“- So, Gringalet from Paris!.... you will dance twice with my Catherine ...... try again now to make sheep's eyes at her,” plate 27 from Pastorales
published October 28, 1845
Medium
Lithograph in black, with scraping on stone on cream wove paper (sheet folded to form four pages), with text added in another hand and letterpress verso (and recto when unfolded)
Dimensions
Image: 24.4 × 21.9 cm (9 5/8 × 8 5/8 in.); Sheet, folded: 36.1 × 25 cm (14 1/4 × 9 7/8 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
44455
Art Historical Context
In this lively lithograph, plate 27 from Honoré Daumier's *Pastorales* series, on October 28, 1845, we witness a quintessential scene of rural French jealousy. A stern peasant father confronts "Gringalet from Paris"—a slick city dandy—with the sharp words: “So, Gringalet from Paris you will dance twice with Catherine... try again now make sheep's eyes at.” Daumier, a master of 19th-century caricature and social satire, captures the clash between urban sophistication and rustic protectiveness during a village dance, highlighting tensions in mid-1800s France under the July Monarchy. Printed in ...
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...