"Oh! It is as if we were there: the tall one opens her corset and the little one is looking for a flea!," plate 27 from Types Parisiens
Medium
Lithograph in black on white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 19 × 24.2 cm (7 1/2 × 9 9/16 in.); Sheet: 24.6 × 35.6 cm (9 11/16 × 14 1/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
21061
Art Historical Context
Honoré Daumier, a master of 19th-century French caricature, captures the cheeky underbelly of Parisian life in this 1840 lithograph plate 27 from the series *Types Parisiens Titled *"Oh! It is as if we were there: the one opens her corset the little one is looking a flea!"*, it depicts voyeuristic onlookers gossiping about two women in a candid, intimate moment—one loosening her corset, the hunting a flea. Printed in bold black ink on white wove paper (image 19 × 24.2 cm), the work exemplifies Daumier's prolific output during the July Monarchy, a time of social satire amid political censorship...
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...