plate 1 from Les Chemins De Fer
Medium
Lithograph in black on white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 20.7 × 26.5 cm (8 3/16 × 10 7/16 in.); Sheet: 26.7 × 35.5 cm (10 9/16 × 14 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
67085
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...