Le Désespoir des Bouchers, from Actualités, published in Le Charivari, November 21, 1857
November 21, 1857
Medium
Lithograph on newsprint; third state of three (Delteil)
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 3/8 × 12 13/16 in. (26.3 × 32.5 cm) Image: 8 1/16 × 9 5/8 in. (20.4 × 24.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1922
Accession Number
22.61.228
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Le Désespoir des Bouchers** is a lively lithograph from the *Actualités* series, in the satirical newspaper *Le Charari* on November , 1857. Created collaboratively by Honoré Daumier, a master of 19th-century French caricature, alongside Aaron Martinet and Destouches, this third-state impression captures the era's biting social commentary. Printed on inexpensive newsprint (sheet: 10 3/8 × 12 13/16 in.), it reflects the democratizing power of lithography, allowing rapid dissemination of humor and critique to a wide Parisian audience amid the Second Empire's political tensions. The title, "Th...