The Vagrant (Le rodeur ou le ramasseur de bouts cigares)
c. 1832–35
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H.: 9.8 cm (3 7/8 in.)
Classification
statuette
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
152791
Art Historical Context
In the bustling streets of 1830s Paris,é Daumier captured the gritty realities of urban life through his sharp satirical lens. *The Vagrant (Leur ou le ramasseur bouts cigares)*, small bronze statuette in his style from around 1832–35, depicts a ragged figure scavenging cigar butts—a poignant symbol of poverty amid the July Monarchy's social upheavals. Daumier, a master caricaturist and pioneer of Realism, often skewered the era's class divides, using exaggerated features to humanize the downtrodden. Crafted in bronze and standing just 9.8 cm tall, this statuette exemplifies Daumier's sculptu...