Artwork
Alex. Thomas Marie
Alex. Thomas Marie is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1849 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1849, this lithograph by Honoré Daumier depicts a solitary male figure rendered in a single, fluid side profile. The image is executed in bold, sketch‑like lines that convey a sense of immediacy and movement, characteristic of Daumier’s rapid drawing technique.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter, shown with curly hair, a wide expressive face, loose jacket, and a cane, is presented in a slightly exaggerated manner. Daumier’s choice of pose—hand on hip, cane in the other—offers a satirical edge, aligning the work with his broader practice of critiquing public figures and authority through caricature.
Technique & Style
The print was produced by lithography, a process that involves drawing directly onto a smooth stone surface with greasy ink before transferring the image onto paper. Daumier’s handling of the medium is evident in the rough, energetic lines that suggest a spontaneous sketch rather than a polished portrait, a stylistic device he often employed to heighten the immediacy of his commentary.
History & Provenance
During the July Monarchy and the subsequent Second Republic, Daumier contributed regularly to satirical journals such as La Caricature and Le Charivari. This lithograph forms part of that prolific output, reflecting his republican sympathies and his role as a leading political caricaturist of mid‑nineteenth‑century France.
Artist & collection
Artist
Honoré-Victorin Daumier was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870.
