Ne sachant plus comment utiliser leurs loisirs ...
1856
Medium
lithograph
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Dr. Armand Hammer)
Accession Number
2015.143.651
Art Historical Context
Honoré Daumier's *Ne sachant plus comment utiliser leurs loisirs...* (1856) is a sharp lithograph that captures the artist's signature satirical wit. Translated as "No longer knowing how to use their leisure time...," the print likely depicts the ennui of the emerging French bourgeoisie, fumbling awkwardly with newfound free time amid the industrial boom of the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Daumier, a prolific 19th-century caricaturist, produced over 4,000 lithographs for journals like *Le Charivari*, using humor to skewer social pretensions and political hypocrisy. Lithography, Daumier's...
About the Artist
Honoré Daumier · 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...