Look out for the light!, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"
April 5, 1870
Medium
Lithograph on wove paper; second state of two (Delteil)
Dimensions
Image: 9 3/8 × 8 1/8 in. (23.8 × 20.7 cm) Sheet: 14 1/8 × 10 3/8 in. (35.8 × 26.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1922
Accession Number
22.61.112
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Look Out for the Light!** a satirical lithograph by the renowned French caricaturist Honoré Daumier published on April 5, 1870, in the daily humor magazine *Le Charivari* as part of its "News of the Day series. Daumier, a master of social commentary, often collaborated with printers like Walter Frères and de Vresse to produce sharp visual critiques of French society under Napoleon III's Second Empire. This work, featuring birds in a humorous predicament (tagged with "Birds" and "Satire"), exemplifies Daumier's knack for using animals to mock human folly, politics, or the bourgeoisie. Printe...
About the Artist
Honoré Daumier|Walter Frères|Arnaud de Vresse · 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...